Archie The Wonder Dog

It’s once again time to assess our progress thus far in our quest to fettle our finishes (or some of them) and I don’t know about the rest of you but my report won’t be very long at all!  I’ve added a new project to the list , found the background fabrics I want to use (and thanked past me for washing and ironing them as they arrived), bought the plains I needed (and washed and ironed those) and assembled my project tin. And that’s as far as I’ve got (other than adding the needles I forgot to put in when I was assembling the tin). Ah well, we’ve another six months until the end of year report *bites lip* I removed a row and the last block in each remaining row from the Winterkist quilt so it could go to my friend Cath, a longarm quilter, to have extra quilting added: And I’ve made a Christmas tree bauble! Oh, and I’ve read twenty-nine books from the book queue, taken one out and put it straight on the donate pile (not my sort of book at all, no idea why I have it), and started but ...

  Furtle (v): to have a rummage or delve into the contents of something It’s a good job I have a secret finish from last month to show you because otherwise my contribution to this Furtle would be the link to join in and nothing else! Not only did I forget to review my mini objectives in last month’s post, I also forgot to set new ones*. As it turns out, that matters not a jot! I have higher hopes for July, but it’s very much weather dependent as if we have yet another heatwave I shall likely be as successful as this month.  In May I realised that if I got a shift on, I could make something I’ve been meaning to make for a while in time for the birthday of the friend it was for and the thing which was stopping me suddenly became clear: make it as a Christmas tree decoration. What’s the something? This pattern by Laura Howard  (she also has a blog, Bugs and Fishes ) which is designed as a decorative embroidery hoop but that wasn’t something I could see fitting in my friend'...

  Furtle (v): to have a rummage or delve into the contents of something Hello! I’ve done some sewing this month! Unfortunately, I can’t share it just yet so instead I have this: That’s all the fabric washed and ironed (fortunately just the pink FQs and the panda LV) for my new project, my quilt stamp project bag (ink pads, stamps, apliquick scissors for cutting the pieces out (they have a tiny pinked blade which means the pieces fray less and are easier to cut out), etc.) downstairs, and waiting and a project tin established but I’ve a feeling I’ve forgotten something vital. Here’s a closer look at the project tin: Two pin cushions as I couldn’t decide which pins I’ll use (fine glass-headed or entomology) so brought both down; a needle minder (on the tin wall next to the mice) in case I need to park my needle for more than a few seconds (which has reminded me what I’ve forgotten: needles!); two pairs of embroidery scissors, one for cutting threads and another with a fine pinked bla...

Furtle (v): to have a rummage or delve into the contents of something I’ve made some progress on my new project! After looking at all the LV backgrounds I had: and considering how I wanted the quilt to look, I decided to just use four backgrounds (rather than lots, as in the one which is on an indefinite pause) and, with the help of a friend, chose these and decided their placement in the blocks: This is where they’ll be placed in each block: So there’ll be much more of the top two which also happen to be the two I have most of but that wasn’t the main reason for the order. The bottom print (which has pandas on but I’m not sure many will feature (I may include one, maybe two)) will be fussy cut so that they curve round the pale pink corners of each block, like so: Fantastic work by me with Markup, I bet you thought a professional had done it. And I’ve washed (but not ironed) the pink FQs and the one background (pandas) which hadn’t been washed. I’m very glad past me washed and ironed t...

  Furtle (v): to have a rummage or delve into the contents of something Last month I was wondering what to do about the LV scrappy trip top on my Fettling List  and this month I’ve officially added a new project:  The pinks are AGF pure solids from  Sew and Quilt  who kindly provided each one as FQs rather than continuous length as it’ll be much easier for me I’m now, as you can see, pondering background fabric choices and contemplating not making it quite as scrappy as the other version. Hopefully I’ll have made a decision by the end of April, but don’t hold your breath! Mini Archie has, as always, kept an eye on things: I might need a pink jumper or a pink pair of dungas. Or pink trews and a pink jumper. Or all free.  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 yo...

Furtle (v): to have a rummage or delve into the contents of something Hello! This will be a very quick post because I have very little progress to report; in fact it’s so little that it’s invisible.  I decided to get the LV scrappy trip top out for a look to assess what to do to make it smaller. As a reminder (because it’s been so long since it was in an actual post), it currently looks like this: It’s too big (and I suspect will be too heavy for me once it’s got wadding and backing added) so needs to be made smaller. My plan was that I’d remove some of the outer rows and end blocks as I did with the Winterkist quilt last month and also swap some fabric from remaining blocks that I no longer like. (In truth, I wasn’t that struck when I was making the blocks so have no idea why I didn’t just not use them *rolls eyes at past me*) When I got it out to see what would look best (I’ve been scribbling on a screen up until now), I realised that rather than removing rows and end blocks, th...

  Furtle (v): to have a rummage or delve into the contents of something Before I start this post proper, I just wanted to remind you that the Fettle Those Finishes! 2025 end of year reports link will close tonight at 11pm and that the Fettle Those Finishes 2026 lists link is open until 28th February at 11pm.  January has been a month with unexpected progress (thanks to yet another course of medication which gives me insomnia) and the project which I chose (or, more accurately, which leapt into my arms and begged to be worked on) was my Winterkist quilt. As a reminder, this is how it looked at the start of the year: It has looked like this since December 2022 I decided in 2024 that it’s now too big and heavy (it’s got cotton fleece as a backing (no wadding, just a cotton bedsheet to provide stability to the fleece)) and that I also wasn’t going to be able to do the rest of the quilting myself. The plan had been that each gnome would be outlined in matching thread and that the...