Guitar – Beastie HQ

Angel Olsen Beastie, by CrawCrafts Beasties

Angel Olsen Beastie Takes to the Stage!

Posted on September 8, 2020June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family, Commissions, Knitted Beasties

Hello there everyone! And as promised last time, it’s a new Beastie day here on the BeastieBlog… so let’s get ready to meet the latest addition to the family! Here she is now – Angel Olsen Beastie!
Angel Olsen Beastie was created for Shane, who may be the biggest fan of human singer-songwriter Angel Olsen going. So this Beastification really needed to be a good one! Armed with some carefully-selected reference material (thanks Shane!), I picked out some wardrobe options for Ms Olsen-Beastie.
As you can see, the vintage-style green dress with beehive hairdo won out. And much knitting, stitching and hairstyling later…

Twins? CrawCrafts Beasties — Angel Olsen photo borrowed from https://www.13thfloor.co.nz

Twins? Well, maybe apart from the very obvious differences in human and Beastie body shapes. But I used a nice glossy chestnut alpaca yarn to replicate Human Angel’s very classy updo with short choppy fringe…
… And I Beastified her dress too!
I had a tricky time trying to find an exact match for the green in the photo, but this light olive satin from The Fabric Counter came closest while still complementing Angel Olsen Beastie’s pastel pink skin tone. I gave the dress a bit more of a “wiggle” shape than in the original sketch too, and added a concealed hook-and-eye fastening on the back.

And because satin is slippery… Even my spiffy new birthday sewing machine couldn’t deal with those teeny seams! So all those stitches are hand-sewn. Hey, who doesn’t love a teeny sewing challenge?

Then, we just needed one more thing.

Angel Olsen Beastie's Guitar - CrawCrafts Beasties — Gibson S-1 photo sneakily lifted from http://www.guitar-list.com

Thanks to the marvels of the internet, I was able to track down the make and model of the guitar that Human Angel Olsen usually plays. It’s a black Gibson S-1, in case you’re interested… And it lent itself well to the Beastification process.

And with some tactically-placed magnets in the guitar’s neck and body, Angel Olsen Beastie can really hold onto it!
She doesn’t have to play all the time though. The strap unclips at the side so she can put it down at the end of her gigs.
Sorry, no more encores… At least not until next Tuesday! Thank you and goodnight!

P.S.

One of the things Shane included in my “Getting to know Angel” pack was this video of a session for Seattle-based radio station KEXP, recorded back in 2017. Since live music is off the cards for most of us at the moment, I thought it might be a nice way to round off the post. Enjoy!

Happy Families at Beastie Towers!

Posted on July 22, 2016June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Commissions, Crafting, Knitted Beasties

Well, now that we’re back in Beastie Towers, suitably rested and relaxed from our little holiday, it’s business as usual here on the BeastieBlog! I’ve some new Beasties to introduce, and they’re super-excited to meet you all. So, without further ado, here they are… a whole FAMILY of Beasties!

These were made as a very special commission to celebrate the arrival of human baby Roibín… so of course the most important element was a little baby Beastie!
Look how cosy he is in his stripey handknitted blanket! I’ve given him big wide-open eyes and a little tuft of blond hair as well, to more closely match his human counterpart. But of course, we’d better not forget about Mum and Dad…

First of all, pretty Mama Beastie is modelling a mostly hand-stitched skater-style dress… yes, I’m FINALLY trying to do more of my monster tailoring on the sewing machine! All the stitches you can see in the photo are done by hand, but my machine made short work of speeding through the seams. I’ve also made Mama Beastie a necklace similar to the one her human normally wears!
And check out her beautiful blonde merino wool locks!
But what about Papa Beastie? Ah, here he is.
More tailoring here – this time, a bespoke checked shirt! After watching “The Great British Sewing Bee”, I’ve learned the benefit of strategically placing template pieces so the fabric’s patterns line up better on the finished article. I have to admit to being quite pleased with how this little shirt turned out!
And since Mama Beastie is holding the baby, what’s Papa Beastie got? Well, it turns out he’s a bit of a musician, so…
Perfect! Now he can play a gentle lullaby to send Baby Beastie off to sleep!
Here’s wishing this little monster family a nice quiet weekend together! And have any of you got fun family time planned for the next couple of days? Let us know in the comments!

As usual, we’ll be back on Tuesday… and there will be another new Beastie for you to meet, too. See you then!

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Beasties Grow Up

Posted on September 30, 2015June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Weekly Photo Challenge

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Change.”

Sometimes, you only notice how much something has changed when you take the time to look back at how it used to be. To me, it feels like I’m making Beasties the same way I always have… But the end result has changed a bit! Click through the gallery to witness BeastiEvolution happening before your very eyes…
https://me.sh/71jzp11

See what I mean? And who knows what will happen to them next?

Indie Rock Beastie - CrawCrafts Beasties

Weekly Photo Challenge – From Every Angle

Posted on August 30, 2015June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Weekly Photo Challenge

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “From Every Angle.”

For this week’s Weekly Photo Challenge, I thought I would revisit a Beastie I made at around this time last year… Indie Rock Beastie!

Once he was ready, I took photos of him from a couple of different perspectives, to showcase his handsome smile…

…And the details on his totally handmade guitar – a miniature Gibson ES325, lovingly rendered in felt and thread!

I don’t often photograph Beasties from so many different angles, but I thought this guy was worth it!

Enjoy!

Making Sweet Beastie Music!

Posted on September 10, 2014June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Ideas, Knitted Beasties

Yes, I know Indie Rock Beastie already got a good bit of airtime in my post last week. But I figured that since he is currently involved in helping out with some fundraising, that more than justified giving him a second guest appearance on the BeastieBlog. Plus, we really didn’t get a chance to talk about his guitar.

Guitars are one of the most labour-intensive Beastie accessories to make… every piece is hand cut and hand sewn, and their small size makes this one fiddly task! Also, no two guitar-toting Beasties have ever been given the same instrument. My first one got a bright pink flying V…

…Then I had to make a more Robert-Smith-esque guitar for my Robert Smith Beastie!

I had originally intended to use the same basic template for Indie Rock Beastie’s guitar, but somehow it just didn’t look right. Since I am a stickler for such things/a masochist/insane (delete as applicable), I decided to embark on some research. And I came across this…
Gibson ES 325

(Image from en.audiofanzine.com)

It’s a Gibson ES325, as played (and, I found out later, smashed onstage in a fit of pique) by Kings of Leon frontman Caleb Followill. The one shown in the image above perfectly fitted with my idea of what Indie Rock Beastie should play… and the colour of the body rather conveniently matched some felt in my crafting stash too! How could I resist?

I started by modifying my template to reflect the deeper, more symmetrical shape of this guitar…

… and raided my scraps bag for teeny pieces of felt to make the details! When I’m cutting out felt, I always keep any offcuts – they’re so useful for projects like this one because I can trim them to the right shape by eye, rather than cutting out tiny circles and rectangles from a larger piece of fabric.

Once the guitar body was finished and lightly stuffed, the last stage is to add the strings!

These are run from underneath the piece of grey felt at the end of the guitar’s body, and tied off along the headstock. Then all that was left to do was to place it carefully in the paws of my finished Beastie, and let him do the rest!

Sweet Charideeee…

Posted on September 4, 2014June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Info, Knitted Beasties

A UK-based Beastie enthusiast contacted me recently to ask if the Beasties and I would like to help her out with a little fundraising. She’d already done all the hard work, by taking part in this year’s RideLondon, an 86-mile long road cycle through London and Surrey, to raise money for three charities that are especially important to her – Ebony Horse Club, North West Air Ambulance and The Injured Jockeys Fund. Despite occasionally torrential rain, she managed to smash her target time of 8 hours, making it home in just over 6. Even reading about it made me feel exhausted, so I was happy to get involved in a more crafty, sofa-based way!

So, where do the Beasties come in? Well, if you pop over to Suzanne Allen’s Ride London, you’ll see that she’s very generously offering donors the chance to win prizes… one of which is Indie Rock Beastie, pictured above! Indie Rock Beastie has been out and about on the festival circuit for the entire summer, and figured this was a great opportunity to give something back.With his artfully tousled mop of black hair…

… And awesome hand-sewn checked shirt and guitar…

… he’s sure to draw a crowd to his first-ever charity benefit gig!

Anyone who donates a unique amount between £5.01 and £29.99 will be entered into the prize draw, and Indie Rock Beastie is looking forward to heading to his new home already! Go on, try your luck!

Beasties Don’t Cry…

Posted on April 29, 2014June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Knitted Beasties

My first encounter with The Cure didn’t go so well. It was 1990, they’d just released the remixed version of “Close to Me”, and the video for the song was played over the closing credits of Top of the Pops that week. And it FREAKED ME OUT. The wobbly camera work, the whole band trapped in a wardrobe that’s just fallen off a cliff into the sea, the over-friendly trumpet-playing octopus with the human face… GAAAAAH! Horror! Anyone with nerves steelier than my 8-year-old self can check out the video here, if they dare.

I’m not sure what changed my mind about them, but somewhere along the way The Cure ended up being one of my favourite bands. I’ve whiled away many long bus journeys listening to “Disintegration”, and danced like a loon to “The Lovecats” more times than I’d care to think about. And who could forget Robert Smith stepping in to save the small town of South Park from total destruction by a rampaging Barbra Streisand? I figured it was high time I paid tribute to one of the most recognisable faces in rock, Beastie-style.

After I’d finished his trademark dark eyes and red lips, I added a mop of curly hair and a tailor-made black shirt, and then…

… a hand-stitched guitar, based on one Robert Smith actually plays!

Has anyone any ideas for other musicians who deserve to be immortalised in wool and felt? Let me know in the comments!

Flying V

Posted on November 12, 2013 by crawcraftsbeasties in Uncategorized

When I started making this beastie, I planned to give him a pink book to hold. But, as sometimes happens, when I’d finished putting him together, he just didn’t look like a bookish kinda guy. The obvious solution? Pink flying V guitar!

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