Archie The Wonder Dog

Furtle (v): to have a rummage or delve into the contents of something This month I finally finished the socks I started in March, but not before the downside of scrappy socks reared its head again: I don’t actually mind darning in the ends once I’ve done the first few  (I always start at the toe and get the hardest ones done first: I think they’re the hardest because your non-darning hand is inside the sock and so if the needle comes unthreaded or anything, its not   immediately , well, handy.)   That’s another set of socks-to-be out of The Cupboard Of Possibilities and into the sock drawer. It’s also another tick off my Fettling List , hooray!  Yarn is ‘Out With A BANG!’ by  Birdstreet Yarn  (a leftover from these socks   which has hung around for a comparatively short time), an indie pink, an Opal pink and an indie purple - all leftovers.  I’ve started the next pair, using yarn given to me by a friend (the same one who gave me the indie pink and...

  Furtle (v): to have a rummage or delve into the contents of something The help Mini Archie gave me with the cuff last month  proved to be invaluable and I now have two (sock) legs and two (sock) heels: Will I have enough zebra yarn to make it to the toes? Find out next month! It has to be said, though, that sometimes his snoopervising can go a bit far: Hullo Linking up to the April Furtle  If you're linking up, please add a link (one per person, please) to your blog post, which could contain: a mosaic of all you've made in the month, something you've made/started/worked on, a goal which you'd like to achieve in the next month (and then in next month's post you can reflect on that goal and set yourself another one - I find this particularly handy if I'm in the midst of a big project and finding the making of hundreds of blocks to be interminable), anything crafty you'd like to share. This isn't just for sewing or quilting, but is for all crafts so if yo...

  Furtle (v): to have a rummage or delve into the contents of something This month I managed to knit the pair to the sock I knitted last month: Yarn is “Soul Power” from  The Yarn Badger And I’ve made a (small) start on the next pair: What is I doing wif your knitting? Well you doesn’t seem to be doing  anyfing wif it so I finked I needed to give you a helping paw to get the cuff finished Linking up to the March Furtle  If you're linking up, please add a link (one per person, please) to your blog post, which could contain: a mosaic of all you've made in the month, something you've made/started/worked on, a goal which you'd like to achieve in the next month (and then in next month's post you can reflect on that goal and set yourself another one - I find this particularly handy if I'm in the midst of a big project and finding the making of hundreds of blocks to be interminable), anything crafty you'd like to share. This isn't just for sewing or quilting, b...

    Furtle (v): to have a rummage or delve into the contents of something Hello! I’ve made good progress this month with my year of socks for me. I’ve finished the socks I started  last month : Read about them  here And started the next pair: Only two ends on this sock, thank goodness! Yarn is “Soul Power” by The Yarn Badger Which means I’m exactly halfway through  Time to start the next one *firm face* The  link party for Fettle Those Finishes! 2025  closes tonight so if you want to join, assemble a list and link before 11pm (GMT) - remember that the list can be edited throughout the year so all you need is one item on it to link up if you’re short of time. Linking up to the February Furtle  If you're linking up, please add a link (one per person, please) to your blog post, which could contain: a mosaic of all you've made in the month, something you've made/started/worked on, a goal which you'd like to achieve in the next month (and then in next ...

The socks I started last month (and which I worried about reaching the end of the yarn before reaching the end of the toes in my last post ) are finished and ready to go on my feet! This is what I started with:  The two balls on the outside left are the same yarn This is what they looked like when I finished them and turned them inside out to darn in the ends: <gulps> Yes, I got a shock at just how many there were! I didn’t want it to look obvious that I’d used four different yarns so did ten rounds of one of the two bigger balls, then five of one of the smaller, then ten of the other big ball and five of the other small ball until I hit the heel (which is the same yarn as the cuff and first ten rounds of the leg and toe as well as the first ten rounds of the instep) and then continued until I ran out of the smaller balls. I then alternated the larger balls but each time I used them, I started from the other end of the yarn to mix it up a bit (so either started with the end w...

Furtle (v): to have a rummage or delve into the contents of something Hello! Another quick post from me this month but first a reminder that the link party for Fettle Those Finishes! 2025 is open until the end of February so please feel free to join us.  This month I have mainly been resting and watching telly (Professor T, Dalgleish, The Traitors Australia, The Traitors U.K. (hoping to finish that soon as spoilers are getting increasingly difficult to avoid) while knitting socks. I finished the socks I didn’t manage to finish last year and got the first thing crossed off my Fettling List : Read about them here And have made great progress on the first pair of the year for me: Don’t worry about those holes, that’s where the yarn has been broken off an a new one started and will be sorted once the ends have been darned in.  How it started: How it’s going: Is you absolutely sure you has enough to finish bof socks? (I’m not, no!)   This post is later in the day than usual a...

 Care to guess what I’ve finished?!  . . . Did you guess socks? If so, you’re right; if not, what did you guess? These socks are for a friend and will be the only socks I knit for someone else for at least the rest of this year and Mini Archie has his firm face on to prove it *quivers* Yarns are “Red” and “Turquoise” from  Made By Penguins As always with  Made By Penguins ’ yarn, it knitted up beautifully!   Mr Random Number Generator has chosen the yarn for the next socks and I don’t even have to do any winding as it’s leftovers from previous Made By Penguins socks: For mine next trick, you will turn these into socks!  That’s one thing crossed off my Fettling List  and we’re not halfway through the month yet! (The advantage of not finishing a relatively small something last year is that you’re almost guaranteed an early finish if you keep working on it until it’s done.) 

A quick post to let you know that the link party for your Fettling lists is now open. You can link up below or on the  main post , it doesn’t matter which as it’s the same link party on both posts.  Hooray, it’s time to link up your lists! You are invited to the Inlinkz link party! Click here to enter

  Hello, and welcome to the fourth full year of  Fettle Those Finishes!   It lasts for the whole year so I’ll leave it open until 28th February to give you chance to think about and assemble your list - it’s not something to rush into and can take quite a while unless you’re like me and there’s a tendency to be able to copy and paste from the previous list to populate the new one and only need minor tweaks *sighs*   Adding stuff to your list (or taking things off if you’ve changed your mind about a project) through the year is perfectly acceptable. Encouraged, in fact, as there’s no point in sticking with something you no longer love/need just out of habit. Just make sure anything added is added before you finish it, it’s up to you how you define that. There’ll be a progress link up on 1st July (which I also tend to use as an opportunity to write a new list) and I’ll (try to) remind you in the June  Furtle . The rules Be kind. Be encouraging. Be honest. Don’t pu...

It’s time to consider how Fettle Those Finishes! 2024 went and see what progress we made on our list. I’ll go first, shall I? This year was the first year I had a table at the top of  my list  right from the start and I’m definitely continuing with that (while also wishing I knew more (anything!) about writing code). I have made progress compared with the progress report from July , which is always satisfying, so let’s get down to the nitty gritty, shall we? I’ve knitted nine pairs of socks : I say this every year but next year I really need to remember to take all the finished sock photos  in the same format, not a mix of square and rectangle! Fettling Score = 9 I’ve also knitted a hat: Read about it here Fettling Score = 10 Revived a clock: Read about it here Fettling Score = 11 And replaced the labels on my scrap and FQ boxes: Read about them here Fettling Score = 12 This means I’ve scored (just) less than a third of last year’s total but twelve Fettling Points is stil...

  Furtle (v): to have a rummage or delve into the contents of something As usual, this is going to be a quick post as I have my Fettling List 2025 to sort; my end of year report to write, which is available now and the link party will remain open until the end of January; and the Fettle Those Finishes 2025 post to write, which will be posted tomorrow and the link party will be open from 10th January (at 11pm GMT) until the end of February. This month I have knitted a pair of socks! Yarn is “Red” from  Made By Penguins I have one pair left to knit and then that’s the 2024 list of “socks for others” finished! As I’ve only knitted for other people this year, once the next pair are finished, I will only be knitting for myself for at least the remainder of 2025 and possibly beyond - I need to not spend all my (limited) knitting(/sewing) time and energy making for other people so I’ve decided that I am going to say no/not offer next year. I would have liked to get the final pair mad...

    Furtle (v): to have a rummage or delve into the contents of something Hello! It’ll be a quick post this month as I’ve run out of energy! I have, however, done some knitting and finished the socks I started last month: Yarn is a mulberry silk/yak mix from  Coastal Colours I’ve not worked with this mix of fibres before but it was lovely to knit with and knitted up beautifully, I imagine the socks will be warm but light to wear.  Mini Archie is gearing up for Advent: There’s still time to knit I a nother Christmas jumper *hopeful face*  No? *disappointed face* Maybes for next year? *hopeful face*  Linking up to the November Furtle  If you're linking up, please add a link (one per person, please) to your blog post, which could contain: a mosaic of all you've made in the month, something you've made/started/worked on, a goal which you'd like to achieve in the next month (and then in next month's post you can reflect on that goal and set yourself another...