Archie The Wonder Dog

Long, long (long) ago, I started a hand piecing project that I knew would be a long-term project. I had no idea just how long it would actually take. It started when I saw a blog post by Lynne of Lily’s Quilts of her new block and I fell in love with it. Her blog is undergoing some renovation, so this follow up post to the initial one is only post I can find . And on that post, I left this comment: Notice the date - such optimism! I started (not long after Lynne’s post) by making a test block (It was made into a  mini quilt in June 2015 ) I bought background fabric and furtled through my fabric boxes to find suitable prints and plains (and a lovely friend  bought me some bright tone on tone fabrics at FOQ (or maybe the first Fat Quarterly retreat?) to supplement what I had) and by April 2013, I had this: And by the start of June, I had my first block: It took me eighteen months to finish the next block (isn’t it amazing how long things take to make when you’re not working on t...

Furtle (v): to have a rummage or delve into the contents of something Hello! This month I’ve made what feels like a giant leap towards finishing ET: I’ve finished the quilting! (Turns out that actually picking it up and doing some quilting makes quite the difference to how quickly you can hand quilt. See also: not allowing yourself to do any other sewing/knitting until said quilting is complete. Who knew?!) Not only that, but I’ve trimmed it, cut and joined the binding strips and there’s just a short pressing session and then a longer machine sewing session standing between me and watching a film while sewing the binding to the back. And as well as all that quilting, writing my Fettling List  and sorting out the link up in case anyone else wants to join in , I’ve knitted a sock. Which I was absolutely allowed to start because I was between stages in the ET finishing (and none of those stages were sitting on the settee watching telly stages), I just won’t be allowed to touch it on...

Furtle (v): to have a rummage or delve into the contents of something Hello! ET has led me on a merry dance this month (there was a very brief moment where I wondered whether I should just set fire to it, such was the feeling) but I think we’ve come to an understanding. More of that in a moment. I finished the soft-as-a-cloud socks for my friend Trudi  and they fit, which is always a bit of relief. Particularly with a sock yarn with such a different row gauge from my usual sock yarns. She wanted double length cuffs so she could fold them over, which is why they look so much longer than other cuffs. Yarn is a 4ply alpaca, silk and cashmere from  Coastal Colours I made another pair, this time for me, and had a bit of a needle disaster mid round: Yarn is seaglass tonal (high twist) from  Mothy & The Squid And started some for presents (I have four pairs to knit, two of which need to be finished by the end of the year) Yarn is Opal Rainforest 17 colour way 11095 ‘Referee’...

Hello!  I'd like to start by saying thank you very much for all the lovely comments you left on my previous post about Archie.  I'll be honest, I did intend replying individually to each and every one, but I just can't do it, so please consider this your reply.  Thank you xx I've finished quite a few things, both from my  Finish-Along lists  and not (oops!), and here's a sample: Mini Archie's hexy quilt Welly socks for Moo Socks for Sarah (Moo's mam) Socks for me A tunic ( Kate Dress ) for me A crocheted wreath, started before last Christmas and abandoned when it became clear it wouldn't be finished in time! A Fair Isle jumper for Mini Archie (my first ever Fair Isle and my first ever jumper, what a project to start with!) I finished my seaside embroidery (on my FAL since Q3 2015) and made it into a pouch A Lola pouch for a friend A Lola pouch for my sister-in-law Another wreath which...

*gropes around for light switch*   *gasps in horror at the dust*  *flicks around a tickle stick*  *shows age* Hello! Today the Q1 finishes link opens for the 2017 Finish-Along and I thought it was high time I started catching up on blogging about my (sort of) recent finishes. My Q1 FAL list can be found here , and this blog is all about item one, the big blue and white quilt. I started the quarter in my usual manner: like a greyhound out of the traps.  I then continued in my usual manner: having a lie down about quarter of the way round.  This time, it was more pronounced because I wanted this quilt finished in time for my mam's birthday in early January. At the start of the quarter, the project looked like this: I don't know what that ball of perle is doing there, I certainly didn't use it to sew down the binding! and I just needed to sew down the binding to the back. Here's how it looked when I finished it: I started this project in ...