“Drummer, beat, and piper, blow,
Harper, strike, and soldier, go.
Free the flame and sear the grasses
Till the dawning Red Star passes.”
~ from Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey
Two weeks ago the world lost an amazing woman, one who had a profound impact on many people and forever changed the worlds of science fiction and fantasy. I will always have a place in my heart for Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern series, which I read, devotedly, throughout my teen years. In her honor, here are a few of my favorite crafty dragons from around the web:
Cthulhu Crochet and Cousins, a long-time favorite blog of mine, showcased a couple of adorable dragons, based on this (free!) pattern from Lucy Ravenscar on Ravelry. They aren’t strictly Pernese-style dragons, but they’re too adorable not to include!
And this one, by Craftster user Faren, is a two-fer: the adorable clay dragon caught my eye (oh how I want one!), but below it, you can also see an embroidered dragon flying across a painted map of Pern. That’s some serious fan-love!
Finally, there are these stuffed “shoulder dragons,” by Cheryl Simshauser, made to look like McCaffrey’s fire-lizards. I love the gold one! She seems to be looking right at you.
As many internet commenters have already said, “R.I.P. Ms. McCaffrey – Long May Your Dragons Fly!”
I grew up with McCaffrey in my bag or back pocket or bedside table for most of middle school. She was my first fantasy author and Author: Zero for my love of the genre. She’s the cornerstone for my entire geekdom and somebody whose works I’ve loved. Dragonsong was my first. Menolly07 became my first email. Now it’s pretty much THE username I use. I cried when she passed, but I am glad to have known her work. Now I look forward to the promising future her son, Todd, has.
Also, I used that first pattern to make this for a friend:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/menolly07/6035856734/in/set-72157626422610439/
Thanks for your comment! I totally LOVE the hot pink detail on your dragon! Pipe cleaners were a great idea!
And I think my experience was similar to yours… I don’t recall reading much science fiction or fantasy before I found the Pern books. McCaffrey was the first author I really ever stuck with. I also remember loving Dragonsong, but I think my favorite of her books was Dragonsdawn–I would re-read it every year or two. Weird, right? But it definitely got me interested in science fiction.
I had to reread the Dragonriders trilogy this week out of remembrance. It brought back all those old longings for a dragon or fire lizard of my own. Then I spent hours searching on line for instructions to make little dragons out of woven ribbon — just ordinary gift wrapping ribbon. I participated in a Hatching once a long time ago and we were given those to represent our dragons (mine was a green, and I kept it a long time, but it’s got lost in the years now). Maybe you or one of your readers can help find what I’m looking for?
I’ve made ribbon birds, like this one: http://fabewelous.wordpress.com/2010/01/19/paper-bird-tutorial/ (I know the tutorial says “paper,” but I totally use 1/2″ ribbon.) I wonder if they could be adapted into dragons?
Or was it something more like this? http://www.etsy.com/listing/83571805/dragon-and-knight-ribbon-sculpture I don’t see a tutorial listed on the shop, but you might be able to contact the seller and ask her to post one!
Thank You for the comments[will put the link in soon] on my dragons[ I started making my dragons many years ago after reading the 1st two Pern book when wanted a firelizard and couldn’t find any so made one.
I have made the ribbon dragons and still do occationally. Yes the bird pattern is the start and just about any kind of wrapping ribbon works[no cloth] the best is the satiny stuff in the card section of most stores trouble with that it doesn’t come in all the great colors andy more. The tail is a bit of a pain it is a 4 part braid and it takes me a few tries to get it right.
Couple tricks 1]cut the tail streemers to a looong point 2]I use a thin chopstick or something similair push into the front -out between the tail pieces this make a great base for the weaving part. I pull it back as it gets near the end. 3]Tie a knot in the end and done.
Hi, Cheryl! Thanks for coming to check out the post! (And thanks ahead of time for linking back to us! Woo!)
Do you do anything different for the dragon’s head, versus the bird’s head? I guess it’s pretty close… :) I could imagine doing the edges of the wings a little bit differently, too–maybe cut them in a curvy pattern or something.
Anyway, I’m pretty psyched about experimenting with this! Little ribbon dragons would make my Christmas tree much merrier! Thanks for sharing!