The Pug & Needle

So on a trip to Maui, not only do you need some cute dresses, you also need some easy basics too. Enter the Deer & Doe Plantain pattern (and if you don't have it already, go get, it's free and it's awesome!).

I've made this pattern a number of times, and it's super easy to whip up.

This one is made from a gorgeous bamboo jersey knit from Blackbird fabrics. This fabric is super drapey and feels amazing. It's so dreamy! Where has bamboo jersey been all my life?? It's also nice and breathable, so feels cool against the skin.

Also pictured are a pair of Carolyn shorts. I made them out of a lightweight denim that came from Joann's (when we were in Palm Dessert last November). It might be a little grandma-walmart-jeansish, but it's soft and comfy and I think it works as long as I keep the elastic waistband hidden. I was a little worried that these might be a little too short for wearing out of the house, but once we got to Maui, this fear disappeared. I have worn them here a ton! I'll probably make another pair or two for the summer out of different fabric (I'm thinking linen or a cotton/linen blend of some sort). I think they would also be really cute with back pockets added.

This Plantain is made from a lovely knit I got from Wanderlust Fabrics. I can't remember the content exactly, but I think it's got a bit of rayon in it as well. I got it months ago when my hair was pink, and I've been saving it for when my hair would inevitably change and wouldn't clash as much. I used to have a RTW shirt with the same colour of stripes and I loved it, so when I saw this fabric I bought a yard with plans to make a t-shirt.

Can you see the micro stripes? This fabric is super nice and soft too and was really nice to work with.

Paired again with my Carolyn shorts. Told you I wore them a lot!

This lovely purple Plaintain is made from a cotton spandex jersey from Girl Charlee. It's not quite as drapey as the other two, but just as comfy.

All three of these tees are a straight size 44, and I shortened them by about 2 inches after I made them. They were all constructed with my serger and topstitched with my converstitch machine.

With this one, I am wearing my very first pair of me-made shorts (I made them last summer). I used the Juba shorts pattern and if you are interested, you can read my post about them here.

We are getting ready to head home tomorrow. It's been a lovely trip, but I'm ready to get home to the pugs, and to sleep in my own bed, and to sew!! I can't believe how much I've missed it.

What do you miss most when you go on holiday? Do you miss your hobbies too?

Do you ever have those days where things just don't work out? That seems to be the story of my week with photos. I'm just in a bit of a funk. I finished these jeans on Sunday afternoon and have made several attempts to photograph them, but I am just not happy with how I look in the photos. I finally decided today, after 4 attempts that I was just gonna go with it. I mean come on, I made another pair of Ginger jeans!! I can't just hide them away from my blog because I'm having a bad hair/skin/shoe day. So with that in mind, I am presenting you with quite a mish-mash of photos, but I think this combo showcases my latest Gingers quite well.

This is Version A again. I made a few changes this time: I lengthened the rise by 1 inch, and I lengthened the front crotch curve by 1/4" (I thought I would start small). I had a few smile lines on my last pair, so I thought that might help, but I don't think it made much difference; the lines are still there, they are just a bit straighter now. I might add another 1/4" next time, but I'm not sure. I'm pretty happy with the fit as is, so I don't really want to mess around with it too much more.

I also slimmed the leg down by an inch. I took 1/4 inch off each side seam on each leg, grading to zero about mid thigh. This made the legs skinny, but not super skinny like my last pair. I quite like it, although I am struggling with shoe choices. I have these cute booties, but they just look wrong, and I don't always want to wear tall boots. Yeesh! First world problems. But seriously what kind of shoes do you were with stovepipe legs?

For something different, I went with blue topstitching thread. I really like how it turned out. My machine had some troubles making barracks with this time, and I'm not really sure why. I'm thinking that maybe this thread was just a pinch too thick, or I might need a slightly thicker needle. Anyway, I took what I could get so the barracks don't match and are a little bit longer than I would have liked.

This lovely dark stretch denim came from JoAnn's in Palm Desert. We were in California back in November for a work thing for John, so we hit JoAnn's and we found lots of great fabric. I know that some of you American sewists don't think too highly of it, but I found a number of great bottom weight fabrics (at good prices) and some great flannels and shirtings too, plus I got a wicked deal on Olfa blades for my rotary cutter (half-price - and they were regularly priced half of what I pay for them here). So I have nothing but love for JoAnn's myself. (For my fellow Canucks, JoAnn's is like a combination of Michaels & Fabricland/Fabricville, i.e. Crafter's Heaven.) Anyway, I think this denim is awesome. It's stretchy, has great recovery, and it's kind of brushed on the wrong side, so it is super soft and it feels like pyjamas! Hooray for pyjama jeans!

As you can see, this pair isn't as highwaisted as the pattern's Version B, but they still hit just below my belly button. I really want to try Version B, but I'm afraid they might be a bit too high for this petite lady. I'm afraid the waist would sit right underneath my boobs, and I'm not sure that would be very flattering. But who knows? The 70's are making a comeback right? I may still give them a go just to see. I also went a bit rivet crazy on this pair. I changed the coin pocket so that you would see both sides of it (basically I just folded it under and topstitched) so that I could have more rivets! You can't see it, but I put rivets on both corners of both back pockets too.

I'm not sure I am in love with the high-waistedness. I can't decide if it's really flattering, or too mom-jean. You pretty much never see my waist anyway, cause my tops usually cover it, so it's not really a big deal, but I'm still not really sure about it. I probably just need to get used to it. I also went with the built in pocket stays as described in Heather Lou's sew-a-long. I think they do make a difference in taming the tum, and adding a bit more structure.

As you can see I have also made 2 more Linden Sweatshirts. I opted for the short sleeved, hemmed version this time, but I'm not entirely sure it's for me. Super comfy, but I think my figure benefits from the hem band, so I may just stick with the long-sleeved version. Or maybe I'll just add a hem band next time. I have already professed my love for Linden in my last post, but I have to say it again, it's a great pattern. I whipped these up on my serger in just over an hour, and they are so comfy!! Both are made out of hacci sweat knits I had in my stash, but I think they are both from fabric.com. So that's it for now.

Do you have bad photo/blogging days? How do you cope, and/or what do you do to get out of the funk? Also have you made Ginger Jeans yet, if not, what's holding you back?

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