“Give Me Everything!”

Hello again, Beastie friends! And wow, do I have a commission to share with you today… In fact, it’ll be today and another future post, because this little monster lady really does have it all!

Let’s meet her, shall we?

Hi there, Cindy Beastie!

This project is another one from the lockdown era, and that certainly seemed to be the time of the GME (“Give me everything”)! I started by sketching up a heap of ideas for Cindy, a fellow maker, fibre artist and blogger, which I hoped would celebrate her work, her interests and her personal style. And she decided to take the lot!

So, let’s start at the top… Cindy Beastie’s main outfit, shown above, is a short-sleeved shirt made from a cool hexagon-print fabric. I’m such a magpie when it comes to prints – just try and walk me past a display of fat quarter quilting cottons in a fabric store and see what happens – and I was delighted to have a chance to use this one at last! Give us a twirl there, Cindy Beastie.

Lovely! Perfect for summer, too. And oh, look at her hair!

Cindy Beastie’s human counterpart rocks a stylish short hairdo, with a bit of extra fullness in the top. This style works great on a human head, but it took a little work to transfer successfully onto a Beastie! The yarn I used initially lacked the texture I was going for, and looked a bit flat and sad. So I dived back into my yarn supplies and turned up this one for a second go-around – the richer colour and slight curl makes for a livelier, more luxuriant Beastie barnet.

Next, it was time to raid the jewellery box!

Behold! A little gold chain necklace, with personalised initial tiles. And this piece actually took some making! I was sure I’d seen miniature golden letter beads in my local jewellery supply store, and that’s what I’d included in my design sketch. But when I went along to buy them, the owner said he hadn’t stocked them in more than a decade, and the internet didn’t have much in the way of viable solutions either. Buy a pack of 200 random letters in the hope I’ll get the three I need? I think not! Sometimes, if you want something done, it’s better to do it yourself. So I made multiple beads of each letter (to help with consistency and to allow for breakages) and selected the best three to attach to a slender golden chain for Cindy Beastie’s bespoke necklace.

After that, it was time to make sure Ms Beastie has plenty of monster-sized pastimes to keep her paws busy. Since her human counterpart enjoys both painting and knitting, equipment for both activities seemed like a safe bet.

And so that she can grip all these goodies securely…

… She has magic magnet paws! That means she can paint…

… And knit…

… To her heart’s content!

And so that she can take her favourite things with her wherever she goes, I also made her a Beastie-sized backpack.

Where ARE you going, Cindy Beastie?

“I think I’ll head out to the countryside for a day or two!”

Right enough, she loves the great outdoors. And look, we’re here already… She’s even got the campfire going!

This campfire is extra cosy, since every log and crackling flame is made from 100% needle-felted wool. And now that it’s heated up properly, how about we cook ourselves up a snack?

Mmmmm, bacon!

And it looks like I’m not the only one who’s enjoying those delicious cooking aromas… Who’s this, I wonder?

I guess you’ll have to rejoin us in a couple of weeks to find out a little more about this mysterious canine visitor to the campsite! See you then…