Tag: Sai

Something New(ish) on the BeastieBlog!

Posted on by crawcraftsbeasties in Info, Knitted Beasties

Beastie Group - CrawCrafts BeastiesHello everybody!

Today I’ve decided to launch a new regular feature on the BeastieBlog, inspired by one of the more recent arrivals to our ever-growing gang of monster enthusiasts – hey there, Lives in Stone! Take a bow!

A couple of days ago, Liv (sorry if this isn’t your real name! I’m just going by how you sign off your posts!) took a trip through some of my really, really early posts, and was good enough to comment on a few. And oh, the fun I had revisiting these past Beastie creations! So I thought I might make it easy for the rest of you – especially if you only just got here – to catch up on a slice of monster history. Plus it would be nice to take some time to revisit an old friend every once in a while!

I’ll be doing this once a month on Fridays, and as soon as I come up with a catchier name than “Throwback Friday”, I’ll set up a separate category on the blog so the posts are searchable.

Alrighty, let’s get started! Today’s Throwback Friday Beastie is… Ninja Beastie!
Ninja Beastie, by CrawCrafts BeastiesI’m actually a little disturbed by how far back I had to travel in my archives to find this guy! I made Ninja Beastie in early 2014… I was still buzzing from doing my first market, and I’d also survived my initial round of Christmas commissions. I had so many ideas, and I wanted to make ALL of them! It was such a fun time, and it’s strange to think that back then my craft stash occupied a single plastic IKEA storage box, and my accessory templates could all fit into a small sandwich bag – now I have to have them in themed, labelled file pockets, or I’d spend all day hunting for the one I needed!

Ninja Beastie was also one of the first Beastie projects where I took pleasure in going overboard with the details. I made sure he was positively bristling with weapons, and I researched them online to make sure they were as authentic as possible…
Ninja Weapons by Crawcrafts BeastiesOf course, it wasn’t long before Ninja Beastie stealthily stole out of Beastie Towers to make his own way in the world! Have any of you seen him in your travels? Let me know in the comments!

Oh, and we’ll be back with NEW Beasties as usual on Tuesday, so stay tuned! Have a great weekend!

Pirates, Ninjas and… Skiing?

Posted on by crawcraftsbeasties in Knitted Beasties

Pirate Beastie

At last!
I’ve had some new Beasties “in progress” for what feels like forever, and last week I finally got around to putting on the last of their accessories and taking them outside for a photoshoot.

First of the new recruits is Pirate Beastie… I took him down to the Docklands on a sunny weekday afternoon so that I could photograph him alongside the Jeanie Johnston, a replica tall ship which is permanently moored in the River Liffey.
Pirate Beastie and the Jeanie Johnston

When I was making Pirate Beastie, I really went overboard (ha! Pun totally intended) with the pirate stereotypes. So he has a lot going on – natty matching hat and belt, cutlass, eyepatch, peg leg and, of course, a cheeky knitted parrot to keep him company!
Pirate Beastie Full Length

After completing my scurvy sea dog, I moved on to a stealthier project… Ninja Beastie!

Ninja Beastie

Ninja Beastie wears a black jumpsuit to help him melt into the shadows, and is bristling with teeny ninja weapons! They may be made of felt, but that doesn’t make them any less deadly. I gave him a pair of sai, to hang from his belt…
Ninja Beastie Sai

… a sword…
Ninja Beastie Sword

… and a shuriken throwing star.
Ninja Beastie Shuriken

Then I brought him to the Chester Beatty Library, in the grounds of Dublin Castle, to take his photo. This museum houses a collection of artefacts from the Middle and Far East, so it seemed an appropriate setting!
Ninja Beastie Chester Beatty Library

And finally – only a few days after the closing ceremony at the Sochi Winter Olympics (I have to admit I became kind of addicted to winter sports these last few weeks), a specially-commissioned Skier Beastie (or should that be Beast-Ski? Ski-stie?) met his new owner!
Ski Beastie

His skis and ski poles are detachable, too… that way he doesn’t have to miss out on the apres-ski!

See you next time!