Flashback Friday – My First Beastie Hallowe’en

Who sewed this guy together? CrawCrafts BeastiesAs you may have noticed, I’ve been having fun recently putting together a couple of Hallowe’en-themed Beasties. And regular readers will already have met this charming Frankenbeastie on Tuesday… but he wasn’t the first seasonal monster I’ve ever made! Over the last couple of days, I’ve been chatting to Ivonne at Aurian’s Blog about Hallowe’en accessories she could give to her own knitted and crocheted creations, and that made me want to look up some of my first ever Autumnal Beasties. Perhaps you’d like to meet them too?

First up (since we’re not quite at Hallowe’en yet) is Autumn Leaves Beastie!
Autumn Leaves Beastie, by CrawCrafts BeastiesThis was one of the last Beasties I made before I moved back to Dublin. As you can see, he’s being helpful and clearing up the fallen leaves from the garden… and his armful of foliage contains maple, oak and ginkgo leaves!

As it happened, Boyfriend was working in a small indie bookshop at the time, which made the perfect backdrop for some more photos…
Autumn Leaves Beastie, by CrawCrafts Beasties…On more than one occasion! Skull Beastie really enjoyed looking through these macabre titles…
Skull Beastie, by CrawCrafts Beasties…And with his mouthful of little pointy teeth, he’s definitely one of my spookier creations!
Skull Beastie, by CrawCrafts BeastiesAt around this time, I also made a Beastie with a little felt pumpkin, and I was hoping to share him with you today as well. But, despite combing my monstrous Beastie photo archive, I haven’t been able to track down a single picture of him! I’m sure there’s one out there somewhere – probably stashed away in the memory of a defunct mobile phone – but at least my knitting journal remembers everything! I was able to find my preliminary doodle, and samples of the yarn I used to make him.
Jack O'Lantern Beastie, by CrawCrafts BeastiesSo if anybody happens to see a purple and yellow Beastie clutching a Jack o’lantern when they’re out trick-or-treating this year, be sure to take a photo and send it to me!

How about you? Do you like changing up your crafting to reflect the seasons? Let me know in the comments! And we’ll be back on Tuesday with another Famous Monster… see you then!

Who sewed this guy together? CrawCrafts Beasties

Hallowe’en Is Coming…

…And this year, I’ve actually had a chance to start getting under way with some seasonal special edition Beasties! Today, I’m excited to introduce you to my first “Famous Monsters” Beastie – Frankenbeastie!
Frankenbeastie, by CrawCrafts BeastiesCobbled together from discontinued dyelots and abandoned WIPs, this little monster hasn’t enjoyed the same precise stitching as some of my other creations…
Who sewed this guy together? CrawCrafts Beasties… And the tailoring of his outfit leaves a lot to be desired as well.
Frankenbeastie, a Sartorial Disaster - CrawCrafts BeastiesBut it’s fine, because I’ve equipped him with this season’s must-have accessory – a pair of electrodes in his neck!
Frankenbeastie's Electrodes, by CrawCrafts BeastiesNow those will surely add a little extra spark to his personality!

So, what’s the verdict – a thing that should not be, or a misunderstood creature who makes us question what it means to be a Beastie? Let me know in the comments!

And as if that wasn’t enough excitement for one week, I made some time over the weekend to peruse the latest issue of online crafty magazine Olann And. Look who made a special guest appearance in their Handmade in Ireland feature!
Knitter Barróg Beastie, by CrawCrafts BeastiesYou can read the full feature here – Knitter Beastie was delighted to be included in the lineup alongside so many other great Irish handmade goodies! There’s also a new edition of the Olann And Podcast up on YouTube, which I’m looking forward to checking out on my next day off. If you want to beat me to it, you can find it here… But no spoilers, please!

We’ll be back on Friday with another blast from the Beastie past – in the meantime, have a great week!

The Post-Holidays Post

Explorer Beastie gets his 5 a Day - CrawCrafts Beasties
Hello everybody! After a couple of weeks away (which seemed to vanish in the blink of an eye, by the way), we’re back in Beastie Towers and ready for more woolly monster fun! Our “holidays” actually ended up being pretty action-packed, so I’ll have lots to share with you over the next few posts.

First of all, let’s do the shameless plug… My first craft fair of the Christmas season is coming up this weekend! I’ve been busy assembling an elite squad of Beasties to bring along, and there will be some other new characters joining them at my stall as well. So if you should happen to be in Dublin, we’d love to see you… be sure to drop in and say hi!
Ranelagh Craft Fair Poster - Creative Collective IrelandAnd of course, the Beasties and I couldn’t let Hallowe’en pass without celebrating a little…
Beasties at Hallowe'en - CrawCrafts Beasties
And with spookily apt timing, look who came to join the party…
Gizmo the Gatecrasher - CrawCrafts BeastiesGizmo Strikes a Pose - CrawCrafts Beasties

Hey there, Gizmo! He was happy to strike a pose for the camera, as long as I made him an honorary Beastie for the day.

Later on, Explorer Beastie and I were looking for somewhere interesting to take a few seasonal photos. So Boyfriend suggested we take a trip to Lissonuffy Cemetery – perfect!
Explorer Beastie at the Gate - CrawCrafts Beasties
You’d be forgiven for thinking that the Beasties and I spend all our time hanging out in graveyards, but Lissonuffy is really worth a look.
Explorer Beastie in Lissonuffy - CrawCrafts BeastiesExplorer Beastie in the Arched Doorway - CrawCrafts Beasties

It’s small, and you could almost say it’s a close-knit community in its own right. You’ll see the same family names cropping up time and again on the headstones, and some of the grave markers are really, really old. I wonder what this one used to say?
Explorer Beastie Among the Headstones - CrawCrafts Beasties
It’s also incredibly peaceful out here, since the graveyard is surrounded on all sides by farmland.
Explorer Beastie Admires the View from Lissonuffy - CrawCrafts Beasties
There’s also a ruined church in the centre of Lissonuffy, which has some interesting tombs in its walls…
Explorer Beastie Inside the Old Church - CrawCrafts BeastiesInside the Church - CrawCrafts Beasties

…Some of them perfectly suited to this time of year!
Explorer Beastie Finds the Spookiest Headstone - CrawCrafts Beasties
Then there was time for a quick break under the yew tree before we headed home to carve the pumpkin!
Explorer Beastie Under the Yew Tree - CrawCrafts Beasties
Hope you all had a super Hallowe’en! We’ll be back on Friday with news from Pirate Beastie, who set sail from Beastie Towers a couple of weeks ago in search of adventure. See you then!

Hallowe’en Beastie

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I’ve always preferred Hallowe’en to Christmas – in my book, nothing beats kicking through piles of autumn leaves, seeing people in fancy dress wandering the streets and finding imaginative ways to cook pumpkins. In keeping with the ghoulishness of the season, my first Hallowe’en themed beastie has a hand-stitched felt skull tucked under his arm.