Hello everybody, and welcome to the first proper BeastieBlog post of 2018! I hope you all got a bit of a break over the holidays – I know I certainly took advantage of the end-of-year lull to catch up on some sleep! But it’s great to be back, and right now is actually one of my favourite times of year. Yes, really! Because NOW I can finally start sharing my Christmas commissions with you all!
It was tricky to choose which of my latest Beasties I’d introduce you to first… But in the end, the honour has gone to this little monster lady!
At a time of year when many of us are resolving to make changes in our lives or try new things, I thought that this multitalented Beastie might provide a little inspiration. She was created as a special companion for a lady who works as a translator, so she speaks a couple of languages…
…And she’s also interested in art history, so she never leaves home without a handy sketchpad and pen! You just don’t know when inspiration will strike.
Of course, she’d never get anything done if she had to carry all this stuff around in her paws. So I made her a cool satchel-style bag to put everything into!
Perfect! She certainly looks happy… But what’s that I hear?
Aha! Beastie’s best friend… A sweet little felt pooch to keep her company while she works.
Because this Beastie was going to live in Germany, I modelled her four-legged friend on traditional German breeds, like the German pinscher and Jagterrier. Hello there, pup!
I think it might be time for walkies… What do you reckon?
And of course, there’s always time for hugs and treats!
This year certainly is off to a good start! How about you – any big plans for 2018? Let us know in the comments… and if one of your new year’s resolutions is to be more organised, don’t forget to download your FREE Beastie calendar pages from the store!
January is there now, and February will be added shortly!
We’ll be back next week, when I’ll be sharing snaps of my biggest ever custom order! See you then!
Aha! It’s Cyclist Beastie! Here, I’ll see if I can get him to take off those wraparound shades so he can say hello properly.
But wait a sec… Aren’t you forgetting something, Cyclist Beastie?
Cyclist Beastie’s helmet is built to be sturdy and comfortable – the padding protecting his head is needle felted into place, to ensure an excellent snug fit! That said, I did have to leave a little gap to ensure that he could still wear his sunglasses too when he’s biking on sunny summer days!
I reckon he’s just about ready to mount up and hit the road!
(Although hopefully not literally – let’s hope he learns from his new family, rather than taking too strongly after his maker!)
Wow, haven’t they changed? Unsurprisingly, this first post of mine got no likes… at least not until Noémie from 
Urrrgh, again with the terrible photography! Isn’t it lucky that I was trying to rehome Beasties that weekend, rather than photographs? That said, I was pretty surprised that I had to put up this sign on my table halfway through Sunday afternoon…
And thus, a Maker of Monsters was born! From there, it was a short leap to taking on my first commission…
… And by now, I’d picked up two of my longest-standing followers, who I still try to keep up with. Knitters will find lots to love on 
Look at him there, hanging out with Ampelmann in Berlin! And by the time he’d taken the first of many trips to Co. Roscommon, in the western midlands of Ireland…
… We’d picked up another BeastieBlog lifer,
Barróg Beasties (the name is the Irish word for “hug”) have gone on to become some of the most popular Beasties out there… Especially the ones with pints of Guinness or little Aran sweaters! Oh, and it’s around this time that
By now, we’d been joined by 
That year, I also found some great new blogs through WordPress’s Blogging 101 course – including one of my favourite travel blogs, 
It’s also been fun to see more people getting in touch with pictures of their own Beasties’ adventures – like 
Aaaand that’s probably enough gushing from me for one day! I hope you enjoyed this whistle-stop tour of Beastie history – it’s actually been fun for me to look back through the archives as well. It’s also made me realise that, although there are a good few people who have been with me since the early days, I’ve encountered a whole LOAD of interesting and inspiring bloggers in the last few months. So I’m saving my “who I’m reading now” list for a future post, coming up in a couple of weeks!
I called this little woolly dude “Lucky Guy Beastie”, because he was made for the winner of the prize draw I ran on my 
The jacket is also removable, of course!
Next, he needed a backpack… and I snuck a tasty cheese sandwich in here, in case this little monster gets hungry on his travels!
Finally, I completed his kit with a Beastie-sized watch…
… And he was ready to go!
That said, Ismail thought that his Beastie might get lonely all by himself… So he asked if I could make him a companion. Done and done!
While Ismail is here in Dublin studying, his girlfriend is still at home in Indonesia. Fortunately, her Beastie counterpart was ready just in time to be shared via videochat on her birthday!
You might also have noticed her nice little knitted cardigan, which can be taken off on hot days…
… And which is my second top-down knitted garment! (My first was the “first draft” of this, which turned out a little too big after blocking and was subsequently pinched by Explorer Beastie. I’m starting to wonder if he maybe had a 
Incidentally, I owe a big thank you to Shirley at 
Congratulations again to Ismail, and I hope you like your new monster friends!
