Archie The Wonder Dog

Furtle (v): to have a rummage or delve into the contents of something Hello and welcome to our final furtle of the year! This is going to be quick as I’ve got my end of year report to write for my Fettling List and the 2024 Fettling post to write as well as sorting my own list *gulps* This month, I have finished two pairs of socks: Read about these socks here Read about these socks here And I’ve started another pair: Yarn is West Yorkshire Spinners ‘Wood Pigeon’ (864) Mini Archie has enjoyed the festive season: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Linking up to the December 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 ...

Continuing with my unintentional year of the sock, I’ve finished another pair. These are made with the leftovers from two balls of WYS Brightside, one from a pair I knitted and the other from a pair my friend knitted. They’re both the same dye lot so I assumed that it would be as easy as knitting two socks from the same ball and getting the colour changes to match but that was very much not the case. The first sock, which was knitted all from one ball, went smoothly but when I came to knitting the leg of the second sock, from the other ball, I had constant trouble trying to get the changes to match. Fortunately, once I got to the point where I could swap back to the first ball, things went a lot better. A (different) friend said that although they’re the same dye lot, that will be comprised of many hanks and if one has a tighter twist than the other, they won’t knit up exactly the same. Which makes sense when you think about it and made me feel a lot better about my knitting consistenc...

Furtle (v): to have a rummage or delve into the contents of something Hello! Gosh, this month has felt quite long but there’s been lots of rain and no ridiculously warm weather so I’ve been happy!  I finished the socks I’d started last month and this photo does not accurately depict the colour of them - Jillian’s photo of the yarn on her website is the one to look at if you’re wondering what they actually look like. Yarn is  Peacock from Mothy And The Squid And I’ve started the pair for her husband: Yarn is  Summer Lake by Mothy And The Squid I sewed up the Luna Lapin jumper after a quick demonstration from a friend and I’m pleased to say it went really well. Her two top tips were to split the yarn and just use three (of the seven) plies for sewing up and to use scrap yarn or similar (I used crochet cotton) to tie certain points together rather than using pins (and snip them open as you come to them) which made a huge difference to how easy it was and meant I didn’t get...

Furtle (v): to have a rummage or delve into the contents of something Hello! It has been a verrrrrry busy month full of projects and it’s only when I gathered together the photos for this post that I realised just how much I’d done and also why I’m so very, very tired! (I have done very little else, as Mini Archie would tell you if I let him…) Before I get to that (and yes, I have had to come back and add this in as I completely forgot to mention it, how did you know?), a mid-year progress report link up for Fettle Those Finishes is open until 17th August. I’ve written my progress report and also written a new list (thereby rewriting/ignoring the guidelines of my own linkup). The link up and progress report is here and my new list is here . We are a small but merry band and always welcome newcomers, no matter how short the list. (Mine isn’t short. It’s the opposite of short, in fact.)  I finished a pair of socks for a friend that was well on the way last month but didn’t get s...

Furtle (v): to have a rummage or delve into the contents of something Hello! This month has seen a slight improvement in my arm (and I have a physio appointment for the end of next month) so I’ve not only managed a bit of knitting on the slowest socks ever, but I’ve also been doing some dressmaking.  This is how the socks look now (I’m at the heel): As I mentioned, I’ve slowly been making a very simple summer top to see if it’s possible to whip up a few for this summer. Yes, summer is virtually here but at least I’ve made a start! Since the only shop I’ve found which sells tops properly designed for tall people closed, I’ve not managed to buy any summer tops and the few I do have are well past their best. So this summer is the one where I actually make some tops rather than just plan to.  The pattern I chose from my pattern box is the Lou Box Top . (I have the old version with just a few size bands which was a gift from a friend but decided I didn’t need to buy the updated ver...

The final pair of socks on my Q3 FAL list is finished! These are knitted from 85%/15% merino/nylon yarn from Made By Penguins  called 'Solar'  and are incredibly soft - they'll be like wearing clouds on your feet, I imagine!  I bought it as part of a 'lucky dip' from  Made By Penguins  and t he offer is still available:  lucky Dip 100g merino/nylon ;   lucky Dip 20g merino/nylon  (A very good price for very good yarn, especially if you buy four 100g hanks! I'm still tempted to get another set...) This is item 17 from my  Q3 FAL list  and I'll be linking up with the  finishes party  when the time comes. One of the Wooliam gang mice on instagram ran a sunflower competition this summer and Mini Archie et al entered with enthusiasm but were let down by late sowing, late planting out, and fairly useless compost (finding peat-free compost round here is a challenge so I ended up using Lidl's and I'm not that im...

I have two pairs of socks on this quarter's FAL list and I've finished the first pair!  They're for a friend who likes tailor-made knitted socks which fit just how she prefers so I consulted my copious notes from the previous 4 ply pair I made for her and knitted these, but with a little bit more room (two extra stitches) across the top of the foot. Aren't they a glorious colour?  Like having a sunrise at the end of your legs! This is item 15 on my Q2 list and my first finish of this quarter, which I'll be linking up when the time comes. Mini Archie has a new friend, Billy Fishermouse: Ahoy there!! A 'Mystery Luffly Person' arranged with Sue @wool.i.am  to send Billy to live with us - you can see the pictures of his arrival on my Instagram feed  here and here  (you don't need an instagram account to view them).  His arrival caused a flurry of measuring to see where he fitted in the family: From left: Alf, Mini Archie, Billy...