Hello there, Beastie readers! Now, any of you who tuned in to my previous post would be forgiven for thinking that all the accessories I showed off last time around would be plenty to keep even the most active Beastie occupied. But as the title says – there’s more!
Much, much more.
First of all, let’s get a proper introduction to this little felted sweetie who made a brief appearance at the campfire cookout a couple of weeks back:
Hello there, Mini-Sadie!
Mini-Sadie is a needle-felted miniature of Cindy Beastie’s human’s own canine companion. She’s a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and she has a penchant for dressing up, as you can see.
Unfortunately, she doesn’t walk so well… But that’s ok, because she has THIS!
Hop right in, Mini-Sadie! Let’s take a stroll together.
Good girl! And awaaaaaay we go!
Mini-Sadie’s “tail wagon” is made from felt, and features net windows so she doesn’t get too hot.
For extra realism, those wagon wheels really turn, too… And that ended up being the trickiest part of the design! I raided Dublin’s toy and charity shops in search of suitable pre-made wheels, but they were all the wrong size. After much experimenting, the winning solution turned out to be home-made – a thick wire axle, with button wheels held in place with tubular beads. And I think the embroidered felt “spokes” fit in better with the woolly, fuzzy Beastie design aesthetic as well!
So, that’s walkies done for the day… What’s next?
How about a spot of sewing?
Cindy Beastie’s human counterpart is a quilter and fibre artist, so obviously only a top-of-the-range Beastnina sewing machine would do! Let’s get it set up…
…And then she’s ready to stitch!
Human Cindy’s artwork also inspired an extra addition to her Beastie’s wardrobe. When I began her Beastification, she was creating a series of miniature art pieces, using small segments of fabric embellished with embroidery. You can see some of them on her website, here. Miniaturising already-miniature artworks seemed like a non-starter, but incorporating this idea into an item of clothing for a little monster? That might just work!
I used pieces of felt, printed cotton and ribbon, and the design continues across the back and over the sleeves!
The jacket fastens with snaps in the front, so it’s removable as well.
Surely that’s everything now though, right? Nope! Not quite. I’ve one more final touch to add to Cindy Beastie, as requested by Human Cindy.
Snazzy yellow specs!
I love how fun and bright these are… Don’t they complement her lovely pale blue complexion beautifully?
And phew! That’s everything accounted for! Thanks to Cindy for this awesome and challenging Beastification project – it really expanded my monster-making skills in all kinds of new directions. And cheers to all you readers if you made it this far… Next time, I’ll be introducing you all to a simpler (but no less special) Beastie friend. See you in a couple of weeks!
PS…
You may have noticed that my Beastie store is looking a little empty these days.
But fear not! A fresh crop of woolly monster friends is assembling as we speak, and will be landing on the 22nd of this month at 10m Irish time. Set your alarms… Or, better yet, head to the Store and sign up for restock updates!
I created this Beastie as a very special birthday gift for an active lady who loves to spend time in the great outdoors. And since she lives in Scotland, I needed to make sure the weather never had a chance to rain on her parade (or hiking trail). That’s why she’s wearing a very fetching handknitted bobble hat…
… A rain jacket with handy hood…
(Did you notice the teeny embroidered zips?)
I stitched some felt treads to the soles of these boots to make them extra-grippy, and finished them with some embroidery thread laces. Now she’s fully equipped from head to toe!
This one is handstitched from 100% wool felt, and should hold everything she needs.
Why, you ask? Well, this Beastie lady also enjoys a game of 
Shinty sticks have a distinctive wedge-shaped head that sets them apart from the sticks used in hockey, hurling and other related sports like cammag (from the Isle of Man), bando (Wales) and Knattleikr (played by the Vikings in Iceland). In my quest to get the shape right, I was lucky enough to find 
Thanks to Anne for requesting this very special Beastification for her sister-in-law’s birthday!
My very first Beastie dogs were knitted. You know me, I love to knit! But although the technique and yarn worked well enough here, I soon found it quite limiting. It’s hard to capture the huge range of dog body shapes, colours and fur textures with yarn!
… And he makes a special guest appearance in Tierney’s latest blog post, 
…And a Pekingese from a little later that same year.
And of course, because I err more on the side of “cat lady”, I also started making Beastie kitties along the way. My first ones were special editions for my first time selling at the Dublin Cat Fair…
… But I soon started making them to order as well! This Beastie with a black cat was made as a partner for the one in the photo above…
… And then there’s this handsome fellow, created as a gift for a lady who owns a beautiful polydactyl cat called Paddy.
I still love those glasses.
