Taking over the world... one beast at a time!

So, the strangest thing happened... 

Two weeks ago, I released an unusual new pattern.

It was a little odd... left of centre...

not at all mainstream!

 

I wasn't even convinced that anyone would use it...

I expected maybe two or three people to join in the fun...

I was kind of WRONG!!!!!

Already the pattern has been downloaded almost 500 times,

and the family of INNER BEASTS is growing

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Let me share some of the images which are warming my heart.

These are NOT made by me,

but are either made using my pattern - or are inspired by it...

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Loren is the brains behind the INNER BEAST MOVEMENT, as she is the 

clever one who challenged me to design a beast and create a pattern to be shared with others.

This is her BRAINLESS WONDER!

Part beast, and part gremlin...

 He loves to tangle Loren's yarn, 

hide her tools (especially the yarn needles) 

and otherwise thwart her efforts to finish projects

You can view Loren's project page here - and read more about him

I especially love the blue "outie" horns, those mismatched eyes... 

and the tufts of yarn at the side of the face, 

where I imagine his ears are - and also on the top of his head

 

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Meet Leslie's Inner Beast...

Of course, purple is my favourite colour - so I was always gonna love this guy!

But check out those tufts of hair and psychedelic eyes

(don't stare at them for too long or your head will start to spin)

click here for Leslie's project page

 

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Cyra has gone all ARTSY with her contribution

(and I love it)

Meet BERTHA BLING... her friends call her BATTY!

Half woman and half beast, Bertha occupies her days by creating havoc and laughing very loud.

 

She's been known to kick over glasses of water, hide the back door key,

leave a tap running in the bathroom, tip over a box of yarns... 

and even left a hand/claw print in the un-set jelly!!!

But how could you possibly stay mad at her?

She's glorious - and reminds me of a Greek goddess!

check out Cyra's project page here

I also love that's she has mastered the 

"DUCK FACE" pose, when taking a selfie!

 

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From artsy to SWEET... meet Heather's creation!

It looks to me like this INNER BEAST craves sweeties...

(I'm sure we can all relate to that)

 

I'm in love with the featured beads, the button heart... 

and who can resist a glitter pom pom nose?!?!

check out the project page here

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Last one for today is MAMA'S SCHATJE by Ria...

 

Schatje means Sweety... 

and Ria made the beast for her mother (who suffers from dementia)

in the hope that it will help her when she's feeling down or angry.

 

I don't know how Ria's mum feels about this little guy - but I LOVE HIM

 

Especially the way his body is so consumed by yarn tails,

that it almost loses it's shape entirely... it makes me wonder whether 

he was a SHAPE SHIFTER in a previous life

He somehow manages to look like a pile of yarn ends 

(left over after weaving in a large striped blanket, or something similar)

just lifted itself up from the counter and came to life!

 

check out Ria's project page here

 *****

 

But we can't be finished JUST yet... 

because I haven't spoken about our PRISONER from the top of the page 

Clever Nell is the mastermind behind this one...

and the reason I have been singing "he used to bring me roses, I wish he could again"

(for those non-Aussies who might not be familiar, it's the theme song from Prisoner, 

an Australian soapie set back in the late 70s/early 80s... have a listen here) 

 

Nell was also my partner in the yarn swap,

 so it is her yarn ends you see on display in my INNER BEAST pattern 

 

Nell has added dangly messes coming from the head of her beast, 

to represent all the miserable thoughts he’s trying to throw at her... 

and a comb over hair do, just because it suited him!

click to view Nell's project page here

But it didn't stop there...

Nell also went on to create a miniature beast - using embroidery thread and a 1.25mm hook!

The very aptly named MISS BALANCIA was created to remind Nell to seek a balance in her life. 

She’s about 3 inches tall, and carries a fan in her long arm to cool down Nell's racing mind. 

She has punk rocker clones knot spiked hair, and a diagonal mohawk down her back and tummy.

Oh, and she has a pink moustache, which apparently matches Nell's.

(I've yet to meet Nell, but with a pink moustache - it sounds like she'd be easy to spot in a line up)

Here's a photo of those two beasts together, 

so you can really appreciate how TINY the MISS BALANCIA really is!

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I'll be back soon, with more photos of the ever growing tribe!

You're welcome to bring your very own INNER BEAST to life...

The pattern is HERE - a free PDF

and there are several CROCHET-ALONGs happening on Ravelry

Join in the fun, in one of these three places:

laughing purple goldfish designs

international freeform forum

cro-kween designs

 

 

Yes, it's ANOTHER unicorn...

It's official.

I am obsessed with making these unicorns.

 

They are just so adorable...

I don't seem to be able to stop.

Here's the pattern, if you need to make one too!

Inner Beast

Could I possibly design an INNER BEAST DOLL? she asked

One that would represent your voice from within...

the one which which fills you with doubts… 

makes you question your decisions, 

your happiness, and your ability to succeed. 

A nameless, faceless creature – who needs to be tamed! 

A creature you can pinch and poke, and throw across the room.

Scream at, jump on, and bite on the butt if you need to.

 

A creature with the following characteristics...

(most of which I managed to stick to)

human shaped

no face
horns
crazed eyes
big butt
could sit on a desk
legs that are easy to grab
use crazy yarn and solid held together
worked in crochet

I love how the crazy yarn blurs the edges of his shape, 

even if it made him really difficult to photograph clearly!

The eyes were actually added as an afterthought,

as it was so difficult so see any details in the photos, 

and you just needed something to pinpoint where the face was.

I actually loved the anonymity of him without eyes… 

and may end up removing them again…

This piece was designed to complement the Magic Ball Swap 

held in December 2016 at the International Freeform Forum.

The pattern is available as a PDF download from Ravelry

(currently free)

here is the link

If you'd like to chat with others working on the same project,

head on over to this Ravelry thread and join in the fun 

(or just check out the other INNER DEMONS as they are released!)

and if you're new to the idea of Crazy Yarn - check this out

Copper Star Creation

There is a wonderful ADVENT CHALLENGE which runs each year

over in the laughing purple goldfish group on Ravelry

click here to check it out

Each day during DECEMBER, a nominated member will post a

Christmas Decoration they have made using recycled goodies

It's truly incredible to see how creative some people can be!

I’ll be honest here…

I didn’t really have much time to allocate to the challenge this year!

Even all my brain space is currently occupied with a million other things at present…

But somewhere in the deepest, darkest corners of my mind, 

an idea started to filter in - and I just couldn’t shake it.

I wanted to create the most glorious Christmas star

using some of the copper wire I have been stripping from old electrical cables…

In my mind it was perfectly shaped from all angles, each arm was identical,

 and the centre of the star was slightly raised to form a small peak…

In reality, it’s a little quirkier than that - AND I LOVE IT

Best of all - since I already had the wire stripped - this star took about three minutes to make!!!!

(it’s taken me longer to put this post together, than it took to make the decoration)

I just formed myself a basic star shape, 

wrapped the arms a few times to bulk them up,

 then a few wraps around the centre to bind it all together…

Oh - and a tea bag string for the hanger! Of course.

We call him EINSTEIN...

Still fluffing around with my surprise project

( the one I shared last week )

but I was also under a LITTLE pressure to finish Charlie's unicorn for her

- pattern here - 

Actually, it wasn't a LITTLE pressure...

Charlie is FIVE years old - and understands nothing about moderation or patience!

So there was a huge pressure for me to complete this cuddle toy for her...

( here's the original one I made )

Is mine finished yet?

Is it finished yet? 

What about mine?

You said you'd make me one!

Where's mine?

Why isn't it finished?

MUUUUUUUUM....WILL I EVER GET ONE?????

Yes.

and here he is...

I got a little carried away with the amount of yarn in the mane,

so we call him Einstein.

A Basket Full Of Colour

One of the things I really L-O-V-E about acrylic yarns - is the INTENSITY of the colours.

You just don't get colours like these available in wool fibres. 

Maybe there's a reason for it - I have no idea... Do you know why?

( I used to think that it was just a matter of taste... and that if someone wanted to make a quality project from 100% wool, and was therefore prepared to pay wool prices... than they weren't going to want it in a garish colour like this almost fluorescent green!!!!!! )

Luckily for me, this project needed to be worked in acrylics - and I also needed bright colours...

so it's a match made in heaven!

As for the project - well - that's a secret for now... but I'll keep you posted on my progress. 

You're welcome to guess what I'm up to though...

I'm starting with a bunch of vibrant green circles - does that help at all?

Probably not!

Twinkle Toes the Unicorn.

 
Sweet Monkeys it's a long, long time since I've posted in Blog Land...

It's as if I was sucked into a vortex and completely disappeared!

A humongous, draining vortex... which depleted all my creative energy...


There was very little time or energy for crafting - let alone blogging about it!

Bit by bit, I've been setting aside time to craft again...

Because I've been feeling quite lost without it.

 
It's not only a creative outlet for me... it's a meditative process.

The rhythmic motion of making those stitches gives me a feeling of calm and focus...

And every now and then you manage to create something adorable in the process!

Like TWINKLE TOES the UNICORN.

I can't claim credit for the pattern... Alison North is the creative genius behind this one.

Free pattern available here