Newer Post Older Post

Mini Archie's January Furtle Around The Blogosphere



Archie The Wonder Dog

Hello!  And welcome to the very first furtle! I've added a Furtling page to my permanent pages but here's a brief explanation:

Back in the day (gosh, I sound old!), Lynne at Lily's Quilts had a monthly link up (called Fresh Sewing Day) where people shared sewing which had made them happy or which they wanted advice on, or just a round up of all they had done that month.  I loved those posts and connecting with quilters round the world and made lots of friends through them.  As happens, times change and many blogs became neglected in favour of Instagram.  I managed to blog fairly regularly until 2015/16 and I've really missed it.  I decided that having a monthly link up like the old days would help me get back into blogging regularly (well, once a month at least!) so I asked Lynne if I could revive FSD or do something similar and she said generously said yes. With the help of a group of friends (which we named The Furtlers after a comment from one of us) who've been talking about reviving their blogs/have recently started a blog/never neglected theirs in the first place and so are a shining example to us all, I've set up this monthly link up and hope that it helps us rediscover the enjoyment of blogging and the slower pace of life on a blog rather than the often frantic pace which Instagram brings.  (That's not to say that I don't love Instagram, I do, it's just that I find myself longing for a deeper look into a project and to read the story behind it and I think a blog is the best place to do that.)

Please add a link (one per person, please) to your blog post, which could contain: a mosaic of all you've made in January, something you've made/started/worked on, a goal which you'd like to achieve in February (and then in February'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 you knit, make lace, make clothes, do anything which could come under the heading of 'craft', then please link up.

If you link up, please visit the link immediately before and after you and leave an encouraging comment - we all know that comments create joy, so let's spread some around. Also, please treat all the linked posts and their authors with respect - I want this to be an inclusive space for all crafters and crafts and all are welcome.  If you're not sure if you're welcome or you belong, you do - this is by no means a closed space and if you want to join, then you are most welcome. If you need help linking up, please leave a comment and I will do my best to help.

To link up, go to the link at the bottom of this page and click on 'link up' (it's a blue button) and then add your link (website URL), a title (this could be your blog name but could also be something interesting to draw people to it (keep it clean!) if you prefer), and your email.  This last one doesn't appear on the link (I will have access to it - I won't use it unless there's a problem and I need to contact you) so don't worry that you're about to share your email address with the world (or the handful of people who find this link), you're not! The link will remain open until 11pm (GMT) on 4th February; if you're seeing this post after this date, I'm afraid you can't link up to the January Furtle, but can link next month if you like.


This month, I have finally started piecing my aqua/low volume scrappy trip blocks.  I've had this project prepped for months (years, possibly) but have never seemed to have the time to sit at the machine and get started.  For Christmas, I requested a set of quilt stamps (find them here) and chose one which had a 2" square so that I could stamp my pieces (they're already cut as I was going to machine piece) and hand piece them instead. So far, I love the stamps (well, stamp - I've only used the 2" square) and it's a lot easier than my usual way of prepping.  Of course, they're no good if you want to create your own blocks made of non-standard pieces, but there are many sets and for the projects I want to hand piece using standard pieces, they're ideal.  I have a fancy to work my way through my scrap boxes stamping 2" squares to make some postage stamp rainbow blocks. At some point...


Here's my first block:


And the back (if you look closely, you can just see some of the stamped lines - for this one I mainly used the white ink pad, but struggled to see the lines at night so have swapped to the sand ink pad for the second block, which I'll hopefully show next month):



Needless to say, Mini Archie is keeping a close eye on progress (which, while slow, is faster than no progress at all!):
Get back to your sewing, missy!


Thanks for popping in!


Inlinkz Link Party

Hazel missed the link up by a few hours, but here's the link to her post: https://haallred.blogspot.com/2019/02/furtling-first.html - it would be lovely if some of you could visit her! Thank you!

Comments

  1. Hey Archie, thank you for getting the ball rolling on some blog appreciation! Love your jumper btw. Now I have to go to the furtling page to find out what the real meaning is, though I have some idea...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sooper job with the stamps--are they not the best thing since Tunnocks? MA looking suitably authoritative there. (Does he mean me?) I'm away to my sewing. Just in case. ;) xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The stamps are brilliant, I'm so glad Annie posted about them because I'd have had no idea they existed! And yes, best do some sewing just in case he moves from his position over my right shoulder and spots you not working diligently...

      Delete
    2. Oups! I was stitching, honest! Am doing the sleep thing shortly, though. Nanight all! xx

      Delete
    3. He says he knows you were - Tings reported back...

      Delete
    4. Ah... The purpose of Twilight Barking becomes clear. ;)

      Delete
  3. Apparently, Googl thinks I have a Blogger blog. I'm on Wordpress, unless It knows summat I don't... This is IG Hazel, btw, not some random madwoman. Although... xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think Google can be more than a little strange when it comes to blog comments. And at other times, obviously. I'm replying here because Google didn't send your email address with the comment and I don't seem to have it - hope you see these replies!

      Delete
    2. Heheh, yea, probs because it won't let me sign in any other way. I'll DM you my email rather than blurt it out here, I think.

      Delete
    3. I know - Blogger is rubbish for signing in and only lets you do so with a Google log in *sighs* I shall do some investigating to see if there's a new way... (And yes, a DM would be most sensible, thanks x)

      Delete
  4. Slightly confused re the stamps even after looking at your link, where is the blogpost you refer to for more info.........intrigued.

    ReplyDelete
  5. what a great idea. I've relaunched my crafty blog and need to connect to people but had no idea where to find them.
    I think its interesting how many I have read who are going back to blogging both in terms of craft and gardening, its as if as you say the rush of IG and other platform is too much and with not enough info.
    Will take some pics later and post this evening

    ReplyDelete
  6. Helen, this is a great idea - thanks for setting it up. It's nice to find such a welcoming community as a new blogger (pointy stick optional...).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Alex! I don't seem to have your email address (stupid Blogger and it's stupid rules about which comments it will and won't attach an email address to), so I hope you see this reply. I don't think I'd have been brave enough to set this up without knowing The Furtlers were there for support (as well as endless checking of whether photos had disappeared again!), so thank you for your encouragement. I'm afraid the pointy stick seems to be staying...

      Delete
  7. Goody! I hope I find out how to link up to the monthly do. At the moment the «button» won’t accept my URL. But I have a January blogpost with pics of what I have done :) Look forward to visiting some new blogs.
    Glad Mini Achie will keep an eye on proceedings :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your blocks and visiting the other links. I think Fresh Sewing Day was the first linky party I ever joined. I'll look forward to Furtling here, now :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. well done Helen, I think this is such a good idea, thank you for supporting us bloggers!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great idea and thanks for the link to the quilt stamps. I've been looking for something like these for a while x

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thank you so much for hosting the linky party and including all forms of crafting. I found you from Janine's (Rainbow Hare) website. Your block is so pretty and back is so clean. :)

    -Soma

    ReplyDelete
  12. Where is the pointy stick :-) looking spiffing young man!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hellooooooooo! I blogged! Hope you were sitting down its only been 3 years!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Trying to comment for 3rd time - not sure what's going on. Thank you for encouraging blog resurrection and sharing in this medium that is definitely different fro IG, which has its own merits. It will be nice to see a little more story than IG allows again. Fingers crossed.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Having another go at commenting in the hope of success. Thank you for encouraging blog resurrection and sharing in this medium that is definitely different from IG, which has its own merits. It will be nice to see a little more story than IG allows again. Fingers crossed.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thank you so much BC and MA- it's all looking fab! and any progress is progress :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thanks for the virtual kick up the bum to prove I actually sewed in January, rather than just coughing and sneezing all month!

    ReplyDelete
  18. What a grand idea AM! Just found you yesterday and, unfortunately, find I'm too late to link up my January Furtle post. Just in case, here it is: https://haallred.blogspot.com/2019/02/furtling-first.html.
    Looks like I'd better calculate GMT to MST! Anyway, thanks for having this blogging incentive.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Hazel! I can't find a way to add a link to a closed link up, but I've added your link underneath it in the hope that people will spot it and visit. See you at the February furtle!

      Delete
  19. I missed linking up in January, but came to visit anyway. I think Archie needs to wave his pointy stick at those rogue linky up pirates!

    ReplyDelete
  20. You are so clever to revive this Helen :) I’ve been thinking about my blog a lot lately especially as IG gets worse and found myself waaaay back in my blog the other day as I was searching for info on an old quilt and came across quite a few Fresh Sewing Day posts !! Looking forward to linking up - kisses to MA xx

    ReplyDelete
  21. Oh and I agree with Helen Jean - give those naughty linky pirates a quick shift with your pointy stick MA :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I love comments, thank you for yours!!

P.S. I've had to activate comment moderation for older posts so if your comment doesn't appear, it's probably in my inbox awaiting my attention!
P.P.S. If you have a 'no reply' account (no blogger id/a wordpress blog/you aren't sure), please feel free to leave me a separate comment with just your email address in it (myemailaddress(at)wherever.co.uk to save any bots grabbing it), I shall add that to my address book so I can reply via email and then delete that comment. No worries if not, I shall reply within the comments!