Hello there Beastie friends! It’s just a quick post from me today, but I realised that I have the perfect new Beastie to introduce to you. Stick around, it’ll only take a sec! Hey there, Knitter Beastie!
I found Knitter Beastie hanging out among the plants in my studio, on the day I was going to meet one of my long-term knitting students for a goodbye coffee. This student had been a regular at the classes for a while, and we’d worked through some awesome and ambitious projects together. But alas, her time in Dublin was coming to an end, and she was moving home to Germany to continue her studies.
Knitter Beastie’s little pointy ears pricked up when I mentioned that I was going to meet a fellow knitter.
“Reeeeeally? I’ve always wanted to see Germany… And I could probably use a bit of help with this project, too.”
And with that, it was decided. Knitter Beastie hopped into my bag, and pretty much insisted on leaving the country with my student. I hope they’re getting on well… And that Knitter Beastie hasn’t been raiding all the local yarn shops in the hope of whipping up a few woolly monster friends!
By the way, if you’re in Dublin (either all the time, or passing through), why not join us for class? Full details and a contact form can be found in the Knitting Classes section of the site, here. And I promise there won’t be too many Beasties around to distract you as you work away on your first project… Probably. 😉
So that’s it for this week… Short and sweet! Next week sees the return of Paddy and Plunkett, who are STILL on holiday. Lucky little monsters, eh? Join us on Tuesday to see what they’re up to now!
This Beastie was requested by a thoughtful mum, who wanted to help her daughter to celebrate a very special birthday in the Beastie-est way possible. I mean, you don’t turn 10 every day, do you?
Done! And we needed to include her favourite colours, too – blue, mint green, white and peach.
Perfect! I even picked up some rose-gold-coloured jewellery findings to better match the warm peachy tones of the bag and its ribbon strap. Here you go, little Beastie lady!
And now I reckon you’d better get going… You wouldn’t want to miss the party, would you?
Looks nice and peaceful, doesn’t it? But just as Plunkett is unwrapping his sandwiches in preparation for a nice quiet lunch in the countryside…
Looks like the boys might have stumbled upon the home of Velocity 2 – the fastest zipline in the world!
Plunkett is happy to pose with the sign, even though he is secretly dreaming of getting back to his picnic. But Paddy is hungry for adventure… And his curiosity leads him deeper into the building.
Later, Paddy rejoins Plunkett at the bottom of the quarry. Plunkett has had a lovely afternoon of munching cheese and pickle sandwiches and watching the humans hurtling down the zipline. And he’s very interested to get a Paddy’s-eye view!
Well, that’s all the proof I need. Well done, Paddy! Although I really don’t know how your next adventure will ever compete with this one…
That’s right, it wouldn’t be a Paddy and Plunkett day out if they weren’t wreaking havoc on a train somewhere… And this time it’s the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway that’s getting the Beastie treatment. Luckily for them, the railway has a monster of its own to keep these two under control – the legendary Welsh Red Dragon!
Nope, definitely not.
Fortunately, Plunkett has got some sense into his woolly head – juuuuuust in time, by the looks of things!
I tried to ID Paddy and Plunkett’s train, but I didn’t get too far… Are there any locals out there who can help?
“This Gelert must have been a pretty important person!” says Paddy.
Hanging out with all those owlets certainly put a smile back on Paddy’s woolly face.
“Plunkett! PLUNKETT! Can you see the keys for these anywhere? I think I’d like to take one of them for a spin!”
This Beastie girl was created as a very special birthday gift… And as you might have guessed from the title and subsequent puns, copying her human counterpart’s supercool hairdo was a really big part of this project! Let’s take a closer look at that colourful barnet, shall we?
And of course, the hood can be worn up or down. There are even holes for her ears to poke through!
And… Wait a sec, don’t go!
These little scamps are Beastie pugaliers – just like the full-size ones that her new human friend has at home!
… And Beastie Sanjay!
How about you? Have you tackled something new recently? If you have, tell us all about it in the comments!
But Paddy and Plunkett were in a bit of a pickle when we left them 
Fortunately, I was getting all alarmed over nothing… Turns out that this rather large octopus is a big fan of the boys, and couldn’t wait to snatch them up for a hug and a photo!
Anything else lurking in the shadows? The 
He’s wandered into the Seahorse Nursery, another of the Sea Zoo’s ongoing conservation projects.
Pollution of the world’s oceans with plastic is already having a serious impact on marine life… And unless we fix this plastic problem, all of the fantastic creatures Paddy and Plunkett met here could vanish from the seas forever! They don’t want to see this any more than I do, so they asked me to wrap up this post by sharing a few little things we can all do to bin the plastic… For good.
The Menai Strait is the narrow stretch of water that separates the island of Anglesey from the Welsh mainland. It looks calm enough here, doesn’t it? But strong and ever-changing tidal currents make it highly unpredictable and tricky to cross. In the past, this served the locals well – Anglesey was one of the last refuges of the Druids, at a time when they were being displaced all over Britain by the arrival of the Romans.
The Lobster Hatchery is one of several conservation projects based here in Anglesey Sea Zoo. Overfishing in the 1980s meant that local wild lobster populations took a huge hit, so the Hatchery is here to help them get back on their spiny little feet. The main focus of their work is a captive breeding programme, but research and education are also important aspects of what they do.
Well, moon jellies, if you’re going to be particular about it… But they do have an otherworldly look to them, don’t they? He could have watched them for hours – which is unusual for Paddy!
And although Paddy was momentarily distracted by the starfish that was taking a stroll across the front of the tank…
… It wasn’t long before he found a new way to pass the time – playing hide and seek with the fish!
But what’s that stirring in the hidden depths of the aquarium? Uh-oh!
By all accounts, Paddy was ready to storm off in a huff… Until Plunkett corrected himself. Parys Mountain is a mine – in fact, during its heyday in the 18th and 19th centuries, it was the largest copper mine in Europe.
“Look, Plunkett! Blue and orange rocks!”
“Hmmmm, what have we here? An old stone windmill, perhaps for pumping water out of the mineshafts? Fascinating! And look at that stonework!”
“Wow! That’s pretty incredible!”
It really is! And all the more so when you remember that this massive hole in the ground…
Hey there, Cool Dad Beastie – and sweet little Baby Girl Beastie too! This charming woolly pair were requested as a super-special Father’s Day gift for a new dad. A very new dad… Father’s Day 2019 was his first! So, to help the festivities go with a trademark Beastie bang, these two little monsters needed to make sure that their human counterparts recognised them straight away.
Her new human friend is heading for her first birthday, so this Baby Beastie is also a little bigger than some of the 
… And these straps unclip too, making the sling removable!
Here you go, Dad Beastie!
I think it’s time for a hug!
Heehee! Look how teeny she is!
And look, he’s into craft beer too! These two new friends will have lots to talk about. Regular BeastieBlog readers will recognise the brand of beer from 
Yum!
Thanks so much to Deirdre from 
We’ll be back next week (hopefully!) with more monster mayhem… See you then!
Is it because of their shared curiosity about the world around them? Or just because they both have pointy ears? Either way, my first Beasties with their own feline friends proved popular at 
… Enjoying some cosy feline cuddles in their new home!
Then, a black cat this time… With bright green eyes!
Eagle-eyed readers will also notice that the cat is sitting the other way around in the Beastie’s paws… So Orange Beastie and Blue Beastie will make a lovely matching pair when they’re together!
Oh, hello Ophelia! No, don’t worry… I wouldn’t dream of doing a photoshoot without including you too.
Thanks so much to Rosa for this Beastie request… And for giving Ophelia an excuse to drop into the BeastieBlog