Archie The Wonder Dog

  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...

  Furtle (v): to have a rummage or delve into the contents of something Hello! This month has been a bit more productive and I’ve actually done some knitting! I knitted the second sock to complete the pair I started in June: I’m thrilled to finally have them finished. The yarn is a sock set from  Yarn Unique  but there wasn’t enough of the main yarn for me to knit the whole of the second foot so that sock has a bigger pink toe section: This is another thing crossed off the Fettling List  and I’ve made a start on the next thing: Once again, these are for a friend and the yarn is a Mulberry silk and yak mix from  Coastal Colours . Mini Archie is particularly keen on it: It’s a bit big but this is a verrrrry cosy hat you is making I *beams* Linking up to the October 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...

Furtle (v): to have a rummage or delve into the contents of something I finished two things this month! Unfortunately, they weren’t on my Fettling List  but I really enjoyed them: My first jigsaw in quite a number of years, why did I stop?! Three pieces missing, the perils of buying a used jigsaw from eBay, I suppose. And that was where this post was going to end but Mini Archie caught wind of my plans to not tackle those sock ends before I published the post and did this: I is going to sit here and stare at you until you does these ends *hard stare* So now I have one finished sock and have just cast on its pair: All those ends! *dramatic face* Linking up to the September 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 ...

  Furtle (v): to have a rummage or delve into the contents of something I’ve finished two things this month, which was a considerable shock, albeit a very pleasant one. First finished was this little clock: Read about it here And then I glued more fabric onto a background, this time rectangular: Read about it here I’ve also finished knitting the sock I started in June but haven’t yet darned in the ends, hopefully I’ll have that done and the second sock cast on by the next Furtle. I love the way a contrast cuff, heel and toe look on socks but it quadruples the number of ends to deal with (from two (very manageable) to eight (feels like a mountain to climb at times!)) so I’ll need to make a large pot of tea and then force myself to tackle them. (My rule is that I can’t start the second sock until the first is finished and that includes the ends, unfortunately!) Yarn is from Yarn Unique Mini Archie is keen to get the next sock cast on: Chip chop, let’s get these ends sorted *chivvying...

  Furtle (v): to have a rummage or delve into the contents of something Progress has been made on the sock I’d just got started last month and it currently looks like this: Yarn is from  Yarn Unique But the most exciting thing to happen this month happened just this week: Can you see it? How about now? Now?! When I had a new side gate and fence built in 2022, I asked them to cut a hole in the bottom of the fence near the gate to create a hedgehog hole and this is proof that it’s working!    Mini Archie is hoping to get a presenting role on Spring Watch next year: This is where the hedgehog was Hiding yesterday afternoon; he isn’t here now but we hopes to see him this evening, obviously from a discreet distance so we doesn’t disturb him. Come back laterer for more updates. Now back to Chris and Michaela for an update about the blue tit chicks we has beed following.    Linking up to the July Furtle  If you're linking up, please add a link (one per...

It’s the halfway point (ish) of this year’s Fettle Those Finishes!  which means it’s time for our progress reports. (I think mine is going to be quite short.) So far this year, I’ve knitted six pairs of socks : And one hat: So not exactly covering myself in glory but it does work out at more than one finish a month, which is nice.  Verdict: slow progress, steady at times, consistency remains an issue. Fettling Points earned so far: 7 There have been some minor tweaks to my  Fettling List , so minor that I don’t need a part II list this year. How have you got on? Write your progress report and link it below, the party will remain open until 10th August because I forgot to mention it in the Furtling post on Sunday, knew I’d missed something! You are invited to the Inlinkz link party! Click here to enter

Furtle (v): to have a rummage or delve into the contents of something You’ll never guess what: I’ve finished the socks I started in April! Here they are: Yarn is ‘Healing Hugs’ by  Pixie Yarn I’m thrilled to say that they fit perfectly, which is always a relief when you’re making for feet you haven’t seen in person and which can’t try on the first sock before you start on the second.  Not only have I finished the April socks, I’ve started another pair. I haven’t got very far yet: Mini Archie has decreed that it’s tuna shirt and yellow shorts season: Yes, I does look spiffing among the feverfew flowers, fanks for noticing *modest face* Linking up to the June 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 s...

Furtle (v): to have a rummage or delve into the contents of something Hello! Well I finished the socks I started in February:  Yarn is  West Yorkshire Spinners ‘Wood Pigeon’ (864) And then I knitted a hat! It was in a Christmas Eve box from  Lucy Locket Land  which a friend passed to me so I knitted the hat and sent it back to her as a surprise. I knitted it as per the pattern (for a medium head) but when I tried it on to check, it was like a pea on a drum and wasn’t convinced it would fit a teen let alone an adult so I pulled back the crown decreases and did another three pattern repeats. Fortunately, it fits my friend even though she has a smaller head than me. I have 45g of yarn left so there’s probably another hat like this but without the fold up brim in my future, which is nice because it was a lovely yarn and pattern to knit. Pattern is Taconite by Virginia Sattler-Reimer Design  and the yarn was Locket’s (hand dyed) merino dk yarn  ‘Berries, Bo...

Furtle (v): to have a rummage or delve into the contents of something Hello! This will be a quick post as I’m in the midst of a destash on Instagram  so am a little (lot) square eyed and shattered! I’ve finished two pairs of socks this month, a pink pair: Yarn is  WYS ‘Pink Flamingo’ (845) And a blue pair: Yarn is  WYS ‘Blue Lagoon’ (831) And I’ve started the next pair, a yarn I knitted up last year but which I loved so am knitting again (just for a different pair of feet): Yarn is  WYS ‘Wood Pigeon’ (864) Rose Archie’s white crocus are looking lovely, especially when (as not shown in this photo) the sun catches them: Giant crocus! 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 month's post you can reflect on that goal ...

Another finish has been fettled! These are the first (of three) pairs for Mam and are West Yorkshire Spinners ‘Pink Flamingo’ (845) . They’re apparently made up of three pink stripes and one white but, well, best get the magnifying glass and bright lights out to find the third pink!  Unsurprisingly enough, Mini Archie has his eye on the leftovers *sighs*  I finks I’d look spiffing wif pink feets *modest face*

Furtle (v): to have a rummage or delve into the contents of something Hello, and welcome to the first Furtle of 2024! I’ve started the year off well and have finished two pairs of socks, both of which were started last year. The first were this pair: Yarn is West Yorkshire Spinners ‘Wood Pigeon’ (864) And then I circled back to this pair, which were started before the yarn for the pair above arrived, and finished them too: Yarn is by Olann   I’m making progress with the next sock. Believe it or not, there are two different pinks in that wide stripe but I think someone either forgot to add enough dye to the medium pink or added too much to the light pink as they’re nigh on the same. If you look very closely, you can just about see a hint of there being two stripes between the dark pink and the next white stripe rather than one broad medium pink stripe: Yarn is West Yorkshire Spinners ‘Pink Flamingo’ (845)   A couple of weeks ago, I was thrilled to discover that we in the U.K. c...