http://www.studioofsewing.co.nz/

Studio of Sewing, 253 Dairy Flat Highway, Auckland (2026)

01/09/2026

I’m so excited about this skein of yarn. Why does this plain creamy yarn make me quite literally giddy with excitement??? Because back in June I bought a 2nd hand Ashford Wheels and Looms spinning wheel, joined a spinners & weavers group & started spinning.

But wait! There’s more!!!

This yarn is 80% mohair and 20% polwarth. And the mohair, Dear Readers, is FROM MY GOATS 🤩. Yep. My angora goats. That I used to own before moving back to town (and yes, I miss them quite a bit - they are the most fun animals. But I don’t miss the work involved lol).

We (well, I) kept the last few shears as I was too lazy to send/sell it off to the Mohair peeps. Hubs, was not impressed, and he was less impressed that I refused to throw it out. And he was not impressed when I insisted it move house with us. There’s about 50kgs (actually, probably more 😅). The bale is enormous and takes up substantial room in the garage lol. So many reasons for him to ‘not be impressed’ 🤭. Purse lips here 🤣

But you know what he is impressed with??? This damn skein!!! I’ve won him over 😍. He’s watched me learn to spin, start out crap, get better, hours at the wheel practicing, practicing, practicing.

It’s so soft, like absolutely squishable. I’m hoping it won’t be too scratchy once knitted up, sometimes mohair can be a bit itchy/scratchy. So fingers crossed. I’ve knitted a small sample (it was so damn nice to knit up, pleasantly surprised and happy about that 😃) and it feels Ok against the skin so I’m hopeful.

And there’s quite a process between raw fleece and spun fibre, and one day I’ll share how it went from ‘that to this’.

I’m now spinning enough to knit a short sleeve top, more than likely a from Louise Rasmussen. It’s fi*****ng weight, so it’s gonna take me an age to spin it, but I have fallen completely in love with the process so I am up for it! I was going to dye it, but you know what? The colour is lovely and it reminds me of the Mob, so I’m gonna keep the first garment colour natural as a permanent reminder that I was once a goatherder.

And this skein??? I’m going to leave it as is, so it too is a reminder of my first mohair skein 💗.

31/08/2026

It’s the last day of Winter! Spring tomorrow. Knowing NZ as I do, I think the weather is going to tease for quite a few more weeks though lol.

I’ve been wearing my Louise Rasmussen (that’s obviously not a sweater 🤭) on high repeat this winter. I left off the sleeves because I kinda liked how it looked as a vest when I tried it on after I’d finished the collar. I was indecisive as to whether I should add the sleeves, did a poll on my stories and the majority vote came back supporting the Vest. So who am I to go against the majority 😅. Plus I had already started another project 😬.

The yarn is KNITTING FOR OLIVE. The colour is a nice deep olive, closer to the colour in the flat-lay shots. It’s Heavy Merino and Soft Silk Mohair held together.

Because I feel the cold, I’ve been wearing it with two of my fav skivvy tops layered. These were made last winter and get thoroughly thrashed. One is a patterned fabric and I love that there is a little sneak peak of it showing around the neckline and sleeves. The pattern is from the Fehr Trade Sew Your Own Active Wear book, and is one of my fav skivvy patterns. It’s a book where you trace your size out and add seam allowances. So imagine my horror when I went to make a couple more a few months ago and I CAN’T FIND THE PATTERN 🤯. Anywhere! Ugh! And yes, I know it’s an easy fix, just trace the pattern out again, but do you think I can bring myself around to doing it lol. I know! First world problems for sure. I can remember putting it away, I just can’t remember where!

But I digress. Leaving the sleeves off was a brilliant decision. It’s been such an excellent layer to wear this winter. It’s way oversized and super easy to throw on.

And we haven’t had one for AGES, but an 😍

22/08/2026

New Blue Pants for Hubs. With a bit of fly art lol. The Ball Room 🤣.

One pair down, one pair to go. 2nd pair already cut out, so the hard part is done.

These are the Closet Core Patterns . I started using this pattern for Hubs quite a few years ago now. Just needed to tweak the waistband to fit a male physique. Basically just took all the shaping from the waist, so straight up from the hips. I really do want to try a different pattern, but every time I suggest this he quips ‘if it ain’t broke why fix it?’. So here we are, still using the same pattern.

Embellishments besides the fly art: monogram on his coin pocket (it’s in grey so not showing up as well in the photos), and a little X on one back pocket (I like asymmetrical, I haven’t thought to ask if he does 😅). These are work pants, so I don’t often add rivets, I do bar tacks instead. The fabric is Mind the Maker stretch twill. The pocket lining is a lightweight denim - hoping it holds up a bit better than regular cotton, he’s really hard on his pockets and they tend to rip 🫣.

Making for other peeps is fraught with angst - even after all these years and even when it’s Husband sewing 😅. I’m lucky he’s super grateful.

23/07/2026

Love, love, love my new (pattern no longer for sale). And although my intention was never to leave the house wearing my brown n lilac leisure suit, I have indeed left the house wearing my brown n lilac leisure suit lol. Just a quick trip to the supermarket. And to buy some lunch. And to clear the PO Box. And to pickup some cough medicine. And have coffee with a friend. Ok, so not such a quick trip 😅.

I have so many fav parts to this hoodie. I love the faux piping that highlights the raglan sleeves. I love the lilac hood ‘lining’ - in fact loved it so much it became the outside of the hood after a quick unpick once I’d finished (and I use the term ‘quick’ in absolute jest as nothing is quick when unpicking an already overlocked hood lol). I love that the lilac hood is made out of scraps as I didn’t have enough fabric so had to piece the hood together with scraps of ribbing and sweatshirting. I love the lilac cuffs that was ribbing unpicked from a previous make. And I didn’t think I would, but I do indeed love the triangle insert on the front - I very nearly didn’t do this bit as I thought it would be too much lilac. But then I had a stern talking to myself and actually pointed out that there is no such thing as too much lilac.

I pondered for bloody ages about what sweatshirt to make. Looked at a few new to me options but my other Hug Hoodies are my most reached for makes, so it made sense to make another one. IYKYK.

Anyway, I’ve worn this everyday since I finished it. And brown and lilac together are just fabulous 😍.

10/07/2026

I’m so hard on myself 😅. More on that later.

Here I am wearing my new Slow Pants (pattern no longer being sold) in chocolate brown French Terry from . This is such a great weight for pants.

I’ve added a couple of tucks on the front & lilac faux piping in the side seams. I got the inspiration for these little hacks from a pattern I saw on IG - she’s a Russian designer, and I had the pattern in my cart ready to part with my moolahs, when I couldn’t complete the purchase & go any further. It has happened to a couple of us with this designer. So Slow Pants hack to the rescue!!! And I saved my moolahs to spend on other things lol.

The lilac faux piping is the same fabric as my lilac TAL funnel neck top, and the plan was always to add lilac to these pants. This sweatshirting fabric is divine & from .

Oh I do like these pants - a lot!!! Have worn them most days since finishing them last weekend. And they also look mighty fine with my blush pink Hug Hoodie from last year (take my word for it lol).

So why am I hard on myself??? Because I don’t like how look in these photos & it’s taken me since last Sunday to post them lol. I was having a bad hair day and think I look dreadful 😅. I have resisted the urge to get Hubs to take some more - actually, he’s refusing to take more lol, he can’t see anything wrong with the photos he took last week 🤣🤣🤣. It’s so hard getting good help these days 😜.

The weather today is truly spectacular, a sunny, crisp, cold winter’s day.

29/06/2026

Our very dear Aunty Judy is 85 today. She spends a bit of time in a wheelchair now. I came up with an idea to weave her a lap blanket for when she’s in her chair, just wide enough to cover her lap without getting in the way of the wheels. I wanted it long enough to cover the length of her legs, and when folded in half, to cover just her lap & knees. And also to double up as a shawl for her shoulders when she’s sitting in bed.

And I gave myself a week to weave it 😅. I know! I really shouldn’t do this to myself.

The wool is Eden, from , colour Blossom, it’s a really soft pink. The pattern is from the Handwoven magazine - Winter 2024 edition (last photo shows the original from the mag). I adapted the pattern to fit the width I was after. I used the same colour in the warp & weft and the subtle stripe is a dark plum colour.

This wool is so damn squishable and soft. It’s 100% polworth and seriously divine. And the texture of the blanket is super tactile.

It turned out way better than I expected. It’s only my 3rd weaving protect, so there are a few mistakes lol. But you can’t tell where they are unless you look really hard. Threading/dressing the loom took me two days. But the weaving was surprisingly quick. I finished in plenty of time to get it washed, dried and pressed.

I thoroughly enjoyed making this. I’m getting better with each project and this time the whole process made more sense. I might be kinder on myself for my next project & make something a bit smaller lol.

And I’m happy to report that the birthday girl loved it 💗

25/05/2026

About last night 😉.

was last night and it was absolutely fabulous. An amazing time spent with good friends 💗.

Katie , thank you! The entertainment was fun, the food was scrumptious, the venue excellent. And the two Rosies, such a treat to hear their spectacular voices. And how informative to learn where the word Cocktail comes from 🤭🫣😆. That might’ve made snort n laugh out loud.

I wore a mix of new & old. My skirt from last year, a top I kick around in often and the new is the . It’s made from a mystery fabric from a designer sale. And it was dense, has a really high thread count. I know this, because it was super hard to pin and a bit tough to sew. So I am guessing cotton, maybe mixed with tencel as well??? It’s got a lovely soft handle & a bit of a shine (that’ll be the tencel). If I did a burn test I’d be able to figure it out, but don’t have time for that sort of malarky lol. I chose to line it, it’s an unlined pattern, but TAL have instructions on their website. The zip was from the delightful Emma . It was a surprisingly quick and easy sew. And by quick, I do still mean about 6 hours, but that’s not bad for a lined jacket 😅.

I didn’t take any photos on the night, I’m always too busy chatting and catching up. But Samara took a couple of photos of me and her gorgeous Ma Sandy . And Hubs, as always took some before I left the house.

Already looking forward to the next one.

07/05/2026

So I knitted a thing, finished way back in March. I really felt like knitting over summer so choose something that I thought wouldn’t be too hot to work on. It’s probably not going to surprise you - but it was actually too hot to work on 🤪

The yarn is African Expressions - Love (mohair, wool & nylon mix) from . It was lovely to knit. I’m not sure what it was about the pattern, but I found it really hard to get into a groove. It just didn’t knit smoothly for me. I was so close to kicking it to touch but I’m happy I persevered. One of the charts was also wrong (potentially lost in translation to English), don’t you just hate that! Lucky I had experience on my side and figured that out before too long. So I won’t mention the pattern or designer, but if you want deets, just slip into my DMs.

The colour is fabulous - right in my wheelhouse. Fits in with most of my wardrobe - and if I do say so myself, looks pretty good with my lilac - this is their third season coming up & still a firm fav.

I have 2 skeins of yarn left over (I bought extra just in case), so I’m going to knit a snood using the same pattern. Not sure if it’ll happen for this winter 😅.

The sleeves are supposed to be bracelet length - but when I blocked, I stretched them to make them longer - thankfully it worked as planned.

So do I like wearing it? Not too sure yet. I feel as big as a house when I have it on. But I’ve had a few lovely comments so maybe that’s all in my head.

Love having a new knit to wear just in time for colder climes.

And check out my trusty Sidekick Mildred 😍, George is there too, just off to the side (he’s never far away from his sister 💗)

04/05/2026

May the Fourth Be With You 😃.

One of my favourite dates of the year lol. And I asked ChatGPT to make me look like I was celebrating May the Fourth & it came up with this. Now I just need to find a Star Wars themed party to go to so I can make an outfit just like it 🤩

01/05/2026

A couple of weekends ago I was lucky enough to attend another of Prem’s weaving workshops. I’ve been obsessed with the idea of weaving since I went to my first workshop with her in January. It’s taken ALL my willpower to not buy ‘all the things’ and take this up as a new hobby. When I get obsessed with something I have to jump in boots and all and spend all the money - my restraint and caution has been most welcomed by Hubs 😉. But the Weaving Gods had other ideas, and I was gifted a 4 shaft Ashford loom so I took that as a sign that this is indeed a hobby that I need to pursue 🤩. I mean, it would’ve been rude not to right?

Because I knew what to expect this time around, I went in with a bit of a plan. I had some Rowan yarn in my stash that was supposed to be used to knit a jumper, but was perfect for this project. I decided to have quite a tricky draft/pattern (tricky for me lol) because I had Prem on hand to help out when I got stuck, and I did get stuck more than once 😅. I still winged it quite a bit - I planned to use only two colours, but threw in a couple of sections of lighter colour as well. It really was a massive leap from my first weaving project but go hard or go home I reckon. And like when I used to teach Absolute Beginners sewing, if they took on a tricky project near the beginning of their sewing journey - it made everything else seem that much easier. And this plan of attack must’ve worked, as I managed to dress the loom and make a sample piece at home since the workshop. And I didn’t stuff up the threading 🤩. Winning!

So here is my 2nd ever weaving project. I’m pretty happy with it. I don’t know what to call these things - are they a poncho? If anyone knows, please tell me. I wore it out n abouting today and it was quite nice to not wear a jacket/coat but still be warm enough.

I’ve never been gifted a piece of equipment before and I’m super grateful to the lovely Linda for letting me be the next Guardian of this loom 💗 (and thank you Ruth for keeping me in mind). And as I name everything, my loom is now Linnie the Loom 🤩.

The weather today as you can see is an absolutely spectacular autumnal day.

Studio of Sewing

01/09/2026

31/08/2026

22/08/2026

23/07/2026

10/07/2026

29/06/2026

25/05/2026

07/05/2026

04/05/2026

01/05/2026

Address

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Contact The Business

Shortcuts

Share

Category

Listing takedown request