There's also a DFHack command to view exactly what a mood requires.
Yeah, that's my usual go-to for mysteries like this, but I don't think it's updated for 06 yet?
Well, which workshop did he take? What's his highest moodable skill? That will give you a clue what the base material of the artifact is going to be, which will tell you where in this list is the starting point.
I'm guessing he claimed a forge, and is stuck on metal, and it's because he has a preference for a specific kind of metal, and you don't have bars of that particular metal available. But it could be something else entirely.
Actually, it's a clothiers shop. Looks like highest moodable skill is "weaver". Preferences: "Kimberlite, fine pewter, black opal, aye-aye leather, cabochons, and donkeys for their stubbornness. (Don't have any kimberlite, black opal, or aye-aye leather, but I've never seen a dwarf get stuck on a particular rock type, gemstone, or leather type before.)
I would guess you actually don't have much of the FB silk thread. The stocks screen lists the webs cluttering the caverns, and so, is very misleading when it comes to silk, especially given that you can't order it spun, but have to issue a separate collection order first.
Good call. Turns out that it is still in web-form in the forgotten-beast-infested caverns, not actually "stocked".
If the dorf has started the collection of items you can find which one it's stuck on by looking at the workshop with 't'. That will show what's been collected so far, and by looking at the last item in that collection and comparing to the list you should be able to figure out which one causes the problem. Also note that if several items of the same kind are required, that item is displayed longer by the dorf, not multiple times.
And ensure the item(s) isn't locked in a bin blocked by another dorf's job.
Has collected one piece of sheep-wool fabric. So he's either stuck on a second piece of fabric or on logs (the next item in the list is "a forest".) All the types of fabric and thread are sitting in bins in a workshop not five tiles away from him. The logs are further away, but still very much accessible.
I've switched Workshop orders to weave all thread, rather than just dyed thread, to see if that helps by kickstarting some new fabric generation
When it comes to metal, I think you'll have to produce a bars of a kind of metal at least once for a dorf to require it (i.e. caravan bought doesn't count), but if you've since run out you may have a problem, but should be able to melt down an item forged from that metal (or possibly two items, if one doesn't produce a full bar).
Only bars I've produced in-house are copper and silver (only ore found so far is tetrehedrite). Wait. Except for melted objects. Not sure everything I've produced that way, hmmm. Must investigate. (Though I do have three caravan-bought fine-pewter bars, which is what his preference is for).
EDIT: Looks like he just wanted a
fresh bit of wool, rather than any of the ones already available. As soon as the weaver finished making an undyed wool cloth, he claimed it. (He's now stuck again, but he's likely just waiting for the weaver to produce another wool for him.)