Hey there everybody! And this is an extra-special post for me today, because over the weekend the BeastieBlog got its 500th follower!
So of course, I wanted to say a big THANK YOU to all of you… Especially those of you who take the time to come and hang out with me and the Beasties here every week. We thrive on your likes and comments, so please keep ’em coming!
I thought this might be a fun time to do a bit of a retrospective… So join me as I look back over some of my favourite Beastie-making moments, and introduce you to a few of the awesome blogging folks I’ve met along the way!
Let’s start at the very beginning… with this photo that is, now that I look at it, not good AT ALL. This is Schnocks, the very first Beastie!
Wow, haven’t they changed? Unsurprisingly, this first post of mine got no likes… at least not until Noémie from Focal Heart took it upon herself to scroll back through ALL my old posts last year to find him! Noémie has since invited 3 Beasties to come and live with her, and has been good enough to share photos of their adventures with me. Why not check out the first one here?
Although Schnocks was created in around 2010-11, it was a couple of years before I thought of adding to the Beastie family… Or encouraging them to head out and invade other peoples’ homes! All that changed after my first market, though.
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 Funky Air Bear‘s site, and Mrs P‘s tales of daily life in the Cottage on the Green always crack me up.
OK, let’s skip forward a bit, and see if we can find some better pictures, shall we?
Check it out! Explorer Beastie’s first away trip!
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, The Snail of Happiness. Jan’s blog is a beacon of contentment and good sense in a world that sometimes seems to be going off the deep end, so it’s one I heartily recommend you check out!
Inspired by the scenery of the Roscommon countryside, I decided it was high time I made some Beasties with a more Irish twist. And so, Barróg Beasties were born – any excuse to grab a bit of locally-made yarn in some glorious rich hues, and get cracking on some new accessories! Here’s the first one, clutching a lovely mug of hot milky tea.
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 LucyAnn and Tricia joined the party – they’re both great crafters, and I love sharing the adventures of their dachsunds as they explore Tricia’s beautiful garden.
Of course, there are two Barróg Beasties who have really made a name for themselves since their first adventure back in 2015. Yep, that’d be Paddy and Plunkett! Here’s a picture (a decent one) of their debut away trip to the mossy forests of Co. Fermanagh!
By now, we’d been joined by Jem Arrowsmith Knits and Tajana from Tatie’s World, and I’ve so enjoyed following their crafty journeys over the last couple of years!
2015 was the year that commissions really took off for me, and that resulted in some pretty elaborate monster creations… Anybody remember these?
That year, I also found some great new blogs through WordPress’s Blogging 101 course – including one of my favourite travel blogs, Travel Magnolia. Maggie finds herself in some truly fascinating places, and somehow she always finds the best foodie spots to share wherever she goes!
More recently, the BeastieBlog seems to have grown in all kinds of directions as I share more of my own adventures and experiments alongside what the Beasties are up to. 
It’s also been fun to see more people getting in touch with pictures of their own Beasties’ adventures – like Tammie Painter, whose Beastie friend Finn McSpool always seems to be up to some sort of mischief! It’s a wonder she ever gets a chance to pursue her writing and artwork at all when he’s around…
Of course, she’s not the only one – thanks to all of you who have sent in pictures of your Beasties at work or play… They always make me smile!
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!
In the meantime, be sure to join us next Tuesday for a bit of a catchup with Paddy and Plunkett. See you then!
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!
4. For a smoother curve, cut a few notches at intervals along the edge of the felt, near to (but of course not actually touching) the seam. Then turn the body “shell” right side out.
6. Don’t stitch all the way around, though! When you’re within 2cm of the beginning of the seam, take a break from sewing and get stuffing. Gently push the toy filling inside, making sure it gets right up into the top of the bee’s back! I find a chopstick or pencil really helps with this bit.
Then continue sewing to close up the opening.
8. Pin the face to the front (point 1) of the body, then use whip stitch to sew along the bottom edge (side C) first, and then along the top. I’ve done a couple of stitches in orange for the photos, so you can see what’s going on!
When you get to the antennae, sew a couple of backstitches across the base, so that they can stand up from the bee’s head.
10. Next, attach the tail piece to the bee’s bottom (point 2) in the same way as you attached the face piece. Side C covers the line of black stitches at the base, while the zigzag edge goes over the bee’s back. Pin in place, then stitch as before…
11. …And then repeat for the stripe as well!
Nearly there!
12. For the wings, fold the wing shape in half and sew a seam 2mm from the short edge in cream thread.
