"Blue becomes red, and red becomes blue, and your mummy suddenly becomes your daddy, and everything looks like a giant cupcake. And you keep laughing, and laughing, and laughing. Nothing is quite the same really. And after you finish laughing, it's time to turn into a frog yourself. Its very funny to be a frog!"

If I had a choice, Kermit the Frog and I would be best friends. As this is unlikely to ever eventuate, wearing a gazillion Kermits will have to do instead!

 I found this awesome fleece fabric on ebay I think, a couple of years ago and have wanted to make a jumper out of it since moving to a place that actually has cold winters. This project was about 15th on my list but made a giant leap frog hop to the top after I saw Amy's version of the new Capital Chic sweater pattern called White Russian. I had been searching for the perfect jumper pattern but nothing jumped out at me until now!

This jumper was so quick to whip up, in fact the longest part was taping together the pattern and then tracing my size. With the sizing I went with the finished garment sizes instead of the body measurements and I'm so glad I did because otherwise this would have turned out two sizes bigger. I wanted a closer fitting sweater so that's why I did that, and with this fabric it was a good decision. The next one I make will be the next size or two down but with a fabric with more stretch. This fleece has one way stretch and the way I had to cut the pattern was against the grain due to only having a yard of it. Sooo, no stretch at all across the bust, and a looser fit around the waist.
I used a contrasting ribbing for all the cuffs and bands, but I think they came out a bit too loose. I also increased the seam allowance for the neck to 2cm to just get a slightly slimmer neck band. Will definitely be making more next winter, this one is almost over!

For the Ears!
M83: Raconte-moi une historie

"a pink triangle on her sleeve"

I eventually got around to making this Roxanne blouse by Victory Patterns. I bought the pattern and fabric at Christmas time, and only now have had the time to whip it up. I set myself little challenges to get heaps of shop and gift sewing done before I make something fun for either the house, my girls or me. It really works for productivity!
I loved this fabric when I saw it in Spotlight, a lightweight polyester mix and thought it would suit the billowiness of the pattern, plus I could oppose the stripe direction on the pocket and the back yoke.

I was worried this fabric would be a bit unruly to sew with but it was great. Everything was going smoothly until I tried it on halfway through and thought it just looked like a massive tent! (btw it is a very large style blouse so if you're after something form fitting this is not the top for you). Also the fabric was SO static that it just clung to me like I had just been swimming in it. For half an hour I sat at my machine contemplating whether I should even bother finishing it as it was probably going to be unwearable. Then I snapped out of it and got on with sewing it. And I'm so glad I did! Once it was finished, ironed and hung on a hanger for awhile it fit great, as in it was just as flowy as I was hoping. I don't know if the static energy disappeared from me wearing a cotton singlet underneath or just being away from the sewing machine's electric energy field but its fine now.
The pattern has won me completely over and I'm so keen to make the collar version in a cotton next up.

 * My 7 year old daughter took these pics of me while the baby was sleeping so that's why they're a little blurry;) although if I'm honest she's just as good a photographer as I am!

** Also this blouse lasted 15mins before being baby spewed on! haha....well I guess the washing machine test came early for this one;)

For the Ears!
Weezer: Pink Triangle

"tonight I'm tangled in my blanket of clouds, dreaming aloud"

It's done! Our band t-shirt blanket. Finally. It took over THREE years to finish! 

Why? 

It's a pretty simple project so all I can say is that I'll blame it on moving house a few times, forgetfulness, lack of spreading out space and if I'm totally honest; procrastination. 

We had a large collection of music tees (and a lot more have resurfaced since - another blanket maybe?) that had their day in the sun, were worn to bits, stretched here and there or just somehow stained or torn. Now these shirts are all very precious memories so I thought the best thing would be to make a lovely warm blanket to keep them all together and give them a new lease on life.

Charging ahead as I sometimes do without thinking first, I went and chopped up most of the shirts into rough squares or rectangles, not thinking of using a more uniform template. This screwed me up majorly later on when I started to lay all the pieces down and realised that it wasn't going to be that easy. So a lot of trimming and (sometimes too much) chopping later, I was able to get some very uneven rows happening. 

And t-shirts stretch all which ways which was frustrating until I decided to iron interface them all, which made a HUGE difference. 

I backed the blanket in a nice soft fleece and bias taped the edges. This blanket is sooooo snuggly and warm and made just in time for THIS winter! The blanket has no uniformity and is all over the place and not really how I would have liked it, but apparently I've just been staring at it for so damn long! It's growing on me. I guess its all scattered like my brain is most of the time.

No longer will I have to hear "Will our blanket be ready this winter??"

For the Ears!
Foo Fighters: Walking After You

"I just wanna scream...........HELLO!"

Welcome to Watson Whims, I'm Erin.

I love to sew, craft, dream and listen to music really loud. I have a little handmade online shop called Watson For Retro Kids where I make a few different things for the little Retro Kids in your life.

I'm hoping to use this space as a motivator for my shop sewing, personal sewing and any crafty ideas that pop into mind;)

Oh and to remember to stop and smell the daisies once in awhile!

For the Ears!
Pearl Jam: Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town