While I was writing yesterday’s post The Horizontal Diaries, January 30, 2023 which included a little tour of the Tattered Cover Bookstore, I decided that I needed to add a new “blog post category” Independent bookstores, as I’ve written more than a handful of Independent Bookstore tour blog posts over the years; and adding them to a blog category would make them easier to find.

In order to tie all the previous blog posts about trips to indie bookstores, I needed to search for all my old posts using the WordPress search tools. While searching I came across this post from June 2018 – Beastie Adventures: Sisters, Oregon about a day trip I took with my late husband Terry, Mike the Miniature Schnauzer and the tierneycreates Beastie to Sisters, Oregon. That day trip is a wonderful in a lifetime of wonderful memories of my life with “Terry the Quilting Husband”.

Here is a photo from that blog post from June 2018:

Look at the right side of the photo – there is the SAME kit a wonderful friend recently sent me in the mail as part of a “get well” package (see blog post The Horizontal Diaries, Continued):

I was absolutely floored (I gasped) when I discovered this. It was obvious that I liked this hat kit as I took a photo of the tierneycreates Beastie with it in June 2018 on a wonderful day (and now memory) with my late husband Terry.

Once I realized this serendipitous occurrence, I immediately texted my generous friend who had sent me the kit, to tell her of this magical occurrence along with the blog link and the photo of the tierneycreates Beastie with the kit in June 2018.

Here is what she responded (paraphrased):

Oh my goodness! That is crazy! Well…I think you should consider it a gift from Terry if that isn’t too painful because here is what happened… I went to the yarn shop… I already had the Noro yarn for you and your box was pretty much full so that is all I was going to get. That kit caught my eye from the register and I couldn’t quit thinking about getting it for you. I walked back and forth, brought it to the register and then put it back several times. Finally I just couldn’t leave it there and walked out with it for you…There was the same kit with neutral colors in it and I kept swapping which of the two I was going to get you. I thought the neutral one looked more like you but for some reason I couldn’t bring myself to it it. I had to buy this one!

A little magic from the Universe? Pretty awesome! Now that kit has an additional meaning/significance (beyond a wonderful gift from a friend) and I cannot wait to make this hat!

Featured image – Pexels free images

Beastie Adventures, Guest Blogger, tierneytravels

Guest Blog Post: The Fayetteville Friend’s Studio Project, Part III

November 14, 2022November 15, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

tierneycreates Beastie back again continuing my series of posts of our trip to Fayetteville, AR to help our friend J unpack and organize her studio and hang out with our friend MJ who joined us.

If you are just joining us here are links to the previous 2 posts:

Guest Blog Post: The Fayetteville Friend’s Studio Project, Part I

Guest Blog Post: The Fayetteville Friend’s Studio Project, Part II

In the previous post I mentioned my run in with the cat Oscar while I was taking my dog Mikelet for a walk in the backyard. Tierney moved Mikelet and I to a safe location, the porch swing, just in case Oscar decided we were cat toys.

Mikelet got pretty cozy on the porch swing and was ready for belly rubs:

Mikelet was a very good dog during our trip and mainly laid about and slept while we worked on the studio unpacking and organization project.

Here is what J’s studio looked like by day 3 of the project. Tierney had made it her mission to get J’s sewing machine area cleaned up so J could sit and it and sew!

I even found a clean spot on the cutting/worktable in the center of the room:

On Day, Tierney, Mikelet and I had to head back to Denver but our friend MJ sent us this photo of a completely cleaned off worktable!!!

Amazing!

By the time we left every box was unpacked and nearly all the boxes were broken down and moved to the garage for future recycling.

Early in our project, Tierney came across this plaque in one of J’s boxes and hung it on the wall of the studio for motivation:

I guess it worked! But what really worked was the untiring and persistent efforts of J, MJ, and Tierney (and me cheering them on) “kicking #ss and taking names” on those boxes! They were quite the RELENTLESS team!

They didn’t just unpack boxes and organize the studio, they also did some fun stuff, but Tierney forgot to bring me along so I’ll let her tell you about it in another post.

J’s new home was really beautiful. So I will just close my series of posts with some photos of her lovely home and her amazing collection of art from J’s world travels (for example the ancient Egyptian themed framed quilt is from her trip to Egypt) . Also Tierney made J a little hostess gift, one of her drawstring bags, and that is in the photos below:

Beastie Adventures, Guest Blogger, tierneytravels

Guest Blog Post: The Fayetteville Friend’s Studio Project, Part II

November 13, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

tierneycreates Beastie here with Part II of the saga of our friend’s studio project (Part I on post Guest Blog Post: The Fayetteville Friend’s Studio Project, Part I).

Here I am in my observation tissue box taking notes for this blog post:

So after a day of unpacking boxes, J’s studio looked like this:

It might not look like it, but we were making great progress! Especially when we got the closet organized and set up for J’s WIPs (works in progress) to be stored out of the way (plus she could see all the projects she has to get done by the end of the year – ha, ha!):

Unpacking all those boxes we made a bit of mess between the boxes themselves (which we broke down) and the wrapping papers.

But we had a curious kitty Oscar who was fascinated with all our unpacking activities, especially the wrapping paper:

Oscar even tried to help us break down some of the boxes:

I’ll admit Oscar was cute, but I am not too sure of my comfort level around Oscar. When I tried to take my dog Mikelet for a walk around J’s backyard, Oscar came a little to close for comfort:

Tierney had to intervene and move Mikelet and me to another area as we weren’t sure if Oscar would think I was a cat toy!

After a long day of unpacking, J who is an accomplished pianist, treated us to an impromptu concert on her beautiful Estonia piano (which Tierney thought also looked beautiful in B&W):

Wow all those symbols on the page look complicated, not sure how J understood them all!

Well more progress to come in Part III of this series of posts…

Beastie Adventures, Guest Blogger, Studio, tierneytravels

Guest Blog Post: The Fayetteville Friend’s Studio Project, Part I

November 11, 2022November 11, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Hello this is tierneycreates Beastie, filling in for Tierney who has just returned from a couple days in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Mikelet my miniature Miniature Schnauzer and I went with her, and we consulted/helped with the unpacking and organization of her friend J’s studio in Fayetteville.

(if you are new to this blog, my story is on this post – I’m A Monster!!! and you can see all my posts at this link: Beastie Adventures).

Tierney and J’s Central Oregon based friend MJ also met up with us there (and Tierney and I got to fly on the same flight from Denver to Bentonville, AR as MJ had a connecting flight from Central Oregon).

J had moved from Central Oregon (where Tierney and I used to live) to Fayetteville, AR and then had a major life changes and did not have the time and chance to unpack and organize her quilting/art studio. She invited MJ and Tierney to visit her and MJ came up with the idea that we could also work on getting J’s studio to the point where she could do her art again.

Here I am on my way to Arkansas – Mikelet and I traveled in Tierney’s backpack:

After visiting with J and MJ a while when we first arrived in Arkansas, we headed upstairs to J’s studio to see what we were getting ourselves into…

Oh dear.

Looking around, I realized we’ve got a bit of work to do.

Well I went ahead and set up a temporary desk in the tissue box so I could blog about our project!

Next guest post I will show our progress, but for now I will close out this post with a funny sign J had in her studio:

Beastie Adventures, tierneytravels

Guest Blog Post: The Beasties’ Ireland Travelogue (Part II)

October 31, 2022October 31, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Hello this is tierneycreates Beastie finishing up my Beastie Travelogue of our visit to Ireland.

Human Tierney at some point will share her Ireland adventures from her human perspective (boring) but I am not sure when that will be. She is making stuff for her Etsy shop for the upcoming holiday season and has had more intermittent travel with Human John on business trips. Perhaps she’ll blog about all those things someday…we’ll see…

Here I am getting ready to write the Part II of my previous post – Guest Blog Post: The Beasties’ Ireland Travelogue (Part I) . However, my dog Mikelet continues to be a bit naughty, seeking attention (he’s still mad he did not get to go to Ireland we John Beastie and myself) and is standing on Tierney’s favorite miniature tape measure (which is the perfect size for him), distracting me from writing!

Okay so back to my travelogue…

So after a couple days in Galway we took our rented car onto to Doolin, Ireland. On the way to Doolin we stopped at Dunguaire Castle, the Cliffs of Moher and Lisdoonvarna.

Here are a couple photos of John Beastie and I outside of Dunguaire Castle before we went inside:

Tierney didn’t let us take too many photos as it was very windy and she was afraid we would blow into the ravine!

After the castle we headed to the Cliffs of Moher. Tierney will likely share a post about the allegedly amazing Cliffs of Moher. I say “allegedly” because as she left John Beastie and I in the car! All I know is she was really hyped up when she got back in the car after visiting those cliffs!

She did let us out of the car in Lisdoonvarna, a small town which is home to the annual Matchmaking Festival that happens every September. Here is a little from the website linked on the name

Europe’s biggest singles festival takes place every September in the small village of Lisdoonvarna on Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way. The month long Irish festival attracts people from all over the world looking for Love, fun and a bit of ‘craic’. The festival is over 160 years old and couldn’t be more different from online dating services. There’s music and dancing in every bar from 11am in the morning to the wee hours of the night and those looking for love can meet Ireland’s only traditional matchmaker Willie Daly in his ‘office in the Matchmaker Bar. Legend has it if you touch his ‘lucky book’ with both hand’s, you’ll be married in six months!
– matchmakerireland.com

In the Lisdoonvarna town center there were statues commemorating their famous Matchmaking Festival. I just had to climb up and get my photo taken:

My partner John Beastie reminded me that the statue was about “matchmaking” and since he was my “match” we should probably be photographed together:

I probably should have stood up for the photo but I’d gotten pretty comfortable in the arms of the statue!

Finally we arrived in Doolin where we were to spend a couple more days before heading back to Galway, dropping off the rental car, and taking the train back to Dublin where we would fly back to the U.S.

Doolin is known as the home of traditional Irish music and it is filled with Irish pubs with live performances each evening of traditional/folk Irish music.

Matty Beastie (who I introduced in the post Guest Blog Post: Beasties Return to Ireland!), like Human Matt, loves traditional Irish music, so human Matt brought Matty Beastie to the pubs in Doolin:

Matty Beastie traveled in Matt’s jacket pocket (I think Tierney and John should take a lesson from Matt and start carrying John Beastie and myself in their pockets).

Sorry there aren’t anymore photos of John Beastie and I to share from our trip to Ireland. Tierney was busy photographing less important things I guess…sigh.

I’ll close this post (and my travelogue) with a little video of Matty Beastie enjoying traditional Irish music while we were in Doolin:

Beastie Adventures, tierneytravels

Guest Blog Post: The Beasties’ Ireland Travelogue (Part I)

October 24, 2022October 24, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Hello there – this is tierneycreates Beastie returning to guest blog post and continue the story of John Beastie and my trip to Ireland which I began in my previous post – Guest Blog Post: Beasties Return to Ireland! . (If you are new to this blog, my story is on this post – I’m A Monster!!! and you can see all my posts at this link: Beastie Adventures).

My dog Mikelet has calmed down now that I’ve been back a couple weeks. If you remember from the previous post, he was standing on my desk trying to get attention while I was writing you a blog post. Now he only peers over my desk trying to get attention…

I am ignoring him for now (but will take him out of a walk in the chilly morning – Autumn temperatures have hit in my part of Colorado – when I am done writing) so I can share a photo travelogue of some of the highlights of our trip to Ireland.

I’m only going to focus on what John Beastie and I did, as human Tierney can write her own posts about her adventures!

DUBLIN, IRELAND

Before we got to Dublin, Ireland the four of us (humans and Beasties) flew from Denver, CO to LaGuardia airport in New York. While at the LaGuardia airport, John Beastie and I couldn’t help ourselves and had to go and hang out where it said “Do Not Climb“. I think they meant “Humans Do Not Climb”, I don’t think this sign applied to Monsters!

John Beastie and I were so excited to go on our first holiday together we had difficulty minding the humans! (and Tierney grew up in NY and was getting a little too sentimental about the “I love NY” sign so we had to do something to calm her down…)

Our first day in Dublin, Ireland was spent with John and Tierney the humans as their friends Matt and Kathy were not arriving until the evening as they were flying in from Scotland where they had spent a couple weeks.

So Tierney and John shared with us their first Fish & Chips in Ireland:

No worries we were careful not get to get any grease on our clothes (especially since they were the only outfits we had for 1 week in Ireland!)

After the Fish & Chips we had a wander about and visited places such as the Christ Church Cathedral and St. Audoen’s Church and the beautiful adjoining park. Here are a couple photos from those wanderings:

We also wandering about the streets of downtown Dublin taking random photos:

When we met up later that evening with Matt and Kathy, we got to enjoy our first fresh Guinness pint in Ireland! (Okay it was Tierney’s pint, she had a lot of hesitancy of letting Beasties near alcohol…):

The next day we first visited St. Patrick’s Cathedral and John Beastie and I entertained ourselves by finding places we probably shouldn’t pose for photos at:

Then went to the Guinness Storehouse (brewery tour)with Matt and Kathy and John Beastie and I took some photos there (this one is my favorite):

After the Guinness tour, we met up with Helen of CrawCraft Beasties who made me and I’ve already shared the stories from that reunion (for me) and first time meeting (for Kathy and Tierney) in my post Guest Blog Post: Beasties Return to Ireland!.

The next day we took the train from Dublin to Galway to spend a couple days in Galway.

There was so much to see looking out the train window, every if it was overcast and raining.

Here we are in the lobby of the lovely hotel we stayed in Galway – the Galway Bay Hotel – which was right across from the beach/water:

It was so windy in Galway along the water, John Beastie and I tried to take some photos but my hair was blowing everywhere:

Human Tierney had the same problem (but she pulled it out of her face for her selfie):

Of course John Beastie and human John did not have this problem, as they have not hair (on their heads)!

We finally had to settle for a photo away from the wind among some flowers in the garden at the hotel:

I’ll continue our Beastie Travelogue in my next guest post, but I’ll close this post with a really stupid photo Tierney took of us while she was waiting for human John to check out from the hotel (so they could head via the car the four humans had rented to the next part of the Ireland adventure!)

She had us stand in a tray on the coffee table of the hotel lobby (my eyes are rolling):

We are not decorative! We are monsters!

Beastie Adventures, Guest Blogger, tierneytravels

Guest Blog Post: Beasties Return to Ireland!

October 11, 2022October 21, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

This is tierneycreates Beastie guest blog posting (if you are new to this blog, my story is on this post – I’m A Monster!!! and you can see all my posts at this link: Beastie Adventures).

You haven’t heard from Tierney or myself in a while as we’ve been in Ireland!

Tierney, John, John Beastie and I recently returned from Ireland and I got to see my maker Helen of Crawcraft Beasties & Knit with Helen; and Tierney got to meet Helen in person for the first time!

We had lots of adventures in Ireland visiting cities such as Dublin, Galway, Doolin, etc. I told Tierney I would get the blog posts on our trip started as she is still rather jet lagged.

Here I am trying to write this blog post (sitting at my desk that John built me, see post Guest Blogger: A Desk for Me!) while my dog Mikelet is trying to get attention from me as he missed me on my long trip (we did not take him for fear he might get misplaced during the trip).

We visited Ireland with Tierney and John’s friends Kathy and Matt who visit Ireland a couple times a year. Kathy’s family is from Ireland and she still has family there and Matt who is part Irish, is well versed in Irish culture and history.

Kathy also knows Helen as she has been working with Helen to get her husband Matt his very own Beastie!

John Beastie, Tierney, Kathy and I met up with Helen and visited a pub for a Beastie reunion with Helen. Here are a couple photos of our initial reunion, I could not decide which one I like best of my awesome maker so I included them all!

She was pretty pleased to see us again as she sends her Beasties out all over the world and rarely gets to see them in person again once they’ve traveled across the ocean!

After the pub, we all headed to Helen’s studio for a little tour of her studio, to meet the new Beastie for Kathy’s husband Matt, and to take a little knitting class (Helen is a professional knitting instructor) to learn how to knit cables (which scare Kathy and Tierney).

This is Helen’s new studio and although John Beastie and I were not “born” here but it was awesome to be in a place where our fellow Beasties are now “born”:

Here is a little photo tour of Helen’s bright and cheery studio:

After a little studio tour, it was time to meet “Matty Beastie” (and his dog Riley) the new Beastie Helen made for Kathy’s husband:

Matty Beastie comes with his dog Riley the Chocolate Lab (to see the Canine Riley check out the post Loved (or mugged) by a Lab, Tierney is Riley’s “Dog Godmother”), a pint of Guinness, as well as his PJs (if he gets tired of wearing his jeans) and his famous slippers.

Helen brilliantly added a magnet to Matty Beastie’s chest so he could hold up his pint of Guinness:

John Beastie and I took a group photo with our new friend Matty Beastie who we would now be touring Ireland with:

As you can see I was not sure where to look during the photo as Helen was also taking a photo of our group at the same time.

We got distracted during the photoshoot and Riley ended up sampling some of Matty Beastie’s Guinness!

I did take Matty Beastie aside and give him some tips on managing humans and how to get away with things right under their noses…

While John Beastie and I visited with our new friend, the humans Helen, Kathy and Tierney) had a cable knitting class. Below is a photo of the class sample and a photo of Tierney clumsily trying to knit her first cable (she won’t be whipping out a new Aran sweater for me anytime soon…).

I am sure Tierney will do a post about it whenever she finishes that headband.

After the knitting class, we headed back out to a pub (the humans visited a lot of pubs while in Ireland) to meet up with human John and human Matt so he could be surprised with his new Beastie!

John Beastie and I watched with anticipation while Matt excitedly unboxed his new Beastie:

Matty Beastie was a hit with Matt and John Beastie had raise a pint to toast the newest member of our US based Beastie family!

Sláinte!

More stories to come on our Ireland adventures. Tierney asked me to include this photo as proof that she and human John really did come on the trip:

I am also including this photo – Tierney captured in a moment of pure joy hanging out with my maker Helen in person for the first time:

Beastie Adventures, From the Woodshop, Guest Blogger

Guest Blogger: A Desk for Me!

August 2, 2022August 26, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

I bet you are surprised to hear from me again so soon! This is the tierneycreates Beastie, and I am sneaking in for a post about my new desk that Tierney’s partner John built for me yesterday.

Tierney had a post planned today on Black & White photos she took in Chicago (my monster eyes are rolling) but I asked her to delay your boredom a day while I shared news about my new desk (which I am writing you from right now!):

Thanks to the suggestion by Catherine @Cedar51 in the comments sections of my post Guest Blogger: Quilt Retreat Report from the tierneycreates Beastie, Part I, that John should build me a desk, John did it and now I have my very own wooden desk!

First John came up to Tierney’s studio (which is also the home of my dog Mikelet and me) to take my measurements for the desk:

He went down to his woodshop in the basement (where my partner John Beastie lives, yes we stay in separate sections of the house its a long story – but it best not to let two Beasties hang out continuously, trust me…).

An hour later John returned with my new desk:

Then Tierney and John did a photoshoot (and I am not sure why they were giggling so loudly during the photoshoot, it was quite rude) of me at my new desk:

We also discovered the desk is great for me to sew on my Beastnina, so I can help Tierney out with her backlog of UFOs (unfinished objects for the non-quilters reading):

My dog Mikelet was getting impatient during the photoshoot because it was time for his after dinner walk:

So I stopped playing with my new desk, and took Mikelet out for his walk:

So that’s my new desk story. Now that I have a great place to write I might pop in more frequently with blog posts.

And don’t worry Tierney will be back tomorrow to bore you to tears with more of her B&W photography from her delusion that she is a photographer (but just keep playing along).

Oh and to close this post – here is a photo of me back in my area of Tierney’s studio, with all my accessories made by Helen of Crawcrafts Beasties (crawcraftsbeasties.com):

Beastie Adventures, Quilt Retreats

Guest Blogger: Quilt Retreat Report from the tierneycreates Beastie, Part III

July 31, 2022July 31, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Hello Everybody, this is the tierneycreates Beastie returning for my 3rd and final installment about the quilt retreat I recently attended with Tierney and her quilting friends in Shelton, Washington at the Riptide Retreat.

If you are just joining us you can check out my other two posts: Guest Blogger: Quilt Retreat Report from the tierneycreates Beastie, Part I and Guest Blogger: Quilt Retreat Report from the tierneycreates Beastie, Part II; as well as a post I let Tierney slip in yesterday day – Riptide Retreat 2022 in Black and White (I let her slip this post in so she could pretend like she had actually returned to blogging…).

In this final post in the series of my posts (of filling in for Tierney who fell off the blogging bandwagon for awhile) I wanted to share what the quilters attending the quilt retreat worked on. But alas, as my paws are not really good with the camera phone, I had to rely on Tierney to take photos and she did not take a lot of photos of much beyond the LITTLE WALLETS they worked on. But I will get to those in a moment.

She did take photos of one quilter’s quilt they were working on – the Legendary quilt – pattern by Elizabeth Hartman – also known as the “Sasquatch Quilt”. Tierney has made one herself in the past after seeing a couple of her quilting friends make on (see post A “Legendary” Christmas Gift and “Quilt Photo-bombing”).

Here is her friend Dana’s Sasquatch in progress on the design wall at the retreat center:

Dana has made the quilt several times in flannel and is now making the quilt in quilting cotton for a charity raffle. This is the same quilt in progress you saw pieces of in my photo from a previous post in this series, where I am trying to gain access to Dana’s rotary cutter (unsuccessfully):

Dana is using a rain drop printed fabric as the background for the quilt.

The other quilters were working on very cool projects such as a Japanese fabric tote bag and a very colorful quilt, but Tierney did not bother taking photos. Actually she was goofing off most of the retreat and just visiting with her friends or hanging out on the back deck overlooking the water. She was very unproductive.

I thought I was going to have to whip out my Beastnina and get working on the projects she brought. Below is a picture from earlier in 2022 (when it was winter as I have on the lovely Aran sweater that Helen of Helen of Crawcrafts Beasties (crawcraftsbeasties.com) knitted for me):

(And who needs a $25,000 sewing machine like the one in my previous post, when they have a awesome wool Beastnina?)

LITTLE WALLET MADNESS

Speaking of Dana, she brought several packages of pearl snaps, some cool fabric such as Essex Linen (Dana had put together awesome fabric combinations from her fabric stash for the quilters to make into little wallerts), and a SnapSetter set to the retreat so the quilters could make Little Wallets.

Tierney has a long history with Little Wallets (see posts such as Little Wallet Madness and The “Madness” Returns) but she stopped using pearl snaps and switched to velcro from her little wallet closure after the “Great Pearl Snap Disaster” in which no matter what she did, she could not get the pearl snaps to set right with the SnapSetter.

Well Dana did a “SnapSetter Intervention” with Tierney and had her practice putting on pearl snaps with the SnapSetter and a rubber mallet until she got it right and got over her fear of snap-setting!

Dana, Kathy, Judy and Tierney all made little wallets with pearl snaps and here is a photo of most of their little wallets they made during the retreat:

Here are some close up of some of the little wallet sets they made:

They stayed up until late into the night one night of the retreat (or early into the morning), making little wallets. This was the same evening the also had a silly dance party (sorry no photos) as this is what happens when you mix quilters, wine, and 70s Disco Music – ha! (Tierney had brought a bluetooth speaker to the retreat and acted as DJ for the entire retreat).

So, and I am not sure Tierney wants me to reveal this, but it was a 4 1/4 day, 4 night retreat and all Tierney has to show for it is 10 little wallets!

I will close this series of posts with sharing a couple photos from the small quirky country convenience store we walked to during the retreat. Here I am checking out the snacks:

(in case you are wondering, there was some naughty food at the quilt retreat – one evening the attendees brought back to the retreat a sampling of 5 different delicious desserts from a diner they went to for dinner…oh wait – Tierney just told me to be quiet because “What happens at the quilt retreat, stays at the quilt retreat”…)

And here I am in front of a very strange poster on the door of the convenience store. We could not figure out exactly what activities would be occurring at this festival…

Either there is a lot of hugging going on, people will be taking mushrooms, there will be alien abductions, or a combination of all the above…

Postscript

Thanks to Catherine @Cedar51 for her suggestion in the comments sections of my post Guest Blogger: Quilt Retreat Report from the tierneycreates Beastie, Part I, that Tierney’s partner John the Woodworker, make me my own Beastie wooden desk so I no longer need to use the (sad) makeshift desk Tierney made me to write:

Tierney and I spoke to John (she does have a little more influence than I do) and he has agreed to make me my own wooden desk! I cannot wait to show it off someday to you!

Beastie Adventures, Guest Blogger, Quilt Retreats, Quilt Shop Tours

Guest Blogger: Quilt Retreat Report from the tierneycreates Beastie, Part II

July 29, 2022July 29, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

This is tierneycreates Beastie and I am continuing my post from yesterday Guest Blogger: Quilt Retreat Report from the tierneycreates Beastie, Part I about our adventures at the Riptide Retreat in Shelton, Washington.

So where I left off on yesterday’s post, one of the days of the retreat we headed out to Annie’s Quilt Shoppe .

Here I am all buckled up in the back seat of the car headed to the quilt shop:

And here is a little video on Mikelet enjoying the fresh air on the car ride through some back country roads to get to the quilt shop:

Mikelet was safe during the car ride, we only let him hang out the window when the car was going slow and Tierney did hold onto his back legs so he would not fall out!

I did look out the car window a little myself, it was so relaxing in the backcountry:

Finally we arrived at the quilt shop:

Here are a montage of images from my visit to the quilt shop, and most of them featured ME – because isn’t a photo better with me in it??!?!

We saw a $25,000 sewing machine while at the quilt shop and I had to take a photo with it.

It seems like a sewing machine would have to do a LOT for you in order to be worth $25,000. I think you should be able to throw fabric at it and it turns it into a completed quilt in 10 seconds or something!

Tierney and I did find some fabric to buy while at the shop, including the Figo fabric she ran out of when making her drawstring bags for her Etsy shop Textiles & Smiles (see post Three Part “Harmony” and Experimenting with “Mass Production” ), which all sold out. Now she can make some more bags! (Tierney really needs to restock her Etsy shop, it is looking pretty empty right now…)

Tierney has agreed to post tomorrow some of the Black and White photos she took during the trip (you know she has this fantasy that she is a real photographer, just check out her series of posts – Life in B&W; yes she is quite delusional..) and then I will finish up with Part III of my series of guests posts about the quilt retreat with a little about what was made during the quilt retreat (yes sewing actually occured).

Beastie Adventures, Guest Blogger, Quilt Retreats

Guest Blogger: Quilt Retreat Report from the tierneycreates Beastie, Part I

July 28, 2022July 30, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Well I am tired of waiting around for Tierney to do a blog post, so once again I’ve had to take matters into my own paws and do a guest blog post (if you are new to this blog, my story is on this post – I’m A Monster!!! and you can see all my posts at this link: Beastie Adventures).

Tierney was allegedly going to start writing blog posts again once she caught up on reading all her blogging buddies’ posts after her very busy summer (so far). But you haven’t seen a recent post from Tierney have you?

So I’ve pulled out my laptop and written a post to start to update you on our summer:

Pulling out my laptop and using my make shift desk since Tierney fell down on the job

A week or so ago (not sure at this point, the summer is a blur…) Tierney, Mikelet (my dog) and I attended a quilt retreat at the Riptide Retreat in Shelton, Washington with some long time quilting friends (including the lady who originally got Tierney into quilting).

Tierney wrote about this retreat (which has sort of been annual) in the past in a couple previous blog posts: The Fabric Incident, A Drawstring-bagalicious Retreat, Part I, and A Drawstring-bagalicious Retreat, Part II.

On the back deck of the retreat on the water, beautiful weather every day!

Tierney’s quilting friends who live in Washington state and drove to the retreat, brought her a sewing machine to use during the retreat so she wouldn’t have to bring hers on the plane from Denver to Seattle. Here I am supervising the start of her sewing on this loaner machine:

I am a little obsessed with rotary cutters since Tierney never let’s me play with them (see post Guest Blogger: October Quilt Retreat Part I), and I did try to get access to a rotary cutter one of the other quilters had lying around during the retreat but Tierney thwarted my efforts, sigh.

Not everyone was sewing at the retreat, one person was learning to crochet and I had to check it out:

I think I would need a Beastie sized crochet hook to attempt that…

As I am a Knitted Person (knitted by Helen of Crawcrafts Beasties – crawcraftsbeasties.com), I am not sure how I feel about crochet…

We had delicious food during the retreat, the Washington based quilters at the retreat pre-prepared a couple meals for the attendees including this homemade lasagne with from scratch tomorrow sauce and handmade meatballs:

Trying to figure out how to dive into that pan of lasagne when no one is looking…

In addition to eating and sewing (and lounging around on the deck overlooking the water), several of the quilters went on daily walks. I accompanied them on walks and here are a couple of photos from my walks with either the quilters or when I took my dog Mikelet (who was very well behaved at the retreat) on walks:

It was cool to be back in the Pacific NW and take Mikelet for a walk in the majestic wooded areas in the neighborhood of the retreat center!

As Tierney mentioned in her post A Drawstring-bagalicious Retreat, Part II about a previous visit to the Riptide Retreat, the owners of the Riptide Retreat also own Annie’s Quilt Shoppe a very reasonably priced quilt shop in Shelton, Washington.

So one day during the quilt retreat, we ventured for an outing to Annie’s Quilt Shop.

Tomorrow I will share photos from that adventure and more on the quilt retreat.

Beastie Adventures

Guest Blogger: Another new member in our Beastie Family!

November 3, 2021November 3, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

We have another new member to our Beastie Family thanks to the amazing work of Helen of CrawCrafts Beasties!

ZACH BEASTIE!

This is tierneycreates Beastie guest blogging and in case you are new to this blog here is my standard blurb/background:

My name is tierneycreates Beastie and I am a Monster, but the good kind of Monster. I was made by Helen of CrawCrafts Beasties in Dublin, Ireland. You can read my story at I’m A Monster!!!. You can also check out the other posts I’ve had to guest blog on (i.e. when the human Tierney falls off the blogging-wagon and I have to help) in the series of posts: Beastie Adventures.

In my previous post I shared our excitement to add FAITH BEASTIE, human John’s granddaughter’s new Beastie (see post Guest Blogger: New Member in Our Beastie Family). Well for his birthday, human John got his son Zach his own ZACH BEASTIE!

Zach Beastie arrived from Dublin Ireland on Monday and John Beastie and I could not wait to open his package (hopefully his ride across the seas was not too bumpy):

Human Zach loves to go on long bike rides (like his human father does) and so Zach Beastie has his own bike helmet (in case human Zach wants to take him on a ride):

Human Zach loves to read and always has a tote bag in tow, so Zach Beastie has a customized tote bag and some hefty reading:

“Woollyses” – get it? A little James Joyce humor (Ulysses)!

And here is a close up of Zach Beastie, with facial hair just like the human one!

Oh and talk about details – human Zach loves his Doc Martens shoes and his Beastie has wool felted Doc Martens like shoes!

Helen of CrawCrafts Beasties is unnaturally brilliant (perhaps she is extraterrestrial, who knows..)

We are so happy to have a 4th Beastie in our Beastie family!

Beastie Adventures

Guest Blogger: New Member in Our Beastie Family

October 7, 2021October 7, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Yes Mike the Miniature Schnauzer beat me to posting in his recent post Guest Blogger: What Happens at Dog Camp, Stays at Dog Camp, but that is because I have been busy supervising Tierney in her studio.

Oh in case you are new to this blog here is my standard blurb/background:

First I would like to respond to Mike the Miniature Schnauzer’s comment in his post that my dog Mikelet is a “fake dog“! Just because Mikelet is made of felted wool does not mean he is not a real dog! He is the best real felted wool dog I can imagine and is very sweet and loyal!

Here is my partner and fiance John Beastie (see post Guest Blog Post: Mail Order Groom), taking Mikelet for his daily walk:

And I understand Mikelet is better behaved on his walks that Mike the (giant) Miniature Schnauzer is!

Oh but I think I got distracted from the topic of this guest blog post. I am happy to report that John Beastie and welcomed a new member to our Beastie family – Faith Beastie!

The very talented Helen @CrawCrafts Beasties in Dublin created a Beastie for human John’s granddaughter Faith, based on photos of her. Human John and Tierney got to surprise Faith a couple weeks ago with her Beastie.

Here we are all opening up her package when it arrived to our house:

We were blown away with all her “accessories” that Helen made! And in addition to the accessories, Faith Beastie has 3 pets – 2 cats and a dog Ajax, just like Human Faith!

You’ll see in the photo above, Mikelet is visiting with Faith Beastie’s pets.

Here are photos taken by Helen@CrawCrafts Beasties to better see her amazing work:

Human Faith was “over the moon” when the Humans took her out to lunch to surprise her.

John Beastie and I are pretty excited to have another Beastie in our family!

Beastie Adventures, Special Events

Guest Blogger: Denver Quilt Craft and Sewing Festival

July 10, 2021July 10, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Tierneycreates Beastie here to report on my adventures at the Denver Quilt Craft and Sewing Festival. going on this weekend!

Here I am writing this post from my laptop on a make-shift desk

Oh in case you are new to this blog here is my standard blurb/background:

A couple of weeks ago, Tierney (the human version of me) discovered that Denver is having it’s first Quilt/Craft/Sewing Festival since the pandemic. She immediately got us tickets:

It’s very warm here (we’ve been having a mini-heatwave past couple of days with temperatures up to 100F/38C) and I changed out of my standard T-shirt to my light summer dress for the festival:

I know, I know, I look extremely adorable. Can’t help it, I was made that way…

I did not wear my shoes as Tierney has a history of leaving one of my shoes behind somewhere when she helps me do my photo shoots.

I even took off my standard messenger bag where I keep my laptop (and library card) and put on my backpack in case Tierney needed help getting any fun finds at the festival home:

Ready to carry as much fabric as my backpack will hold!

The first thing we came across at the festival was a “make and take” table featuring a little felt coffee themed coaster you could make. We were tempted but we had so much to see.

After so many months of social distancing, it was strange to see all these crafters crammed into the festival (and they were all happy and very eager to wander around the booths!). The festival did require masks if you were unvaccinated and we did see some people with masks on (Tierney is fully vaccinated and I am…well I am made from yarn so I am immune in general…).

I could not help myself, there was so much fabric around, I had to play in it:

You think with all those fabric selections, Tierney could find some fabric to make me a new dress or two (I only have one dress, made by Helen @ CrawCrafts Beasties).

In addition to wandering around the many vendor booths at the festival, we also watched some cool demos:

Me watching a demo (I just noticed I have some lint in my hair, probably from laying in fabric)

We also chatted with a vendor that had a very unusual and cool woven shirt:

We had fun watching demos of Bernina sewing machines (and a long-arm quilting machine) we could not afford:

Tierney told the Bernina representative about my Beastinia and he was impressed!

Here are more images from the festival including several of me just being very cute:

We were exhausted after a couple hours at the festival but had fun chatting with other crafters and vendors as well as seeing some amazing things (most of which luckily we did not try to bring home).

Tierney could not help herself on her way to the car and had to take a photo in Black & White of some industrial spools in the parking lot (but she forgot to put me in the photo to make it interesting):

Tierney likes to pretend she is a photographer…

When we got back home, Tierney’s tote bag she took to the festival (one of her handmade tote bags) was full of goodies:

My backpack however only contained my laptop. I am not sure why she did not use my backpack for overflow. Well at least I offered.

I had a great time at my first festival (I know you are shocked that she never took me to one before). I can’t wait until my next one!

Oh and if you live in the U.S. and you are itching to go to one of these festivals, this website had a listing of upcoming (in person!) Quilt, Craft & Sewing Festivals:

https://quiltcraftsew.com/denver.html

But be safe – there are still “cooties” out there and the pandemic is not over yet (especially in many parts of the world).

Beastie Adventures, From the Woodshop, Studio

Guest Blogger: Updated Tour of Beastie’s Home

April 13, 2021June 6, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Tierney is on vacation and she’ll tell you about her trip when she gets back. So I am going to step in and be the guest blogger so she does not go too long without having a new post on her blog (I know, I know, I am so awesome for helping her!).

Oh in case you are new to this blog: my name is tierneycreates Beastie and I am a Monster, but the good kind of Monster. I was made by Helen of CrawCrafts Beasties in Dublin, Ireland. You can read my story at I’m A Monster!!!. You can also check out the other posts I’ve had to guest blog on (i.e. when the human Tierney falls off the blogging-wagon and I have to help) in the series of posts: Beastie Adventures.

A photo from last year of me writing a guest blog post

When I am not guest blogger posting, then Mike the Miniature Schnauzer has to guest blog post:

Someone else Tierney uses to do her work: Mike reviewing the draft of his guest post before posting…

Oh and now the subject of this post (which is not to just show how Tierney falls of the blogging wagon and we have to rescue her…) – I wanted to show you the recent updates to my home, which is also Tierney’s crafting studio.

Tierney’s partner John (human John, not to be confused with my Beastie fiancé “John Beastie”, see post Guest Blog Post: Mail Order Groom) has been busy in his Woodshop making things for her studio.

MY NEW “HIGH RISE“

Human John built Tierney a storage unit for her fat quarter collection and fabric scraps which she keeps in wine crates:

My dog Mikelet and I live on the “second floor”:

IRONING (AND CUTTING) TABLE

Human John also built Tierney a table with shelves for her new large iron board he made her (see post “From the Cutting Table”: Update to tierneycreates Studio (Guest Blogger)) a couple months ago. She stores her rulers in there as well as miscellaneous sewing supplies:

She’s also been known to store a Miniature Schnauzer in there:

THE TABLE

Last year from her local community board for free stuff, Tierney picked up a large black table to use for crafting. It was scuffed up but it worked:

Tierney was “making-do” with the table and covered up the scuffs with an old table cloth but John wanted her to have a decent looking table in her studio so he created a new tabletop for it! John created a pattern with wood like a “nine-patch” quilting block.

A month ago Tierney bought herself a used Juki sewing machine which is in the image above.

Alas, she did not buy ME another sewing machine, I have to just be happy with my Beastnina:

So those are the changes to my home, the tierneycreates studio!

Tierney will be back on the next post telling you about her trip and she might even catch up with reading her blogging buddies posts and responding to comments.

Until then, here is a sign she saw a couple months ago to give you some inspiration:

Bags Bags Bags, Beastie Adventures

More Adventures in Bag Making

April 7, 2021April 7, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

If you read Monday’s post Zip Zip Zippers!, you saw that I now have a lot of zippers for bag making thanks to my generous friend Wendy.

Well I used one of those zippers to make another bag from a pattern by The Netherlands based designer s.o.t.a.k. handmade – Boxy Tool Pouch.

The pattern comes in three sizes and I made the medium sized one:

The fabric is a printed in Japan canvas which I bought years ago because it had a schnauzer in the print:

However I accidentally cut out the schnauzer while making the bag! (Don’t tell Mike my Miniature Schnauzer, ha!)

Here are my supplies to make the bag (minus the ribbon tape I discovered I needed for the side tabs later while working through the pattern):

Here is her YouTube video on making the pouch:

Here are some photos from my bag making process:

In the first of the images above you will see that I am pressing on a sleeve board, which I recently bought online after seeing the pattern designer Svetlana Sotak use it in several of her YouTube videos she has on bag making. It’s one of those things I never knew I needed until I got it!

Here are images of my completed boxy tool pouch:

It did not come out perfect but I was pretty pleased. At least it was not a “Misadventure in Bag Making” (see post Misadventures in Bag Making).

So what to do with the completed pouch?

Well tierneycreates Beastie changed from her Winter wear of her sweater, hat and scarf:

To her Spring wear of her t-shirt:

So I needed a place to store her clothes as well as her accessories:

And now her accoutrements are easily accessible on my bookshelf in my studio!

Next post the tierneycreates Beastie will guest blogger post and tell you about her latest accommodations in my studio as well as some other changes (“Mr. Woodworker” has been busy!)

An awesome find I discovered during a recent thrift shopping adventure and immediately put up on my studio wall!

Beastie Adventures, Blogging Awards

Outstanding Blogger Award (and snow)

March 14, 2021March 15, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Tierney here, writing to you from the “Snowpocalypse” in Colorado, buried under quite a bit of snow.

“It so bad their (snow) plows are getting stuck or tipping on to their side…”

Any of my blogging friends live in Florida or anywhere warm? May I move in with you?

I’ve spent the weekend inside working on a new quilt, which I will share in a future post. For this post I wanted to thanks Helen @crawcraftsbeasties for nominating me for the Outstanding Blogger Award, get the questions answered that come with the nomination, and throw a couple nominations out there myself.

Helen the maker of Beasties, like my tierneycreates Beastie, had her Beasties Paddy and Plunkett answer the questions for her Outstanding Blogger Award nomination and so I thought I would let my tierneycreates Beastie answer the questions for me.

Outstanding (Beastie) Blogger Award

Hello, my name is tierneycreates Beastie and I am a Monster, but the good kind of Monster. I was made by Helen of CrawCrafts Beasties in Dublin, Ireland. You can read my story at I’m A Monster!!!. You can also check out the other posts I’ve had to guest blog on (i.e. when the human Tierney falls off the blogging-wagon and I have to help) in the series of posts: Beastie Adventures.

Right now I am holed up in the house with Tierney during our “Snowpocalypse” in Colorado. I did go outside today to look around and here is what I saw:

Snow, snow and more snow. I had Tierney take a photo of me on the front porch as I nearly froze to death (I kept my dog Mikelet inside as it was way too cold for him):

I think it is appropriate for Tierney to let me handle the questions for the Outstanding (Beastie) Blogger Award nomination since I am sure it is my guest blogger posts on her blog that got her this nomination. Thanks to my maker, Helen @crawcraftsbeasties for recognizing my excellence as a Beastie blogger!

My answers to the questions Helen posed:

Coffee or tea? (Or no hot beverages at all?) TEA OF COURSE, ALWAYS TEA.
Where in the world would you most like to visit, and why? TIERNEY WANTS TO GO TO NEW ZEALAND, BUT I WANT TO GO TO IRELAND AND SEE WHERE I WAS BORN/MADE AGAIN
What is the most delicious meal you’ve ever eaten, and where did you have it? THE PLATE OF SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS MADE BY MY FIANCE JOHN BEASTIE (see post Guest Blog Post: Mail Order Groom).

What have you made that you’re most proud of, and why? I AM STILL LEARNING TO SEW ON MY NEW “BEASTNINA” THAT HELEN MADE ME, BUT I THINK TIERNEY IS PRETTY PROUD OF THE QUILT SHE DISCUSSES IN THIS POST – The Lesson and The Equation.

What’s your plan for today? STAY WARM AND NOT GO OUTSIDE AGAIN UNTIL THE SNOW MELTS!

Speaking of staying warm, when Tierney helped me back inside after I nearly froze to death in the blizzard. However when she helped me back to my new home on the storage unit in her studio (more in a future post), she neglected to remove the snow from my shoes!

Luckily I caught her as she was leaving the studio so she could help me remove the snow and I would not get frostbite!

Nominations & Questions

As part of being nominated for the Outstanding Blogger Award, Tierney and I need to nominate some other bloggers for this award and pose some questions to them. Helen @crawcraftsbeasties in her post Outstanding Blogger Award, already nominated a bunch of our mutual blogging buddies such as: Handmade Habit, Tammie Painter, Fabrications,and Quiet Water Craft (and I see that Mariss @Fabrications also nominated some additional mutual blogging buddies), so here are our nominations trying not to overlap:

If you choose to participate, here are a couple of questions for you to answer:

What has blogging added to your life?
Share the link for one of your favorite blog posts that you have written.
If you were stuck in the house for the entire weekend due to a snowstorm, what would you do with your time?
What household chore do you most enjoy, and what do you least enjoy?
What did you learn from surviving 2020?

We’ll close this post with a picture of Mike (big Mike as opposed to Mikelet, the Beastie dog which is a “miniature” Miniature Schnauzer) who actually went out in the Snowpocalypse today and played ball in the backyard, running around in the trench/”racetrack” that human John created for him.

Here he is in a quilt, trying to get warm after being outside.

Beastie Adventures, From the Woodshop, Studio

“From the Cutting Table”: Update to tierneycreates Studio (Guest Blogger)

January 12, 2021October 26, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

It’s been a while since I guest blogged. Hi there – it’s tierneycreates Beastie and I wanted to share some changes to my home (Tierney’s studio).

I’ve titled my post “From the Cutting Table…” because my dog Mikelet and I now live on the cutting table in Tierney’s studio:

In case you are new to this blog, here is a little background on me:

My name is tierneycreates Beastie and I am a Monster, but the good kind of Monster. I was made by Helen of CrawCrafts Beasties in Dublin, Ireland. You can read my story at I’m A Monster!!!. You can also check out the other posts I’ve had to guest blog on (i.e. when the human Tierney falls off the blogging-wagon and I have to help) in the series of posts: Beastie Adventures.

I like the cutting table, I have plenty of room and it is not too scary like it was when Tierney had me next to all those creepy giant schnauzers (see January 2020 post Guest Blogger: What the heck is going on here?)

Can you see the look of sheer terror in my eyes??!?!

Whew, glad those days are over! Oh you might wonder what became of my fiancé John Beastie (see post Guest Blog Post: Mail Order Groom), well he spends most of his time in John the Human’s office downstairs. Tierney and John Human feel it is best not to let a couple of Beasties spend too much time together as mischief is certain to happen! (Just wait until we get married, they’ll never keep us apart!!!)

Here we are in July 2020 celebrating our engagement

Oh I think I am getting off track on my post…

So yes my dog Mikelet and I spend most of our time on the cutting board in Tierney’s studio and we like it, though I have to keep an eye on Mikelet because sometimes he plays in the pincushion and I think that might be dangerous.

By the way my maker Helen of CrawCrafts Beasties made me my own sewing machine so I could help Tierney sew projects and once I figure out how to use it maybe I will have a guest post about my projects instead of Tierney’s!

Now what I was I originally planning to tell you? Beasties are easy distracted. Oh yes, I wanted to tell you about a recent change to my home the tierneycreates Studio.

John, Human John not Beastie John, Tierney’s partner, recently made an ironing board table for the studio. Before the new ironing board table, Tierney was using a traditional ironing board and iron.

What started this change was for Christmas John got Tierney a cordless iron:

Perhaps you wanted to see a full image of the iron but isn’t the iron much cuter with me in front of it?!!?!?

Okay here is the iron:

Now that Tierney had cordless iron she had more flexibility on where her iron could be located, so John (again I mean Human John as Beastie John could not have handled the tools involved which are bigger than him…) built her a 2 foot by 4 foot ironing table for her studio.

First John cut a piece of plywood the same size as the table base being used (an old counter height folding table). Then John and Tierney wrapped and stapled four (4) layers onto the plywood base:

Batting
Insul-Brite heat resistant batting
Heat resistant fabric (like the type used for old ironing board covers)
Cotton fabric

Tierney is really pleased with her new ironing table and she used it while making all those tote bags she talked about in her recent post (see post Tote, Tote, Tote Bags).

So that is the big change to the studio.

Somedays I get tired of the studio and miss the days when I used to go on adventures with Tierney. The pandemic has slowed down my adventures. Tierney promises that soon we will resume our adventures, I just need to be patient.

For now Mikelet and I will wistfully stare out the studio window…

Postscript

I am going to close this guest post by sharing a secret: Tierney is sort of a slob in her studio.

Look at these mini Toblerone candy bar wrappers she left on the cutting table!

I caught Mikelet sniffing them, luckily there was no candy in them as chocolate is bad for dogs.

I hope she will be more respectful of my space and clean up her wrappers!

Beastie Adventures, Guest Blogger

Guest Blog Post: Mail Order Groom

July 24, 2020August 13, 2020 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Hello! This is tierneycreates Beastie guest blogging for this post. If you are new to this blog here is my standard blurb:

Here I am at my latest makeshift desk writing this post for you on my Beastie laptop:

I am going to get to the news related to the title of this post, but first I need to talk about myself a bit, as that is what Beasties do.

You might notice in the photo above that I have a new dress! Well a shipment of goodies for me, likely purchased begrudgingly by the human Tierney, arrived a couple weeks ago from Dublin, Ireland, all made by my brilliant maker, Helen of CrawCrafts Beasties.

In addition to my new summer dress, there was also a scarf to match my hat I wear in the winter, a backpack, some books, Hop Monster IPA (I guess this is bottled in Dublin), and my new Beastnina Sewing Machine!!!! It looks just like Tierney’s Bernina sewing machine and now I can help her sew projects (because as slow as she is getting her projects done she obviously needs help).

Here I am hanging out in Tierney’s studio with my goodies with my dog Mikelet:

And because I know you can never tire of photos of me (and all my utter adorableness), here is a photo of me sporting my new backpack as I wait to get into Tierney’s car for our latest trip to the public library (one of our favorite places):

Inside the backpack I keep two important items: 1) my laptop; and 2) my Beastie library card!

I guess we could take a break talking about me and get to the story that connects to the title of this post: Mail Order Groom

The Mail Order Groom

Tierney now has her partner John that Mikelet (my dog), Mike (Tierney’s dog) and I live with. Well I wanted MY OWN PARTNER! So I asked Tierney to order from my maker Helen a “John Beastie”.

A couple weeks ago, along with all my goodies I shared earlier in this post, my new partner John Beastie arrived from Dublin, Ireland!

As I like to have as much the same as Tierney, I asked that John Beastie be a chef like human John (that is why he has on an apron just like the one John wears), and that he enjoys playing poker with his friends as one of his hobbies just like human John. So John Beastie came with a winning poker hand and chips (and his trusty cell phone). Additionally human John enjoys Bourbon and Whiskey tasting and loves to make homemade pasta so included with John Beastie is a bottle of Monsters Mark!

Tierney does not always take the best photos (and my paws are too small to handle taking photos with her smartphone so I have to leave it up to her) but what you cannot tell in the first photos of John Beastie, is he has a Colorado Avalanche Hockey team Bigfoot logo cap on his head:

This is human John’s favorite cap (he wears a lot of caps as his hair is missing, not sure where he left it…) and is a classic team logo cap/hat that is no longer sold by Colorado’s hockey team.

Here is human John with his cap that human Tierney suspects has grown into his scalp because he wears it so much!

My dog Mikelet (named after Tierney’s Miniature Schnauzer, Mike) took immediately to John Beastie just like real Mike is totally in love with human John.

Before I knew it, without asking, John Beastie was taking Mikelet for walks!

I am not sure why John Beastie is wearing his apron for walking Mikelet but he seems to like to always be ready to start cooking!

Since my dog really likes him, I decided to go ahead and accept John Beastie’s proposal (like Tierney did human John a couple months ago) for marriage. Luckily John Beastie arrived with two engagement rings.

Here we are – a happy family of Beasties!

Oh and if you’d like to see actual decent high quality photos of John Beastie, etc., check out our maker’s recent blog posts:

Monster Engagement Celebrations

Beastie Accessory Bonanza

Postscript

Tierney did not previously mention it on her blog but she did actually get engaged to human John earlier this year. Like John Beastie and me, they have no wedding date planned in the near future, they are just enjoying being engaged.

Human John proposed on the stage at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado. As it was winter, there we no concerts planned and the public was allowed to wander around the natural amphitheater and go to the stage (where many famous acts have played over the years).

I asked Tierney to share a couple photos with you from that day to close out this post (unfortunately she left me at home, but she did bring her dog Mike).

Postscript Postscript

We’ve put Mikelet to bed and now John Beastie and I are off to enjoy our bottles of Hop Monster…

Beastie Adventures, Books, Music, Podcasts, The Library Stack

Beastie goes to the library (and gets a Library Stack)

July 5, 2020May 1, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

It was as if the gates of Heaven opened and I could hear the angels singing: Last week a neighboring library system (the one I’ve started getting books via curbside pick up from a couple weeks ago, see post The Library Stack Is Back!), OPENED ITS DOOR TO THE PUBLIC!!!

So the tierneycreates Beastie and I headed to the library to frolic among the stacks! (We did not bring tierneycreates Beastie’s dog Mikelet since only Service Dogs are allowed in libraries…even though he is very small and I likely could have hid him in my pocket…)

After chatting with the library front desk staff and introducing them to the tierneycreates Beastie and showing them her library card* (see post Beastie Outing to the Library), we headed upstairs to browse our favorite Dewey Decimal System section 700 (Arts & Recreation)!

*tierneycreates Beastie with her very own Library Card

Once again, like the other time I took my Beastie to the library, she insisted on trying to navigate the library stairs herself:

But she was not getting anywhere very fast so she agreed I could just carry her upstairs to the magical 700 section of the library.

Once we got upstairs, I let her do her own browsing and she eventually found her way to the knitting book section as she is always trying to learn more about how she was made in Dublin by her maker Helen@Crawcraftbeasties.

Beasties are sort of vain and she kept asking me to take her photo among various stacks of craft books. Here is a photo she did not want you to see but I told her I was going to share it anyway so you can see sometimes even Beasties take bad photos:

While I was browsing (note – this was the first time I’ve been inside this library as I joined this neighboring library system when they started curbside pick up a couple weeks ago since my local library is still completely closed) in section 700, I noticed this sign:

I was like “whaaaaaaaaaaaat?” I love Interior Decorating/Design books and this library has their own “Interior Design Nooks?!??! (insert sounds of more angels singing). So I wandered over there while the tierneycreates Beastie continued to browse through the knitting section.

The nook is both sides of this freestanding section and a built in bookshelf!

Unfortunately my arms were overloading with browsings from the other 700 sections and I could only select a couple books from this section to borrow (but I will be back!!!)

Here is the resulting Library Stack from our visit (or frolic among the library stacks):

tierneycreates Beastie just mentioned to me that since I was “keeping it real” by showing a photo of her earlier in this post with disheveled hair, I need to show you all what the Library Stack really looks like when I first get it home before I put it in a nice order:

Beasties keep you honest!

Beastie Adventures, From the Woodshop, Studio

Tweaks to the Tierneycreates Studio

June 11, 2020October 26, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

I love Crafter’s/Artist’s Studio tours! I love to see where people create. If I happen upon a studio tour blog post then it’s time to get a cup of tea and settle back and enjoy!

I have a couple books in my collection of studio tours/ideas and I occasionally pick up the latest issue of the magazine – Where Women Create.

So I thought I’d share an update to the post Guest Blogger: tierneycreates’ “New” Studio Tour, and share some photos of the latest version of my tierneycreates studio (aka back bedroom) in case you like studio tours as much as I do!

The Studio Needed An Official Name

I decided to name it “Tierney’s Woman Cave”!

New Layout

I changed the layout of the table I have on risers that serves as my cutting table. This is the table I got for free from my community’s for sale/for free online boards.

Before:

After (gave the Eurolounger next to the window to the pre-teen next door for her room remodel):

I had a feeling when I first re-did my studio after moving back into it after we decided in the early COVID days not to sell the house and to stay put (see post Perspective), that I would make tweaks to the layout as I used the studio and got a sense of what worked and what could be better.

I shifted the iron board and re-did the area on top of the bookcases in the room. I also added in additional storage drawers in the cubby bookcases.

New Closet

One of the biggest changes is that my partner John removed the original wire shelf and built me nice shelves in the closet. Previously I had the original wire shelf where clothes would have hung with hanging wire shelves added.

Before:
After:

I love my new closet and had so much fun organizing it!

Tierneycreates Beastie’s New Home

I relocated the Tierneycreates Beastie from a basket to the top of a bookcase next to a delicious basket of fabric string scraps (well delicious to me):

Project That is Sort of In Progress

I am will share more on this project in a future post in my series What’s on the Design Wall, but one of my quilting friends gave me a project she decided to give up on after taking a class. Right now I am sorting out the pieces she has sewn together, the pieces she has cut out, the leftover fabric, the pattern and the templates.

I am also still working on machine quilting my piece All the Trimmings which I last discussed in the post Update on “All the Trimmings”. I had to take it off my sewing machine to roll the section I completed quilting to make room in the machine:

I am really enjoying my Tierney’s Woman Cave, it is my “happy place”!

Postscript

A quick follow up to the post Proud of My Maker (Guest Blogger Post) in which the guest blogger, Tierneycreates Beastie mentions that I lost her t-shirt during packing for my move that did not happen.

Well her t-shirt has been found!

Turns out I had shoved it into this antique box when I was packing up:

I originally put the box in my cubby bookcase without even checking the contents, but took a closer look the other day.

So now she has her t-shirt for the warmer weather instead of having to wear her sweater all the time!

Beastie Adventures, Books, Music, Podcasts, Guest Blogger

Proud of My Maker (Guest Blogger Post)

May 24, 2020August 13, 2020 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Tierney is busy catching up on the backlog of posts she wants to read by her blogging buddies around the world, so I am guest posting so she does not continue to fall so behind in blogging!

Once again I am sitting at my makeshift desk, typing on my laptop:

Oh I should introduce myself in case you are new to this blog, my name is tierneycreates Beastie and I am a Monster, but the good kind of Monster. You can read my story at I’m A Monster!!!. You can also check out the other posts I’ve had to guest blog on (i.e. when Tierney fell off the blogging-wagon) in the series of posts: Beastie Adventures.

I am originally from Dublin, Ireland and I was made by Helen Crawford of CrawCrafts Beasties. Well the other day, Tierney and I listened to a podcast with an interview with my Maker – From The Maker To The Made, EP.18 Helen Crawford.

The link above is for the platform Spotify but you can also listen to this podcast wherever you get your podcasts, like on Apple Podcasts on your iPhone.

Here I am listening to the podcast on Tierney’s iPhone with her and my dog Mikelet:

The podcast was amazing and I got to hear my Maker’s voice! It was a brilliant interview and I enjoyed learning how Helen got into making Beasties like me. All I can say is I am so glad she did not become a “management consultant” after she finished university.

Oh now you might be wondering why at the end of May I am wearing the lovely Aran sweater that Helen knitted me and not my much cooler T-shirt she made me like in this photo from the April 2019 post Beastie Adventures – Seattle Public Library:

Well Tierney lost my T-shirt a couple months ago when she had packed to move but then did not move (see post Perspective). She hopes my T-shirt shows up but she might have to make me a new one herself (because I am going to get very hot in this sweater when we are at full summer in Colorado!) and perhaps as Helen if she can make me another.

I know some of you might follow’s Helen’s blog – BeastieBlog, and I wanted to suggest you check out this podcast episode if you’d like to hear her lovely Irish accent and her being interviewed about her creative journey and process!

I am so proud of my Maker!

Postscript

Speaking of podcasts, now Tierney and I need to head over to Tammie Painter’s: The Book Owl Podcast and listen to the latest episode. She is another one of Tierney’s blogging buddies and she has her own Beastie that was made by Helen of CrawCrafts Beasties – Finn McSpool.

Tammie got to bring Finn back to Ireland and be reunited with his Maker Helen (and Tammie got to meet her).Tammie has a series of posts about her visit with Finn to Ireland in her blog tammiepainter.com/blog.

Tierney and I had planned to go to Scotland with friends this July pre-COVID pandemic (plans got cancelled with her traveling buddies due to the pandemic) and while she was in the UK, she was going to also visit Dublin and meet up with Helen. I am bummed this did not happen, but I know someday I will get to return to where I was born!

I am very much looking forward to touring Dublin someday as all I’ve seen of it is the inside of Helen’s studio where I was created.

Beastie Adventures, From the Woodshop, Guest Blogger, Studio

Guest Blogger: tierneycreates’ “New” Studio Tour

April 4, 2020October 26, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

As Tierney promised in her previous post Perspective, I am going to be your guest blogger for this post and give you a tour of my “new” home, which is also Tierney’s “new” studio.

2020-04-01_10-56-08_365 — Mikelet and I in our cozy basket where we hang out in the “new” studio

But first, in case you are new to this blog, my name is tierneycreates Beastie and I am a Monster, but the good kind of Monster. You can read my story at I’m A Monster!!!. You can also check out the other posts I’ve had to guest blog on (i.e. when Tierney fell off the blogging-wagon) in the series of posts: Beastie Adventures.

Here is what my dog Mikelet and I look like outside our basket (before we were homebound…):

We were created by the very, very, very talented Helen of Crawcrafts Beasties in Dublin, Ireland.

Here I am working from my makeshift desk to bring you this guest blog post:

Well enough about me (even though I am very interesting) and let’s get to the tour of Tierney’s “new” studio.

Oh – first I should address why I keep putting the word “new” in quotes. It’s because, as she shared in her previous post, she did not move into the new house she and John were going to buy. Instead they decided to stay at their current house which was pretty much completely packed up except for basic items to stage the house for sale and to live day to day. Her studio had been painted and converted into a bedroom:

So when they decided not to buy the new house/not to move, Tierney had to unpack her studio and in unpacking her studio, she decided to reimagine the layout.

So she has sort of created a “new” studio!

tierneycreates Studio Tour

Tierney decided to first bring in the IKEA bookcases she had previously in her home office (she has been a full-time telecommuter for the past 14 years, before I was even a ball of yarn…). From there she figured out with her partner John on the best way to layout the room.

Over the next several days she unpacked her boxes (which seemed like they would never end), hung up some art and quilts on the studio wall and found a place for the large design wall her partner John built her.

Here are photos of the completed studio from various angles:

So Tierney is ready to create (she can be tierneycreates again) in her new studio! She is so happy to have her sewing machine unpacked!

She did start making some masks with a filter pocket opening out of recycled oxford shirts yesterday (easy pattern is at www.madeeveryday.com/fabric-face-mask-free-pattern/) .

But she is hoping to start sewing a bit more fun things in the near future than masks…

Oh and I forgot to mention, Tierney did make sure that Mikelet and I have a very prominent and cozy spot in her “new” studio:

Which of course should have been her first priority from the beginning of setting up her studio!

Beastie Adventures, Guest Blogger

Guest Blogger: What the heck is going on here?

January 8, 2020August 13, 2020 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

It is time for a Guest Blogger entry by a brilliant, adorable and talented guest blogger (me, me, me!).

In case you are new to this blog, my name is tierneycreates Beastie and I am a Monster, but the good kind of Monster. You can read my story at I’m A Monster!!!. You can also check out the other posts I’ve had to guest blog on (i.e. when Tierney fell off the blogging-wagon) in the series of posts: Beastie Adventures.

2018-10-28_20-09-55_029 — My dog Mikelet might be made of felted wool but he is very affectionate

In my previous brilliant Guest Blogger post (by the way, Beasties are brilliant and you can check out more of my kind at the website of our maker in Ireland – CrawCrafts Beasties/Beastie HQ) Beastie Guest Blogger: Checking in on her progress, I shared that Mikelet and I had a cozy new area of Tierney’s new studio:

Well it is all GONE! The studio is gone and our cozy spot is gone!!!!

Tierney and her partner are getting ready to sell his house and buy their own house, and they have to do something stupid called “staging the house for sale”.

That means that her whole studio got packed up and put away, and they are painting over the beautiful turquoise color in the room to make it a boring neutral color like the rest of the house (humans are so silly!).

I am highly irritated over this (and Mikelet is none too happy either) and what has made it even worse is that Mikelet and I were relocated to Tierney’s home office to hang out with her creepy collection of giant stuffed animal schnauzers (well they are giant compared to Mikelet and me):

Mikelet and I are kind of disturbed by the giant schnauzer head we are pushed up against as well as the super creepy schnauzer hanging over the basket next to us!

He is just a little too close for comfort, I can feel him breathing down my neck!

Once you recover from the shocking images above of Mikelet and I thrust into a “schnauzer slum”, you might start to wonder: “well what is Tierney going to do for crafting with all her stuff put away?”

Well she has set up this basket of hand craft projects in the living room and allegedly she will show you what is inside of this basket in her next post.

Beastie Adventures, Guest Blogger

Beastie Guest Blogger: Checking in on her progress

October 23, 2019August 13, 2020 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Well Tierney on the road (well in the air) again, this time for a quick business trip to Portland, Oregon for a meeting. So I am going to be the guest blogger on this post.

Do you all miss me? It’s been a long since you heard from me. I was packed away along with Mikelet (I know, I know, you are thinking of reporting Tierney for Beastie-neglect but we should give her a break since she been through a lot this past year…).

Now we have a nice home in Tierney’s new studio:

2019-10-22_08-11-05_364 — It now Autumn in the Denver, Colorado area and getting kind of cold so it is sweater time!

Oh, but if you are new to this blog, I guess I should first introduce myself:

My name is tierneycreates Beastie and I am a Monster, but the good kind of Monster. You can read my story at I’m A Monster!!!. You can also check out the other posts I’ve had to guest blog on (i.e. when Tierney fell off the blogging-wagon) in the series of posts: Beastie Adventures.

I think the last time I guest blogged, I was complaining about the physical spot (in a box in the closet!) where she had me living in her first studio after moving to the Denver greater metropolitan area.

Here is that post if you want to be shocked and appalled like I was: Another Beastie Blogging Intervention: New Studio Tour, Part III.

I must warn you, Beasties are notorious for making things all about themselves (just check out the blogs Crawcrafts Beasties and Tammie Painter and you will see what I mean!) but I am going to try to focus on the primary subject on this post – an update on Tierney’s post from 10/13/19 – The “Madness” Returns (though a post just about me would be much more interesting!)

So Tierney has finished about 14 little wallets so far. It is not a very impressive number but at least she’s gotten off to some sort of start in replacing her previous stash:

2019-10-22_08-12-01_966 — Only 13 in the photo because she already gave one recently as a gift

I inspected her work and provided feedback that she needs a lot more color and fabric combinations:

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Postscript

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Outstanding (Beastie) Blogger Award

Nominations & Questions

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The Mail Order Groom

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The Studio Needed An Official Name

New Layout

New Closet

Tierneycreates Beastie’s New Home

Project That is Sort of In Progress

Postscript

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Postscript

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tierneycreates Studio Tour

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