Hey there everyone! How are you getting on? We’re still locked in here in Ireland, but there’s the possibility of a few things starting to return to normal next week, so hopefully I’ll have some good news for you then. In the meantime, we’re sticking with quarantine procedures, and trying to go out as little as possible. And although they’re Corona-immune, even the Beasties are getting in on the act. Here, take a look!
Quarantine Birthday Beastie – A sign of the times!
People are pretty quick off the mark when it comes to suggesting personal touches for their Beastifications. So this Birthday Beastie…
… Got a Covid-19-era update!
The face mask is made from cotton, pleated and lined with felt for some good woolly air filtration. Then, a pretty ribbon strap with a little elastic helps to hold it in place.
And when she’s staying safe at home, and not having to be socially distant… There’s a whole birthday cake to eat!
Two needle-felted wool sponge cakes, sandwiched between layers of felt jam and icing? That would put a smile on any Beastie’s face!
She’s also dressed to impress, in a sweet floral print sundress with ribbon ties on the shoulders.
And finally, check out those lustrous alpaca tresses! I really should get the Beasties to share their hairdressing secrets.
Now all we need to figure out is how she’s going to blow out the candle without removing her face mask!
Big thanks to Annemarie for suggesting this fun and timely project! And speaking of fun…
Quarantine Entertainment
So, I’ve been working from home these past few weeks – you might remember seeing my desk invaded by a Beastie raiding party on St Patrick’s Day in this post – and I’ve noticed myself picking up some new hobbies. I thought I’d share them with you… Mostly to see if any of you have started doing similarly odd things yourselves!
The big difference between home and my studio is that I now have a window to stare out of when I’m figuring out the angles of my latest Beastification. I also don’t see Ophelia the studio cat as often as I did. I miss her antics!
As such, I have been avidly following the daily patrollings of Big Ginger Cat and Little Tortoiseshell Cat, who swing by several times a day to sunbathe, hunt bluebottles and wage war on the magpies in the big tree. It’s nice to see them continuing about their usual business!
And when the cats are away, the birds get a chance to play… A lot of people are saying that they’ve been noticing birds and birdsong a lot more, and we’ve been enjoying the occasional full-on dawn chorus here some mornings. It’s harder to see the little birds in the trees now that they’re all leafed out, but I’ll sometimes catch a glimpse of a robin or blackbird as they flit from branch to branch. This morning I spotted some swifts for the first time this year, zipping around high in the sky! Has anyone else become an amateur ornithologist lately?
Then again, there’s a downside to that window too. When the sun comes around in the late afternoon, it blazes in and makes my work table hotter than the surface of Mercury! What’s a girl to do?
Why, retire to the garden of course! My balcony pots are looking better tended than they have in years, and on Sunday I harvested my first home-grown radish. Talk about satisfying – I’ll share some pics when a few more things sprout or flower.
And how about you? Have you taken up a new quarantine hobby, or had a change of pace that lets you see things you’d have missed before? Be sure to tell us all about it in the comments!
We’ll be back on Friday with a run-down of some of the craziest Beastie accessories I’ve ever made, so be sure to join us then!
PS…
In case you missed it in last Friday’s post, I did this!
Barry interviewed me for his podcast just before the lockdown kicked in, and the episode went live last week. You can have a listen here, or on your usual podcast provider. And a big thank you to all those people who listened already and got in touch afterwards! It was so nice to hear from you all!
“Look, there’s still cherry blossom here!”
Hey, who’s that?
Yay! 
A little further up the hill, we wandered into the rose garden. And although there aren’t many roses in bloom yet, there was plenty of other greenery to explore!
We’ll definitely have to schedule another visit later in the year to catch it at its best!
And 