Christmas – Page 2

Cat Sweater Beasties, by CrawCrafts Beasties

Beasties! Cats! Gin!

Posted on November 20, 2018June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Crafting, Knitted Beasties, Life at Beastie Towers

It may only be Tuesday, but it seems like we’re already in party mode here at Beastie Towers! Come and join us as we pick a name for the 2018 sloe gin batch, as promised last week, and give you a sneak peek of some of the other kitty-inspired goodies we’ll be bringing to the Dublin Cat Fair this Sunday! First up…

It’s Sloe Time!

Thanks to all of you who contributed pun-tastic name suggestions for this year’s Beastie Towers Blend sloe gin! The only downside was that they were all so good that I couldn’t choose one purely on merit, and I decided to hand over the reins to chance instead. Well, chance and a couple of Beastie assistants.

First, I gathered up all the suggestions, wrote them on slips of paper, folded them neatly and… Fed them to Crablet.
Then I called on Explorer Beastie to pick a winner.
This didn’t exactly go according to plan.
But Explorer Beastie is made of sturdy stuff. Look, he’s got one!
Who is it?
Taaaa-daaaaah! 2018 is the year of “Sloe on the Uptake”, courtesy of Tammie!
Of course, Explorer Beastie would have to pick the most messily-written slip of the bunch! But an excellent result. And now I can finally get those bottles labelled!
Thanks, Tammie… And to all of you who took part! I reckon I’m all set with sloe puns for at least the next decade!

Now, how about another…

Cat Fair Preview!

This morning I assembled a sampling of my Cat Fair specials together for a pre-market photoshoot. Care to take the tour?

First of all, I thought some snow-white kitties for the tree would be a good addition to the lineup! The grey ones from last week got a good response, so let’s see how these work out. Do you have a favourite?
I also turned my hand to making some stitched embroidery hoop pictures. I’ve been meaning to do this for years! There’s a small (4in/10cm) version and a large (6in/15cm) one.
And of course, the Beasties had to get a slice of the action! First up, I made some Beasties in cosy, smiley cat sweaters.
And there will also be Beasties with their own felty, feline friends, like this guy!
Plus I reckon a few other little woolly monsters will stow away in my Beastie backpack on market day… I’ll see how much space I have!

And on that note, I’d better get back to my sewing table! Join us for more Beastie shenanigans next Tuesday, and in the meantime, 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!

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!

A Bewitching Beastie!

Posted on February 6, 2018 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family, Commissions, Crafting, Knitted Beasties

Hello there everybody! Today seems like a fitting day to share the last of my pre-Christmas commissions with you, since I’m looking out my window and watching the ground being slowly covered with a dusting of snow and hail! It seems we might have a bit of a way to go yet until Spring starts springing… But perhaps a little pinch of witchy magic might help?
I love a project that gives me the opportunity to create a Beastie who’ll share the unique style and interests of their new human friend, and there was plenty of that going on here!

For starters, this sweet little Witchy Beastie never leaves home without a big cup of freshly-squeezed green juice – what a great way to get the day off on the right foot (or paw)!

I even dunked a stick of celery in there as a garnish! Witchy Beastie’s human counterpart is apparently a big fan of morning juice raves, so this should help lay the foundations of a good strong friendship!

This lady also has a favourite hooded cape in rich bright purple… so of course, Beastie does too.

The original plan for this cape was to make it out of felt, but it was waaaaaaay too bulky on a small Beastie frame! So I switched to a lighter, woven fabric from my stash, and cut the pattern pieces on the bias for a little bit of extra swishiness. On the front, I fitted a gold chain and clasp so that the cape could sit open without slipping off her little woolly shoulders.
Then her outfit was completed with a little A-line dress, in a cotton print sprinkled with magical stars!

Oooh, we should probably talk about her hairstyle next! We went for a swept-over look in light blonde (erk, is it obvious to anybody that I don’t speak hairdressing?) with a cool baby-blue streak in the front…

… And a tightly-cropped section on her left hand side. You would not believe how lovely and soft that short Beastie hair is!

Then her look was completed with a pair of chunky-framed cat’s eye glasses…

… And special witchy “shoes” with curly toes!

Finally, I added one last essential piece of kit – after all, every self-respecting Witchy Beastie needs her own broom!

This one has thick, bushy needle-felted bristles, and tucks neatly under the arm of Witchy Beastie’s purple robe when she’s not using it!

Well, hopefully that’s brought a little bit of magical monster sparkle to an otherwise wintry Tuesday lunchtime! And we’ll be back next week with photos from my latest road trip with Explorer Beastie, so be sure to drop in then… Have a great week!

A Beastie Backpack for Explorer Beastie - CrawCrafts Beasties

New Frontiers For Explorer Beasties!

Posted on January 30, 2018 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family, Commissions, Knitted Beasties

Happy Tuesday, everybody! And, after a brief wintry wander with Paddy and Plunkett last week, we’re going to dip back into the pile of pre-Christmas commissions, and meet another new Beastie!

So, you all know Explorer Beastie, right?

…And some of you might remember a few variations on the theme over the last couple of years, like Explorer Beastie’s little sister…

… And this rather retro gent, Victorian Explorer Beastie!

But here’s the newest addition to the Explorer Beastie clan, and he’s a little bit different!

First of all, he was made as a very special commission for fellow blogger Simon at Planet Simon. Although Simon’s blog mainly focuses on science (both fact and fiction!), his posts also drop in the odd slice of humour or snapshots of his day-to-day life, and it’s always a fun place to hang out and have a chat! But back to that Beastie… Can you tell what makes him stand out?

So far, so similar… But check out his paws!

Simon always seems to be fixing or making things, so I thought it made sense to create a useful companion for him who could lend a hand if needs be. One leap forward in Beastie-volution later, and here’s a little monster with magic magnetic grippy paws! And that, dear readers, means that he can hold onto stuff!

Mmmm, lunchtime!

Ready to fix stuff with his handy spanner!

I made him a compass as well – that’s essential kit for an Explorer Beastie, after all.

And of course, he can’t carry all these cool things in his paws ALL the time, so a Beastie backpack was called for too!

Let’s get everything packed away there, shall we?

Perfect!

I can’t wait to see what exciting exploits this pair get up to! Oh, and if you’re planning some adventures of your own, why not grab your free February calendar page from my shop?

It features the ever-intrepid original Explorer Beastie, enjoying the balmy (ahem!) Donegal coast at around this time last year. Oh, and did I mention that it’s FREE?

Have a great week, everybody… And don’t forget to join us again next Tuesday to meet another new Beastie! See you then!

Monster Family Fun!

Posted on January 16, 2018June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family, Commissions, Knitted Beasties

OK folks, I promised you something big this week, and here it is! Now, I’ve made Beastie families before (you can meet some of them here and here), but when I was asked to create individual little monsters for all of a customer’s nieces and nephews, I did briefly wonder what I was letting myself in for. Sometimes families here can be on the large side – in fact, Boyfriend has so many cousins that he’s pretty sure there are some out there that he’s never even met! Fortunately, the grand total turned out to be a totally manageable seven… And although that’s still more than I’ve ever made for any one Beastie enthusiast, I reckoned I’d definitely be able to get them ready in time for Christmas!

So, let’s take a quick tour through my biggest Beastie custom order ever! These Beasties were heading to three separate households, with a brother and sister in one…

…Two sisters next…

…And a family of three to complete the picture!

We decided it would be best to keep all the Beasties quite similar, but each with their own unique twist to make them as individual as their human counterparts!
For the boys, who are both big into their Gaelic football, that meant shirts in their county colours… So, blue for Cavan and white for Kildare. And they both get to be #1 in their own teams!

Oh, and I had to send them each out with their own felt football, of course. The shape of the segments that make up the ball are based on the human-sized version – that took some figuring out!

You might also have noticed that I experimented with a new way of doing short hair for these two – I think the fur fabric captures the fineness of children’s hair better than wool can, and it’s so soft as well. What do you all reckon?

As for the girls…

… Each got her own hand-knitted sweater with an appliquéd felt initial, and I was in experimentation mode with their hairdressing too!

Sometimes Beastie hair (as I’ve made it in the past) has come out a bit thick and unmanageable, and because I had five girls to make, I wanted to ensure that each of them had their own distinct hairstyle. At first, I experimented with a technique I found in a magazine, which involved laying out a line of sticky tape, sticking strands of yarn to it, sewing through the tape, then peeling it away and stitching the hairpiece to the head, which had been prepped with a piece of felt in a similar colour.

Um, the less said about my state of mind that day, the better.

When she was bad, she was horrid! — (Image from my old Dean’s Gift Book of Nursery Rhymes)

That said, I did like the effect I was able to create by using multiple shades of yarn, so I decided to cut out the sticky tape middleman, and sew strands directly to the felt “hair cap” where they were needed. The result? More readily style-able pigtails and ponytails!

So, I suppose that means we’re all ready for the group photo…

Oh. Maybe another one, with everybody looking at the camera this time?

Much better!

Did any of you take on a monster project in the run-up to Christmas? Tell us all about it in the comments!

Aaaaaaand next week we’ll be taking a break from Christmas commissions and catching up with Paddy and Plunkett… They have some wintry photos they’d like to share with you. See you then!

Merry Beastmas!

Posted on December 25, 2017 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family, Paddy and Plunkett

Hang a shining star from the highest bough…
… And have yourself a merry little Beastmas, now!

Here’s wishing you all a monster Christmas… However you celebrate it 🙂

All the Barróg Beasties - CrawCrafts Beasties

Beasties, Beasties, EVERYWHERE!

Posted on November 7, 2017 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family, Info, Knitted Beasties, Life at Beastie Towers

Wow, what a hectic week it’s been! We’re working flat out here at Beastie Towers, but of course we’re never too busy to stop in and have a chat with all you lovely readers on a Tuesday lunchtime. And today, we have some super exciting news… The Beasties have set foot on US soil!

Now, I am aware that a few intrepid monsters have already moved out there on their own – yes, Finn McSpool, I’m talking about you – but this is more of a migration, or a diplomatic mission.
(Not an invasion, though… I want to be very clear about that. The Beasties come in peace!)
They’ve set themselves up in Glen Rock, NJ, in a place that feels very much like home – Carrick Mór Irish Store! The owners, Kristin and Michael, have been long-standing Beastie supporters, and it was brilliant to be able to send them over a small delegation of monsters to stand alongside their incredible range of Irish goodies.

So, who are these brave travellers? Well, I wanted to cram as much of the Beasties’ homeland into this precious parcel as possible, and I figured the best way to do that was to send a crew of 100% Irish wool Barróg Beasties. The first ones to hop in the box were a pair of Tae (not a typo!) Beasties, each clutching a mug of deeeelicious hot, strong tea!

Next up, a pair of Redhead Beasties, with matching fiery tresses and tweed scarves!
For the sports fans out there, a couple of Hurling Beasties joined the team – one in Dublin colours, and one who appears to hail from Kilkenny!

Now, we’re all used to hearing that winter is coming… And from what I hear, winter in New Jersey hits a lot harder than it does here in Ireland! At least these two Aran Beasties are wrapped up and ready for whatever the weather throws at them!

And for anyone who’d rather curl up by the fire with a good book…

Finally, I added a new face to these tried-and-true favourites – meet Luck O’the Irish Beastie, who set sail with a big bunch of shamrocks! It’s probably thanks to him that everyone made it across the Atlantic safely.

Oh, and I couldn’t resist cramming ALL the Beasties together in the teeny photo studio for some happy snappies before they left!

As you can see, Beasties are just like people – it’s impossible to get them all looking at the camera for a group picture.

So, if you find yourself in Glen Rock sometime soon, do swing by Carrick Mór and say hello to this happy band of explorers! And for anyone closer to our home here in Dublin…

I’ve been a regular at this market over the last few years, and I’m looking forward to joining them again this weekend! If you’re in the area, rock on up and say hello… We’d love to see you!

Right, I’d better get back to it… I have a houseful of Beasties clamouring for accessories, and only three days left to make them! Have a super week, everybody!

	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!