Info – Page 2 – Beastie HQ

A Festive Beastie Weekend!

Posted on December 4, 2018June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Info, Knitted Beasties, Life at Beastie Towers

Hey there Beastie friends! It’s just a quick “hello!” from me today, because (and I might have mentioned this once or twice lately) we’re going full tilt here in Beastie Towers right now! But I really wanted to share some photos of the lovely market we went to this past weekend – a fun, festive affair in one of the beautiful Georgian houses that surround Merrion Square park in central Dublin.

Take the Beastie Tour!

I caught up with Woolly Jumper Beastie in the entrance hall…
Ooooh, look at that Christmas tree!

This building is home to the Irish Architectural Archive, and our Beastie friend took full advantage of their miniature Dublin skyline sculpture to do his best Godzilla impression!
Then I lost him for a moment – I could have sworn he was right next to this leaf and berry arrangement a second ago!
Aha! Found him. That’s some pretty good camouflage, though.

Now, upstairs to join your friends at the market!
That’s better!

We had a great time here, and many of the Beasties you see in the photo above headed off to new homes over the course of the day! We were also kept in good festive spirits by a kind gentleman who wandered the building for the duration of the market bearing a tray of complimentary mulled wine… How civilised!

I hope the Beasties behaved well enough for us to be invited back next year!

And speaking of markets…

I’ve a teeeeny favour to ask. A whole heap of Dublin markets have been made to close their doors this year, and the future of those that remain is looking a little wobbly.

The organisers of the Dublin Flea market are lobbying Dublin City Council to make some provision for market spaces in Dublin’s ongoing development plan. They want to ensure that markets and indie retailers aren’t squeezed out by the bigger players… And we want to support them! The Beasties and I love our markets, and we’d hate to see them become a thing of the past.

And even if you don’t live in Dublin, your signature still counts! Because you might want to visit at some stage, right? And wouldn’t it be nicer to travel to a city with its own unique identity?

So, please take a sec to click through and sign their online petition here.

Alrighty, back to my crafting table I go! We’ll be back next Tuesday with a quick reminder about our last market of the festive season. See you then, and have a great week!

Old Wall, New Market Season Beasties - CrawCrafts Beasties

The Calm Before Market Season

Posted on November 6, 2018 by crawcraftsbeasties in Info, Knitted Beasties

Hello everybody! There’s heavy weather forecast for Dublin later today, so as I write I’m looking out the window and enjoying the bright sky and autumn colours before the storm sets in! And it seems doubly apt, because with market season on the way, right now is the calm before THAT particular storm kicks off too.

So, I thought it would be the perfect moment to share some sunny snaps I took on a bright, crisp Saturday a couple of weeks ago, when I let a few Beasties off the leash in the gardens at the Irish Museum of Modern Art!

First of all, I had to get them there. And that wasn’t easy, with every other tree presenting them with a tantalising climbing challenge and colourful photo opportunity!
Although it turns out that urban scenery appeals to them too.And interestingly, Aran Beastie has stumbled upon The River That Google Maps Forgot! This is the River Camac, whose name took some pretty intense searching to find… Possibly because it has been sent underground in several places along its course to avoid various roads, canals and other man-made features, and then it trickles unobtrusively into the Liffey at the end of its journey. Around here, though, its rushing waters made a pleasant soundtrack to our wanderings.

Now, onwards! We’re almost there.

Inside the gate, we found a rustic stone wall that was crying out for some Beastie action!
And a faded alcove at the entrance to the formal gardens made an excellent spot for a group photo.
But when I turned the Beasties loose in the hedges, they really started to have fun!
They also enjoyed walking down the tree-lined avenues, and marvelling at how tall their shadows looked in the sunshine!
As the sun started to set, it was time to think about heading for home. But wait a sec, isn’t there someone missing?

GAAAAAAAAH! PANIC!

Fortunately, Gift Beastie’s lovely bright pink complexion was easy to spot among the green grass and fallen leaves.
“I just stopped to look at this leaf… Check out that yellow! You should get some wool this colour for next year.”

And with that, all the Beasties piled into my bag and let me carry them home. Thanks, lads.

Back at Beastie Towers, I was able to put these pics to good use… As market season promotional shots! I sent them off to the nice folks at the Dublin Flea Christmas Market, and my profile on their site went live this morning! See which photos made the cut here.

And don’t forget to join us again next week, when I’ll be confirming my final lineup for Market Season 2018!

See you then!

Tae (Tea) Beasties, by CrawCrafts Beasties

Beastie News Roundup!

Posted on October 16, 2018 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family, Info, Life at Beastie Towers

Hello there Beastie friends! How’s your week going? This week’s post is going to be a bit of a mixed bag, as we catch up with a few snippets of Beastie news that I’ve been meaning to share for a while.

So, without further ado, let’s start the show…

Beastie Autumn Fun Worldwide!

Explorer Beastie isn’t the only little monster who’s been out and about enjoying the fall colours. Before he even stuck a paw outside, tierneycreates Beastie was enjoying the great outdoors with her mini-miniature schnauzer Mikelet!

tierneycreates Beastie and Mikelet - T Hogan — Picture sneakily borrowed from https://tierneycreates.com

This woolly little lady was so excited to change into her handknitted Aran sweater and kick through the fallen leaves… Although be advised that this post contains – SHOCK – Beastie nudity! You have been warned! Be sure to skip over to Tierney’s blog and check out the full post – it really made me smile.

If you’re in the mood for something more blood-curdling though, you might want to swing by Tammie Painter’s site and see what Finn McSpool encountered on his autumnal wanderings.

Finn McSpool at Hallowe'en - T Painter — Image spirited away from https://tammiepainter.com

Portland, Oregon is already gearing up for Hallowe’en, and the city is sporting some truly spine-chilling finery! Finn caught up with some celebrity spookies at City Hall, but the true horror was lurking in someone’s garden on the walk home. And if that wasn’t enough to turn you into a gibbering wreck, Tammie also used my October calendar page as the basis for a tale of Beastie terror that will scare the stuffing out of even the most courageous woolly monster!

Spooky Beastie Colouring - T Painter — Image Beastie-napped from https://tammiepainter.com

And Also in the Blogosphere…

Now, I usually like to keep things nice and upbeat here on the BeastieBlog. I mean, life is serious enough, right? But wow, this year September was tough! A couple of side projects that I’d invested a bit of time in came to nothing, and then I found out that I’d managed to completely miss the application call for my favourite Christmas market. Disaster!
Fortunately, I stumbled on some good readin’ among my fellow bloggers that helped perk me back up again. It was super cool to hear all about Weekes finding her creative feet again, and how taking photographs helped Paula of Typewriter Girl discover that she has an artistic streak after all! So thanks to both of you for making me smile!

Oh, and my mood lifted completely when I learned that the market I thought I’d missed out on had added an extra weekend, so I’m in! Hurrah! Full steam ahead on the Beastie-making!

And Looking Further Ahead…

While we’re on the subject of Christmas markets, I’m in the process of confirming a few for this coming festive season! Check out my scedule so far!

The Dublin Christmas Flea is the big one, and, all being well, I’ll be there with bells on for the second weekend (that’s the 13th-16th December inclusive). If you’re in the neighbourhood, come on over and say hi! Entry is free, and there is always SO MUCH GREAT STUFF THERE! (Besides the Beasties, obviously.)
I’m also going to be selling at the Dublin Cat Fair for the first time! So I’m currently working on a few feline sidelines that will be exclusive to that event, as well as some cat-themed Beasties. That’s on the 25th November.

There are a couple more in the pipeline, which I’ll post about as soon as the details are finalised.

Phew! Beastie news roundup complete! So I’d better get on with some crafting now, or those market stalls are going to be a little bare!

How about you? Are you prepping for festivities, or planning to remain blissfully in denial until the 15th of December? Be sure to let us know in the comments!

October View - Calendar Pages - CrawCrafts Beasties

Wrapping up the Year – Last of the Calendar Pages!

Posted on September 29, 2018 by crawcraftsbeasties in Explorer Beastie, Info, Life at Beastie Towers

Hey there everybody! OK, I know I said that this would be ready yesterday, but due to some computer-related issues, I totally ran out of Friday. Who would have thought that uploading crazy giant image files and trying to play around with them would really slow down the editing process?! Ah well, we’ll chalk that one up to experience. Anyway, even with that little hiccup, I’ve managed to cobble together the final installment of this year’s free downloadable calendar pages!
You can grab yours right now, from our online store!

I’ve put them together as one file, so you only need to download once. After that, you can print them all out together, or page-by-page as you need them! And as usual, you can ignore the part of the order form that asks for your postal address – all we need to deliver this deeeelightful free goodie to your inbox is your name and email.

If you don’t get your download immediately, check your spam or promotions folder.

And here’s what you’ll get…

October

Grab those crayons… It’s another colour-it-yourself bonanza! Hallowe’en is still my favourite festival, so October’s page is all about the best bits of the spookiest night of the year. Sparklers and toffee apples were the highlights of Hallowe’en as a kid – am I the only one who mysteriously lost their appetite after eating all the sticky sugar shell from the toffee apple?

Pumpkin carving is a more recent addition to the festivities, and I’m making up for my apple-dodging younger days by using all the pumpkin’s insides once the carving is done. Pumpkin soup and roasted pumpkin seeds? Yes please! As for the broomstick aerobatics… Well, maybe someday.

Of course, we’d love to see your finished calendar pages, so don’t forget to share! Use #Beastiegallery on Instagram and Twitter so we don’t miss your masterpieces!

November

Explorer Beastie is back for November! We took a lovely sunlit wander through some of Dublin’s parks yesterday, and I thought this photo of him kicking through the fallen leaves and conkers would be a nice reminder of how lovely autumn can be. Yes, the days are getting shorter and it’s not as warm as it was… But when the sun shines, there’s no finer time of year!

December

And finally… Well, I wanted to avoid getting full-on Christmassy, so Explorer Beastie and I braved the spines of a selection of local holly trees to bring you a nice cheery picture to wrap up the year. And after all that prickliness, the best of the bunch proved to be this smooth-leaved one!

So, that’s it – 2018 calendar pages complete! And I’d be interested to know how this experimental calendar delivery method has worked out for you. From my end, it’s been a bit more work through the year… But not having to deal with under/over supply, delivery problems and getting overcharged at the Post Office has been brilliant! What do you reckon? Let me know in the comments!

Oh, and we’ll be back on Tuesday with the second part of my latest Beastification – I promise!

September Featured Image - Calendar Page - CrawCrafts Beasties

Hello September!

Posted on August 31, 2018 by crawcraftsbeasties in Info, Life at Beastie Towers

Yes, I know I’m jumping the gun a little here! But over the last couple of days, the cooler breezes and suddenly shorter days have been signalling that the season is about to turn. And much as I enjoyed our very un-Irish Irish summer this year, I am SO ready for September! Autumn has long been my favourite season, so I’m already looking forward to digging out all my favourite cosy knits, cooking up giant pots of soup, and kicking through piles of fallen leaves.

And, as I’ve mentioned before, there’s something about this time of year that makes it feel like a good opportunity to start a new project… Or even to finish up one or two that you’ve let slide over the summer!

So, what better moment to announce that the free September calendar page is now available for your downloading pleasure?
I’ve been seeing sunflowers all over Dublin these last few weeks, so this picture was the obvious choice for this month’s page. I love their bright, friendly blooms, and Explorer Beastie thinks they really complement his yellow stripey legs.

As usual, this printable costs a very reasonable €0/$0/£0! Also, don’t forget that you only need to give your name and email address for delivery. All the other fields in the form are optional, so it’s ok to skip ’em!

Of course, the arrival of autumn also signals the start of the busiest time of the year for a Beastie-maker. So, this is going to be the last Friday post for a while. There are still a few outstanding summer orders to ship out… Then I’ll be starting to assemble squads of market-ready monsters to grace the stalls of Dublin’s seasonal craft fairs.

Buuuuut I’ll still be here every Tuesday! And over the next couple of weeks, there are new Beasties to meet, plus more shenanigans from Paddy and Plunkett. Be sure to join us then… And here’s wishing you all a monster weekend!

Santa Paws is Comin' to Town! CrawCrafts Beasties

It’s That Time Again…

Posted on August 21, 2018 by crawcraftsbeasties in Crafting, Info, Life at Beastie Towers

It’s just a quick one this Tuesday, as deadlines are a-loomin’. But I have an important public service announcement about orders!

I know it’s reeeeeallllllly early for this kind of nonsense, but…
… If you want to find a Beastie under the tree for a certain festival which rolls around at the end of every calendar year, now is the time to place your order!

You see, with Beastifications becoming ever more elaborate and complex, and after the wall-to-wall craziness of the final quarter of last year, and, well, most of this year, I’ve realised that I need to put out the call even earlier than in previous years.

From past experience, I now know that I’ll also need to move the cutoff point forward. So that means that…

Orders for Christmas close on Friday 19th October

to ensure that all custom Beasties reach their new homes in good time.

So please, if you’re thinking of picking up a bespoke Beastie buddy for yourself, your friends or your family, drop me a line now to reserve your spot! Here, you can even use this form…

Go back

Your message has been sent

And if that all seems a bit scary, don’t worry! I’ll be hitting up the usual markets closer to the time, with a whole gang of little monsters in tow… All of them eager to get out and ~~start wreaking havoc in other people’s houses~~ find their forever home.

Alrighty, time for me to get back to the teeny sewing! We’ll be back on Friday with some proper monster shenanigans to share… See you then!

Calendar Page August - FREE Downloadable Calendar by CrawCrafts Beasties

Just A Quickie…

Posted on July 31, 2018 by crawcraftsbeasties in Info, Life at Beastie Towers

Oh wow, it’s all been a bit nuts here at Beastie Towers lately! I’ve been working my way through the veritable avalanche of special Beastie requests that came in while Explorer Beastie and I were away in Germany… And while that’s been fun, it doesn’t exactly make for an exciting blog post. Buuuut we did just have time to put together an August calendar page for you, and it’s available to download now!

Looking back through all of our holiday photos did give me a good dollop of inspiration… It was even quite a challenge to whittle down the main contenders to choose just one!

In the end, though, I just had to go for this!
I can almost smell the scent of sun-warmed grass and hear the singing of grasshoppers every time I look at this picture… So I thought it would be the perfect image to see us all through to the end of the summer.

You can grab your downloadable version of the August calendar page on our website store now… And as usual, the only information you need to provide to place your order is your name and an email address!

Phew! And now, the whirl of summer activity continues… One of my best friends from school is getting married TOMORROW! So I’ll be taking a couple of days away from the internet to help her celebrate her big day. Then it’ll be BeastieBlog business as usual next Tuesday, when we return with more monster antics.

See you then!

Friday Social #5 – Here We Go Again!

Posted on April 6, 2018 by crawcraftsbeasties in Info, Life at Beastie Towers

Hey there everybody! I hope you’ve all had a good week… It certainly seems like it’s been a busy few days in the Blogosphere! I’ll get to that in a second. First of all, I should probably explain what the title of this post is all about.

Poor Explorer Beastie is almost afraid to look!

Alas, it turns out the BeastieBlog needs another facelift. Although I really like how it’s set up at the minute, and my last overhaul was only last summer, I noticed a while ago that my Shop page wasn’t working properly…. And when I consulted the good people at WordPress, their diagnosis was that my lovely theme isn’t getting along with WooCommerce any more. Oh no!

Fortunately, they sent me a list of alternatives that should play nicely with the shop’s internal gubbins (yes, that IS the technical term), but I will be shutting the blog down for a week while I rejig all the bloggy bits and bobs (more technospeak there) to fit a new layout.

I’m planning to start work on Monday, so if you haven’t grabbed your free calendar page for this month yet, make sure you download it from here before then!

And to keep you entertained in my absence, I’ve picked out a couple of choice nuggets of online goodness!

First up, Tammie Painter’s woolly friend Finn McSpool has been up to more mischief – this time with an Easter flavour!

What kind of mayhem is Finn getting up to this Easter? Find out at today’s blog post! Link in bio. #easter #easterbasket #beastiesofinstagram #beastiefamily #finnmcspool #blogstagram #newblogpost #linkinbio #blogger #humor

A post shared by Tammie Painter (@tammiepainter) on Mar 31, 2018 at 11:53am PDT

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I also love this picture of Daze and Weekes‘s Beastie friend Sinead, which I haven’t had a chance to share yet!

#tbt to Beastie Sinéad enjoying some wine whilst repping the album in #amsterdam 🍷🎶

A post shared by 🌙 (@weekes) on Mar 22, 2018 at 2:20pm PDT

//www.instagram.com/embed.js

I’m not sure how much album promo work she was able to do after downing that human-sized glass of wine, but at least she looks like she’s enjoying herself!

And for those crafty folks among you, I’ve been finding a whole heap of inspiration in the blogging community lately!
Fellow knitter Shirley has been branching out into felt softie making, and I love this thoughtful post about her creative process.

And Tierney from Tierneycreates shows how one crafter’s leftovers can be another’s creative goldmine!

Last but not least… Since I’ve started teaching weekly knitting classes in my local yarn store, I’ve realised that I’ve been a bit of a lazy knitter these last few years! It’s a while since I tackled a project that wasn’t a) A Beastie or b) Something for a Beastie. So, I’ve cast on a sweater FOR MYSELF! And to help me do it properly, I’m going to be following Melissa (of Knitting the Stash)’s Better Sweater podcast series. If you’re thinking of taking on a sweater-sized project yourself, here’s the first episode to get you started!

Oh, and one more thing… Just because it made me laugh. I can’t believe I hadn’t seen this before!

See you all in two weeks, with a (hopefully) snappy new-look BeastieBlog!

2017 – A Year of Monster Adventures!

Posted on December 19, 2017 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family, Info, Knitted Beasties, Life at Beastie Towers

Oh wow, I can’t believe we’re nearly at the end of 2017 already! It’s all been a bit of a blur – surely it was only just Hallowe’en? So I thought I would use this, the last “real” post of the year, to take a look back over the highlights of the last 12 months. If nothing else, it will help me figure out whether I’m right in thinking that I lost a month or two somewhere!

So, what did we get up to? Well, first of all, Explorer Beastie loved getting the chance to go a little further afield on his adventures! We started the year with a trip to Donegal…

… And then made it to Copenhagen in the spring…

…and Düsseldorf in early summer!

Paddy and Plunkett were also at large, dropping in on some ancient Irish wells…

…Punting down the Cam…

…And sampling some highly unusual cuisine in Croatia!

Meanwhile, on the other side of the pond, Tammie‘s Beastie Finn McSpool has been keeping her readers entertained with his unique brand of “help”. With this guy around, it’s a miracle she gets any books written at all!

Finn’s adventures appear on Tammie’s blog every Saturday. I had a hard time picking a favourite to recommend to you all, but I think his underwater exploits in Hawaii back in September win out!

More recently, an old friend dropped us a line while on holidays in South Africa…

… And we welcomed a new face to the Beastie family!

Beastie’s first outing in England 🌿 @crawcraftsbeasties 💚

A post shared by xWG || #dazeandweekes (@dazeandweekes) on Dec 2, 2017 at 2:43pm PST

//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js
You can meet Sinéad the pro-cat activist on Daze and Weekes, and find out more about her mission to improve Beastie-feline relations!

The Beasties have been getting social with other blogging folk this year, too! Back in April, we were lucky enough to be featured on Melissa’s excellent fibre craft blog Knitting The Stash…

… While an appeal for handmade items for a craftivism event in Manchester from Jan at The Snail of Happiness gave me the opportunity to make these little critters!

I also worked out a pattern and tutorial for these felt bees, which is FREE if you’d like to have a go at making your own!

Oooh, and let’s not forget that the BeastieBlog got a facelift back in August…

… Which included not only a snazzy new look, but also the addition of my very own online shop! Admittedly, the virtual shelves are a little bare at the moment, but there will be fresh monster faces in there again in the new year!

The Beasties also found themselves in some real shops, including this intrepid mob who journeyed all the way over to Carrick Mór in New Jersey!
We also did a few markets… But I reckon you’ve probably heard enough about those recently! I’m still super-grateful to all the good people who organised those events, or who came to visit us in person while we were there – it was lovely to meet you all!

And that only leaves one bit of news to share, and it’s one that I’ve been holding onto since the end of the summer. Since I decided to quit regular 9-5 employment in favour of making monsters a couple of years back, I’ve always worked part-time on the side – it’s reassuring to know that I’m not going to end up out in the streets if I have a couple of commission-free months, or if a market turns out to be a bit of a dud. But back in August, I was let go from my job… And I thought, why not try being a maker of monsters full time for a couple of months, just to see how things go? I’d often wondered what I could do if I got the chance to focus exclusively on the Beasties, and with Christmas looming on the horizon, it seemed like a good time to give it a bash. So, that’s what I’ve been doing! And while it’s had its hairy moments – like me losing my voice for the entire of the biggest market in my calendar – it’s been quite the adventure, and I’m already looking forward to seeing how much more I can do in the coming year!

But of course, dear readers, none of this could have happened without your support – so thanks to all of you who regularly read, like, comment and send me photos of your own monster adventures! I realise that I’ve been a little less diligent in keeping up with you all over the last couple of months, as I tackled the challenge of my first self-employed Christmas season, but I’m so looking forward to getting caught up again in the new year, and seeing what delights 2018 holds for us!

So, that was my 2017 – no wonder I’m tired! How was yours? And what have you got planned for the coming year? Be sure to let me know in the comments!

It’s The Most Beastie-ful Time Of The Year…

Posted on November 28, 2017June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family, Crafting, Info, Life at Beastie Towers

Hey everybody!

I’m just popping in for a very quick “Hello!” today, because I’ve done the sums and this is definitely the busiest, Beastie-est week of 2017! Last overseas postage dates are looming, and I’ve booked places at two of Dublin’s most popular Christmas markets, so that’s my entertainment taken care of for the next two weekends in a row. I’d better start on a programme of intense caffeination immediately, as ably demonstrated by Tae Beastie here.
I already had a chance to get out and road-test my new market display a couple of weeks back at RMDS’s Christmas Craft Fair, and I’m pretty pleased with how it looks! I’ve used lightweight fabric-covered boxes to add a little extra height…

… Made up some promotional postcards with a little bit about the Beasties on the back…

…Thrown a little light on the proceedings with a pair of spiffy spotlights, a Christmas gift from my brother last year…

… And Boyfriend picked up a Beastie-sized chalkboard for me to play around with use constructively for marketing purposes.

So, when do all these goodies get their next outing? Well, to kick things off, this Sunday I’ll be at Newmarket on Cork Street for their Christmas event. I’m looking forward to this one for a couple of reasons… It’s my first time going to this market (always exciting), and it’s in my neighbourhood too! Plus I thought I’d missed the application deadline, so it was doubly satisfying when my offer of a spot came through.

Then next week, it’s the biggie – The Dublin Christmas Flea! I had a blast at this market last year… hey, why not take a look around yourself? Plus, eagle-eyed viewers will spot me working away behind my stall at 1:12 in this video!

Dublin Flea Christmas Market 2017 from dublin flea on Vimeo.

For the 2017 event, they’ve added an extra day (the market will run from Thursday to Sunday) and there’s going to be a special press-only early opening on one of the days as well. I’m optimistic that the Beasties will be on their best behaviour, but I’m expecting at least one of the major newspapers to carry the headline “Reporter Mauled by Publicity-Hungry Knitted Monsters” on Monday morning!

Of course, I realise that not all of you lovely readers are likely to make it to Dublin this December. But no matter how far afield you are, there’s still time to adopt a monster friend from our online store!

I’ll be able to send worldwide right up until the 7th of December. After that:

Last post for mainland Europe is the 13th
Great Britain the 18th
Northern Ireland the 19th
Republic of Ireland the 20th

of December 2017.

I’m also already taking pre-orders for the first quarter of 2018, so if you’d like to get your paws on a Bespoke Beastie anytime before March 31st, don’t be disappointed! Drop me a line and I’ll get your name into the order book nice and early.

Alrighty, time for me to get back to work! Next Tuesday, I’ll have a new Beastie to share with you all, so be sure to stop by… Have a great week!

	tierneycreates: a fu… on We Wish You A Merry Beast…
	crawcraftsbeasties on We Wish You A Merry Beast…
	quietwatercraft on We Wish You A Merry Beast…
	crawcraftsbeasties on We Wish You A Merry Beast…
	The Hidden Spain on (Mer)Made Just for You!