If it’s Tuesday, it must be new Beastie time! So, everybody say a big hello to Charlie Beastie!
Charlie Beastie was commissioned as a keepsake gift for a recently-arrived baby girl. I was asked to use as much pink as possible!
She also has her name embroidered on the front of her romper suit…
…Plus a couple of cheeky nods to her Irish/Australian origins, as suggested by the person who requested her!
Apparently this Beastie made it safely to her new home Down Under just in time for Christmas! I’m sure she’s enjoying sunnier days and higher temperatures than the rest of us here in Beastie Towers!
And that leads me on neatly to the other half of this post. It seems that morale is generally low here in the Blogiverse, especially amongst those of us “enjoying” a cold, rainy start to the year in the northern hemisphere. Add to that the fact that this January has already deprived us of David Bowie and Alan Rickman, AND that we had to face into 2016 having bid farewell to Lemmy from Motorhead, it’s a miracle we’re able to drag ourselves out of bed at all.
Now, I realise that there is no freebie on earth that could miraculously fix all this, but some freebies are definitely better than no freebies at all. So, let the Great January Begone Giveaway begin! I have 5 of my remaining Beastie calendars to give away to 5 lucky BeastieBuddies…
As you can see, Explorer Beastie is doing a great job of demonstrating how a Beastie calendar can be an important part of any thriving craft empire.
Oh, and one of the winners will also get a surprise MiniBeastie in their prize parcel!
MiniBeasties are incredibly rare, and there may be as few as ten of these teeny critters in the whole world! This one is made from cheerful blue sock yarn, and I used a small-batch merino wool yarn that I was given by some visiting knitters from Colorado to create his awesome technicolour dream-pants!
So, how do you get your mitts on these, and make your January instantly 150% better? Take your pick from:
- Blog Buddies – Follow the BeastieBlog (if you aren’t already!) and leave a comment on this post saying which month you’re most looking forward to this year and why
- Facebook Friends – Like the Beasties’ Facebook page and share it with your friends (and all those people you’re Facebook friends with, but have no idea how, or if, you even know them in real life)
- Instagram Addicts – Find the Beasties on Instagram (@crawcraftsbeasties), follow us and leave a comment on any picture so I know that you’re a real person and not a “Get more Instagram followers NOW” spambot!
Each of these barely-challenging challenges will earn you an extra entry in the draw, so by doing all three you’ll triple your chances of winning! I’ll be picking the winners at random at high noon (Irish time) on the 31st of January. Good luck!
I am looking forward to March, because my youngest grandaughter will have her first birthday!
Sorry, hadn’t finished! Just wanted to add that I have loved watching the relationship develop between my two little granddaughters, they are our very own mini beasties!
Hahaha! “Minibeasties”, I love it! I’m sure you’re looking forward to a great year of fun and adventures with your girls, enjoy! 😀
Indeed, it’s been a horrible start to the new year, but I’m most looking forward to September since that means vacation time and another journey to Ireland. While in Dublin, I’m going to be looking in every nook and cranny for any Beasties lurking about!
Charlie Beastie is adorable (although I think she made need braces on those teeth when she gets older). 😃😃
Yay! September and October are great months to visit Ireland… The sun always decides to shine extra brightly after the school summer holidays are over! As for Charlie Beastie, I’m sure she’ll grow into her teeth… I always like to make Beasties for young kids look as goofy and cute as possible!
I have bad luck with weather while on vacation, so I apologize in advance for the heavy rains I’ll bring with me.
Hahaha! At least we’re used to it here… 😂
I think I carry the Oregon rain molecules with me and then they meet up with local rain molecules to have a big rain get together.
Hmmm, interesting theory! Although it’s possible that by choosing a rainy holiday destination, perhaps the two might cancel each other out? Failing that, I’m sure there are more than a few places in the world where they’d be delighted to see you and your Oregon rain drop in 😀
But those are usually places I don’t want to vacation in. Oh the conundrums.
Yes, and places that aren’t used to rain are awful when it does start pouring! At least here we have a cosy pub every 50 paces for you to duck into 😃
Now THAT is good city planning!
Every month is exciting, ’cause I get to turn to a new Beastie picture on my awesome calendar!
Obviously, I don’t need a calendar – just wanted to mention how great they are. Also, how appropriate the (I assume) randomly assigned profile picture is for me. 😉
Ooops, I should have read this message too! I’ll still put you in the draw for the MiniBeastie 😀 And isn’t the random monster generator great? It’s actually a standard WordPress feature, but it could have been tailormade for my blog! Your assigned monster certainly looks like it’s been in the saddle all day 😀
Heehee, if you win you can add another one to your collection! I’m glad yours has been such a success, thanks for stopping by the BeastieBlog 😀
I’m looking forward to when the days will get longer to enjoy longer walks in the woods… so let’s say May! 🙂 May is often a lovely month, as the weather gets warmer… and it’s Boy’s birthday. So yes, May!
Charlie Beastie looks very pretty all pink!
🙂
Good choice! May here can be absolutely gorgeous too, provided the weather behaves itself! And late spring in the woods is a beautiful time, I can’t wait to see your photos 😀
Yes, the woods are covered in bluebells then, it looks magical 🙂
Oh woweeee! You’ll definitely have to get out with your camera then!
Hello Charlie Beastie, I love the pink hair! I am looking forward to next month – and not just because it will mean the end of dry January ;), but we will be taking a trip to Iceland which means ogling at lots of lovely Icelandic knits and hopefully the northern lights!
Oooh, I’m not surprised you’re looking forward to that! I’m only a little bit jealous 😆 I hope you get to see the northern lights, it’s such an eerie, otherworldly experience… Our eyes see them differently to how they appear on film, so it will be unlike anything you’ve seen before!
Eek! I do hope they make an appearance while we are there!
I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you!
I love this pink beastie, I’m not a pink person really, but she looks fantastic.
I looking forward to the summer, warm weather & school holidays ( perhaps that’s just the teacher in me)
I’m looking forward to August, simply because it’s time to go on holiday, recharge the batteries & I also find out if all that hard work with the kids has really worth it, when the exam results come in. I’m a bit of a coward, I try to be away on holiday for results day. I just hope the kids do well & I made a potentially boring subject a little bit more interesting.
Ha! I’m not a pink kinda girl either, but I think Charlie Beastie’s candyfloss-coloured hair turned out really well! I’ll definitely be making more pink-haired Beasties! And I’m not surprised you look forward to the summer holidays, being a teacher is hard work! It sounds like you have a real passion for your subject though, and students do appreciate that (even if they don’t say it often enough 😉).
I also promise to make them fairy cakes if they do well. That’s a real motivation, it’s the final week of mock exams, I had one a student in before 7.30, revising, this morning. It’s nice to see students after they have left, & find out what they are up to.
Hahaha, that just goes to show the power of bribery – or your fairy cakes! I’m super-impressed by the diligence of your students though… I don’t think anyone in my school showed up for extra early-morning revision!
I’m looking forward to February, and yet not looking forward to it, as my Banana will turn 2.. 🙂 😦 🙂 😥
Oh, but imagine the party you’ll have! She’ll have so much more fun this year… And so will you, I’m sure 😀 Thanks for stopping by!
November… It’ll be my daughter’s birthday and we’ll get the Christmas tree… All the excitement of the holiday season starting, none of the sadness of having to put the decorations back into boxes or abandon the evergreen on the curb:-)
Nice! The last two months of the year must be one big long party in your house 😀 And I used to love that moment before Christmas when we brought the tree home and decorated it – the smell alone is borderline magical! Good choice!
My family gets very into Christmas- I like the time leading up to it because, ironically, it’s less about the presents (or if it is, it’s about shopping for other people, which I enjoy, instead of receiving them) and more about the magic of the season in general.
Someday I’m going to have to take December off to enjoy Christmas again! After years of working in retail, and now with the Beasties demanding to be taken to as many markets as humanly (or monsterly) possible, the last couple of months of the year are usually a bit of a blur! It makes me super-appreciative of the quiet time I spend with my family on the day itself though!
Those beasties sound like… well… real beasts!:-)
Heehee, I love ’em really 😃
They’re adorable!
Thank you! 😄
Haha lovely pinkie Beastie! 🙂 I’m looking forward to May, it means late autumn here, cool nights, winter approaching (woohoo) so lots of knitting, and I’m turning the big 4-0 🙂
Nice! I’ve always been a big fan of autumn too, even before I became addicted to knitting! I’m trying to picture an Australian autumn though… Do you still get the drifts of fallen leaves and the shorter days, or are you too far north for that? Exciting to have a big birthday coming up too! 🎉
Sadly no, up here just a few odd leaves changing colour on ornamentals, but beautiful clear sparkly cool days 🙂
Oooh, lovely! What a relief after the sweltering hot summer!
Wonderful post and I love the interaction with your readers aka Beastie Fan Club!
Heehee, thank you! I’m still amazed that anyone finds me and the Beasties in the vastness of the internet, so I figured some sort of reward/bribery was long overdue 😀 Thanks for stopping by!
Now that the kiddo is old enough to understand that there are my things and her things and that she is to leave mine alone, I may have to get in touch with you about a writer Beastie… The month I’m most looking forward to is July because it starts with my birthday and then there’s Wimbeldon and possibly a week or two of real summer 🙂
Please do! I’m taking commissions again from next month… This month I’m devoting to conducting essential research into new species of Beasties 😀 July sounds like it will be fun for you alright… You never knew, we might even get 3 weeks of summer this year 😱