crawcraftsbeasties

Beastie Beginnings

Posted on February 23, 2016June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Commissions, Info, Knitted Beasties

Looking out my window this morning, I could really believe that Spring is finally here! The sun is shining, the sky is blue and I can almost convince myself that there are buds on the trees. So, I reckon it’s the perfect day to introduce you to the first Beastie of the new season!

Please give a warm BeastieBlog welcome to this super-special Christening Beastie!
Christening Beastie is one of my Big Beasties. They’re always fun to make – bigger Beasties means more knitting time for me, hooray!

Then to make this sweet little girl monster even more special, I gave her some lovely soft hair…
… A pretty silver and pink dress…
…And sparkly silver stripey legs!
Christening Beastie was joining her new family just in time to celebrate her soon-to-be-BeastieBuddy Mila Kate’s christening – what a coincidence, eh? So to make sure she looked the part, I added some reminders of the day for Mila to enjoy when she’s a bit older.

First of all, a pair of cute felt angel wings and hearts embroidered with her christening date…
…And then a heart-shaped pillow embroidered with her name!
The ribbon loops mean that this Beastie can put the pillow down if she gets tired of holding it… and then she’ll be better able to play with Mila too!

Thank so much to Louise for requesting this special Beastie, and to Izzy for helping with the colour choices and design!

And while we’re on the subject of new beginnings, a few of you may have noticed that I’ve been monkeying around with the BeastieBlog over the last few days, and it now looks quite different when you view it online! However, I realise that a lot of people (myself included) do the bulk of their blog reading through the WordPress app, so these earth-shattering changes may well have passed you by. So if you have a second, please go and check it out… It’s still very much a work in progess, and I’d love to hear what you all think!

And that’s not all that’s been going on behind the scenes recently! I’ll have more monster news for you this time next week… And be sure to drop back in on Friday, when we’ll be visiting some Beastie friends of mine in Italy!

Fun In The Winter Sun II – Monster Holiday!

Posted on February 19, 2016June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family, Knitted Beasties

It’s a hard life, being a Beastie… All that travelling, exploring and discovery can really take it out of a little woolly monster! Sometimes you just have to put your paws up and relax by the seaside. And that is exactly what Paddy and Plunkett have been doing these last couple of weeks! Let’s see what they’ve been up to since last time.

Well, Plunkett decided to really take a weight off, and check out the spa…
And Paddy? Um, Paddy decided to check out something else…
But what’s going on here?

RAIN?!
“This is exactly what we were trying to avoid by coming here! Still, it seems to be easing up now…”
And sure enough, it wasn’t long before the sun came back out again…
… And the boys were able to get back to their sunbathing!

“Aaaaaaah, this is the life! Eh, Paddy?”

“Not bad, Plunkett. Not bad at all.”
Later, they met up with some friends for drinks…
And then there was just time to pose for one last photo in the garden before heading to the airport!
“Hang on. Did you feel that? Is that…?”

Gaaaaaah! More rain!
“It’s not looking good, Paddy. The board says we’re delayed by 3 hours… Still, isn’t it lucky you remembered to pack the Travel Scrabble?”

“Ummm… About that…”

Uh-oh! Will the lads ever make it back home? Or will the combination of foul weather and a lack of miniaturised board games to pass the time prove fatal to their friendship? Stay tuned to the BeastieBlog to find out!

Vintage Singer Sewing Machine - CrawCrafts Beasties

Welcome to Beastie Towers!

Posted on February 16, 2016June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Crafting, Ideas

Yes, I know Tuesday is supposed to be New Beastie Day. But I thought it might be fun to mix things up a little… Plus I just spent a sizeable chunk of last week moving all my crafting goodies in here:

Behold, the Beastie Towers CCC (Crafting Command Centre)! Everything is so tidy and organised – probably for the first time since about 2013, when I was working entirely out of that clear plastic tub in the bottom left of the photo! And it wasn’t long before the Beasties came over to have a poke around…

…It looks like they’ve given it their seal of approval, anyway!

Although I can’t help but feel that there has to be an easier way for them to check the calendar…

All this extra space means that my sewing machine has finally been liberated from storage! Check it out – it’s a Singer one from the late 1960s. Can you believe someone was going to throw this away?

It’s been a while, so I’ve had to spend a bit of time this week reminding myself how to use it! Well, once Explorer Beastie had checked it over for me, of course.

And now that my various boxes, tins and bags have a home in the CCC, it frees up my crafting table for stuff like this:

As it happens, I’ve been doing a lot of sketching lately. For every commission, I sketch out my ideas first so people know what their Beastie will look like before I reach for my knitting needles. Here’s my latest project, which entered the Design Phase last week…

I also got around to tackling Tammie Painter’s second Sketchbook Saturday prompt! The theme last week was “Home”, so I used some old photos and a liberal dose of imagination to do some sketches of my childhood home. I did get a bit carried away with it… but since it was either that or back up my list of Beastie ID numbers, you can probably understand why.

Oh, and while we’re poking around in the library – let’s take a peek inside those notebooks again, shall we?
I always have a knitting notebook on the go. I use them to record which yarns I’ve used for projects…

Yarns From My First Beastie - CrawCrafts Beasties — Yarns From My First Beastie

Ingredients for a Crablet - CrawCrafts Beasties — Ingredients for a Crablet

…Essential knitting know-how…

… Less essential non-knitting notes…

Shopping List - CrawCrafts Beasties — Shopping List

Mitten Thumbs and Cookie Recipes - CrawCrafts Beasties — Mitten Thumbs and Cookie Recipes

…Ideas and designs…

Doodles for Garcia Beastie - CrawCrafts Beasties — Doodles for Garcia Beastie

Bumblebee Dress - CrawCrafts Beasties — Bumblebee Dress

…And complete, total, unapologetic failures.

I really enjoyed looking back through my old notebooks – hopefully you did too! And if any of you keep notebooks or journals of your craft, art or interests, tell me all about it in the comments!

We’ll be back on Friday with more from Paddy and Plunkett… See you then!

Paddy and Plunkett on Holiday - H Crawford/CrawCrafts Beasties

Fun in the Winter Sun, Part One!

Posted on February 12, 2016June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family

It’s been a while since we heard from Paddy and Plunkett, and now I can reveal why… These two intrepid Beasties, clever little monsters that they are, decided to head south to escape the rather grey and gloomy winter we’ve been having! Like I always say, it’s pretty easy for a Beastie to sneak aboard a suitcase or stow away in a handbag… after that, it’s just a case of choosing where they want to go.

And this time, it was destination Gran Canaria! A bit of sun, sea and sand always helps the Northern winter pass a little more quickly. The boys made landfall after sunset…
… And made sure they got an early night, so they could make the most of…

…The breakfast buffet!

Recipe for a healthy Beastie: One bowl of cereal with fruit juice, then a big ol’ Full Irish, and then…
… Hit the baked goods!

“Hey Plunkett, grab me a few of those Beastie-sized doughnuts from the basket in the middle, would you?”

Next, feeling pleasantly full (but having effectively bankrupted the hotel restaurant), the boys headed out to explore! First, they found a giant sundial… A much more useful thing here than at home in Ireland!
(Loving the sunglasses, lads!)

Then, a jaunt on a penny farthing bicycle!

“Gaaaaaah! Paddy! Why do I always let you drive?!”
And now, a quick cup of coffee – just to keep their strength up.
It’s also a good opportunity to check out the photos they’ve taken!
So far, so good… But it’s not the whole story! Be sure to drop back in next week for the second instalment! See you then…

Doctor Who Beastie's Braces and Bow Tie, by CrawCrafts Beasties

The Doctor Will See You Now…

Posted on February 9, 2016June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Commissions, Knitted Beasties

If it’s Tuesday, it must be… NEW BEASTIE DAY!

And, nearly halfway into February, we’re finally meeting the last of the pre-Christmas Beasties. Let’s have a monster welcome for… Doctor Who Beastie!

This little woolly Time Lord’s outfit is inspired by the 11th Doctor, played by Matt Smith in series 5-7 of the long-running BBC science fiction show “Doctor Who”. As you can see, he’s really made the character’s trademark hairstyle and dapper tweed jacket (complete with felt elbow patches) his own!

And underneath the jacket, he’s sporting an elegant red bow tie and matching braces!

Then, to help him fight intergalactic nasties across space and time, I equipped him with a felt Sonic Screwdriver…

…And a custom-built, Beastie-sized Tardis!

I hope you can see enough of the details in the photos… Unfortunately daylight was in short supply in these parts around Christmas time!

The box has a little felt lamp on its roof, hand-appliquéd panels and embroidered windows on all four sides, and the all important “Police Box” sign hand-embroidered above the door!

With so many details to complete, it was a real race to the finishing line to get this very important commission done in time for Christmas!

But Christmas Eve dawned, and the Tardis was finally ready to carry the Beastie Doctor off to his new home…

…And left me singing the “Doctor Who” theme tune for the next three days straight! Perhaps you’d like to join in?

Right, that should keep you all entertained until Friday, when we’ll be back with news from Paddy and Plunkett! Then next Tuesday I’ll be showing you some behind-the-scenes stuff from within the walls of Beastie Towers… expect to see those elusive, long-promised notebook extracts at last, plus some sketches, many half-baked ideas and a whole lot of crafting gear! See you then…

Explorer Beastie Holding My Colouring Pencils - CrawCrafts Beasties

An Arty Day Out!

Posted on February 5, 2016June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Explorer Beastie's Dublin, Ideas

In Ireland, it’s very tempting to hide yourself indoors at this time of the year… and remain there until dire necessity (buying food, going to work, zombie home invasion) forces you outside. I for one could happily spend February living on instant noodles and baked beans while binge-watching “Murder, She Wrote”, but fortunately Explorer Beastie is a more active fellow, who constantly demands entertainment, fresh air and brain food (surprising for one whose head is literally full of fluff). So yesterday, I put down my knitting needles and took the two of us off to another of our favourite destinations – the RHA (Royal Hibernian Academy) Gallery, a mere stone’s throw from St Stephen’s Green and Grafton Street in Dublin’s south city centre.

This great little gallery deserves more visitors than it seems to get – I suppose a lot of people overlook it, and head to the National Gallery a little further down the road instead. But while the majority of the National Gallery’s exhibitions remain static, the RHA always has something new on its walls. In fact, I’ve never seen the same thing there twice! It’s also small enough that you could see everything in a short visit, and it’s also FREE IN! What’s not to like?

When we were there yesterday, three artists had their work on display. We started out with Maeve McCarthy’s “The Return”, a collection of nightime landscapes in charcoal inspired by a visit to the farmhouse where she and her family spent summers as children.

The artist also collaborated with her brother, a filmmaker, to make a short film showing the decaying rooms of the abandoned house.

2016 is an important year for Ireland – it’s the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising, which was one of the most significant events in setting Ireland on its way towards independence from Great Britain. The other two exhibitions we saw drew their inspiration from this – Mick O’Dea’s “The Foggy Dew” included portraits of some of the key figures in the Rising…

…And in a separate gallery upstairs…

… A combined installation of large-scale canvasses and sculptures.

Then our final port of call was “Before, During, After… Almost” – an exhibition of David Farrell’s photographs, which shows how much both Dublin and rural Ireland have changed since the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising, in 1966.

And suitably inspired by our artistic wanderings, it seemed like a good time to tackle the first prompt in Tammie Painter’s Sketchbook Saturday. Yeah, I know I’m late. It’s my… um… artistic temperament.

Anyway, the theme was “Round and Around”, which made me think of all the circles and spheres that cropped up in my drawings and craftings when I was a kid.

…And in case you want to read the scribblings…

And of course, Crablet and Explorer Beastie were on hand to help out with the colouring in. Thanks, lads.

AND FINALLY… Eagle-eyed Noémie at FocalHeart spotted one of my knitting notebooks in the background of a photo I posted recently. Here it is up close!

I use these books to record patterns, jot down ideas, count off rows and (as you can probably guess) keep track of the yarns I’ve used. And I had a great time going through past books today, snapping some of my favourite pages to share! So, since this post is already MASSIVE, here’s a taster for today…

… And I’ll have more next week!

Hope you all enjoy the weekend – why not check out Sketchbook Saturday for yourself tomorrow?

Meet the Family (Part 2)

Posted on February 2, 2016June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family, Commissions, Knitted Beasties

OK, so we met some of these Beasties last week… But who are those two handsome fellows on the ends? I reckon it’s high time I introduced you all to Ketto Beastie…

…And his brother Antonio Beastie!

Ketto Beastie just completed his degree in Monster Psychology, so I made sure he looked the part for his graduation ceremony! That means the traditional “mortar board” hat, and some pretty sharp Beastie tailoring!

Oh, and let’s not forget the all-important diploma!

Meanwhile, Antonio Beastie is kicking back and enjoying one of his favourite pastimes – listening to music!

He also loves to dance, but unfortunately I couldn’t capture that on camera. Never mind, here’s a closer look at his awesome felt headphones instead!

I’m also slightly envious of his cosy stripey sweater!

So, the family is now complete! But what happened when they arrived at their new home? Well, a warm welcome on Christmas Eve from their new friends, for starters!

Then some photo ops around the tree on Christmas Day…

…Then getting used to their new surroundings…

…And booking a prime spot for Christmas dinner! Can you find the Beasties in this photo?

Thank you so much to Antonello and his family for sharing photos of their first Beastie-tastic Christmas! They really look right at home!

I still have one more Beastie from the pre-Christmas season to share with you – he’ll be here next week. And Explorer Beastie and I will be out and about again on Friday… I really hope we’re heading somewhere warm, cosy and indoors this time! Also, I think I’ve made contact with all my giveaway winners by now, but check out my previous post if you entered, just in case.

And one more thing – it’s with a heavy heart that I bid goodbye to Sir Terry Wogan, who died on Sunday. While I was strangely obsessed with his chat show as a young child, and enjoyed his tongue-in-cheek commentary on the Eurovision Song Contest, I will remember him most for being the voice of obscure 80s cartoon “Stoppit and Tidyup”. I loved the funny little inhabitants of the Land of Do-As-You’re-Told and their antics as a kid – I reckon they played a significant part in shaping me into the monster-lovin’ lady I am today – and Terry Wogan’s narration was a big part of the show’s charm. But don’t just take my word for it… Here’s the first episode. Go on, it’s only short! Enjoy!

How to Use a Beastie Calendar - CrawCrafts Beasties

Giveaway Winners!

Posted on January 31, 2016June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family, Info

Finally! It’s here! The last day of January!

And, as promised, the Great January Begone Giveaway draw was done at noon today, with the help of random.org… the long-trusted maker of all my tricky decisions. So, who won?

For starters, the magic internet pixies chose three of my fellow bloggers – Lucy Ann (Lucyannluna), Noémie (Focalheart) and Tajana (Tatie’s World). Then we had a winner from Facebook (Rosemary Murphy) and one from Instagram (Eduardo Calvo). Congratulations! All of you will be receiving a Beastie calendar! And the randomisers have also selected one of you to adopt this sweet little fellow…

I know who they have picked, but you’ll have to wait and see whose parcel he stows away in!

Thanks to everybody who entered – it’s certainly made January go faster! And there are a couple of the winners (Tajana and Lucy Ann) whose addresses I will need if you’re to receive your prizes… drop me an email at crawcraftsbeasties@gmail.com and I’ll get your parcels in the post ASAP!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Beast-Skis!

Posted on January 29, 2016June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family

It’s been a while since we’ve checked in with Garcia Beastie… so I couldn’t have been happier to get a (virtual) postcard from his post-Christmas ski trip, complete with photos!

This little monster loves an adventure in the great outdoors – it’s the perfect chance to take a break from the hectic life he leads in London. So, let’s hit the slopes!

One of the best things about being a Beastie is that it’s easy to hitch a lift to wherever you need to go.

But maybe you should rent some gear of your own, Garcia Beastie.

“Um, you wouldn’t have any Beastie-sized skis, would you?”

Much better.

Wheeeeeeee! Time to show those humans how it’s done…

… Or not.

Still, dinner will help him to thaw out…

…And then there’s the après ski to look forward to!

Oh, and at the end of the night, you can take a sparkly reindeer taxi home. It’s lucky someone was there to take a photo – this is the kind of story people don’t believe when you tell them the next day…

All in all, a successful trip! Thanks to Suzanne for sharing the photos!

What are you up to for the weekend? Let us know in the comments! We’ll be back next week with more new Beasties on Tuesday, and another day out with Explorer Beastie on Friday… see you then!

One Big Beastie Family - CrawCrafts Beasties

Meet The Family (Part 1)

Posted on January 26, 2016June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Commissions, Knitted Beasties

The last quarter of 2015 saw me taking on my biggest Beastie challenge yet (in what had already been a pretty good year for big Beastie challenges) – an entire Beastie family! As always, each individual Beastie had to capture the look, personality and interests of their human counterparts… And we couldn’t leave out the family cat, of course!

Oh, and did I mention that they had to be ready in time to catch the last Christmas post to Italy? Never have knitting needles moved so swiftly! Anyway, now that the festive season is over, the presents have been unwrapped, and no surprises will be spoiled, I’m delighted to be able to introduce La Famiglia Beastie at last! First of all, let’s meet Antonello – creating a family of monsters was his idea, so it’s only right that we should start with him!

He’s a fan of all things Irish, especially our ever-popular exports of Guinness and world-class rugby players! So he is proudly sporting a Munster rugby jersey, Ireland rugby ball and felt pint…

…And as you can imagine, I had a great time styling his beard and hair!

Next up – Antonello’s wife Tiziana, who is an ER doctor. So get me a set of Beastie-sized scrubs and a stethoscope, STAT!

And here they are in extreme close-up!
I was also able to indulge in a spot more Beastie hairdressing… I loved capturing the highlights in Tiziana Beastie’s hair!

And of course, no family home would be complete without a beloved pet!

This is Tris, the family cat! She’s made of soft cuddly felt, with embroidered markings to match her feline big sister’s… oh, and a super-contented smile!

But what about the rest of the family? Well, that’s another story for another day – swing by next Tuesday lunchtime, when we’ll be meeting the boys! In the meantime, I’ll have another update from a Beastie abroad on Friday… and you still have time to put your name in the hat for the Great January Begone Giveaway if you haven’t already! I’ll be picking 5 lucky winners this coming Sunday at noon (Irish time) – check out the original post here to find out how to enter!

See you Friday!

PS It seems like the Beastie kitty has stolen the show! So, for all my fellow cat people out there, I thought I’d introduce you to the real life inspiration behind the felt feline – this is Tris!

Isn’t she a sweetie? Thanks again to Antonello and family for your Beastie-tastic order 🙂

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