Author: Lady Dragonsinger

When Worlds Collide

When Worlds Collide

Years ago, a fifth grader walks into her local library and finds a new series about dragonriders on a planet named Pern.

Some years later, another young girl half a world away discovers a series about a planet named Discworld.

Neither knew at the time that these two worlds were on a collision course with each other and would one day meet up in the wizarding world of Harry Potter but they did. That is where I met Muggs and for the past few years have shared back and forth on our respective favorite fandoms. Recently, she began reading Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern series and, in return, I began reading Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. We’re both hooked.

Of course, being a crafter, and a geek crafter at heart, I began searching for patterns and crafts related to the new series and found some. One of my favorites is the adorable Swamp Dragon, foun which grows to a length of two feet, especially in the books Guards! Guards! and Men at Arms.

Steph Conley has created a “lifesize” knit pattern for these dragons. I introduce you to Flynn the Swamp Dragon.

Knit in worsted weight yarn, he doesn’t take much yarn do to as she made hers from recycled sweater yarn. A seven inch zipper is sewn into his stomach to turn this into a nice hiding place for special things.

You can find more Discworld crafty goodness on her blog.

 

 

Twas Knitting Before Christmas

Twas Knitting Before Christmas

Twas knitting before Christmas, when all through the castle
Not a creature was stirring, not even a thestral.
The stockings were hung in the Great Hall with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

The professors were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of butterbeers danced in their heads.
And Dumbledore dreaming of knitted socks,
And Hagrid of having cakes as hard as a rock.

When out on the staircase there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Past Filch and Mrs Norris who ran mad as hatters
To find that Professor Staarkatt had yarn and a pattern.

Fresh off the needles in various colors
Each pair just what the head of houses would order.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But miniature house scarfs to hang from your ears!

Burgundy and gold or green and silver
Other house color combinations so familiar
All it takes is needles in size zero
And a bit of perle cotton for your rows

“Now Hufflepuff! now, Gryffindor! Ravenclaw and Slytherin!
A wonderful way to finish your Hogwarts gift giving!
To the top of the towers! to the ends of the hall!
Now knit a pair! Knit two pair! Knit them for all!

As she posted the pattern, Professor Staarkatt did shout
“Make sure there’s a pair for McGonagall and Sprout!”
But I heard her exclaim, ‘ere she apparated out of sight,
“Happy Christmas to all and just knit through the night!”

Adorkable!

Adorkable!

Thanks to my friend, Juniperus, I’d like to share a rather unusual type of craft with you. But, yes, you’ll find the handmade custom nail polish assortment from Nerd Lacquer absolutely adorkable. With fun names like Exterminate, Don’t Blink, Don’t Panic and It’s Just a Flesh Wound, there is sure to be something that catches your fancy out of the twenty-eight custom made nail polishes in this Etsy Shop run by Amanda Collier.

Every shade has a sparkle quality to it and you can find shades based on your favorite geekdoms ranging from Doctor Who, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Star Wars and Star Trek, and even Monty Python among some of your choices. You can purchase single bottles or custom sets of four, five or six colors. She even has an Holiday NerdBot Eight-Pack Extravaganza as well as a mini-library and a full-size library of all 28 shades.

Amanda makes the custom nail polish shades herself and also knits, paints and creates handmade invites and business cards. So stop by and check out these lovely, glittery, geeky polishes.

 

Ten Points to Gryffindor But Purses for All!

I mentioned in my introduction that you would be meeting some of the people who helped fire up my interest in ‘geek crafting’. One of the very first was my dear friend, Rosemary Waits, or Quietish as she is known on line. We first met on line in 2000 and lived over one thousand miles apart. As the fates would have it, I ended up moving only three and a half hours away from her and we would occasionally see each other in person.

 

It was Quietish who referred me to a couple of on line crafting groups for Harry Potter and, later , invited me to help her and another friend at an area event, Mugglefest. Two weeks before, she mentioned she was working on a Gryffindor scarf to wear that day. I barely could knit garter stitch at this time. There was no way I could create a scarf for myself in that time. Searching links, she sent me one for the sweater I mentioned last week and that was it.

 

There’s been many Harry Potter moments and crafts since there between us, and other friends, but one of my favorites is her HP House Fair Isle Pouch Bags which she shares here along with a link to her PDF pattern for all four houses found on Ravelry. With it’s flat style construction, the bag serves as a nice starting point for a knitter wanting to begin including pockets in their work. The pattern is a Fair Isle and is knitted in the round and includes a bit of basic crochet and some simple sewing to finish. The bags are lined and the pattern contains the graphs for all four house mascots.

If you’re not a member of Ravelry, membership is free and there are many patterns both free and for purchase available there.

 

Senior Citizens Day! Every Saturday!

Well, maybe not with discounts but I’m definitely the Senior Citizen of this crew at 57!

I’m Mary, usually known online as Lady Dragonsinger. Currently, I reside in the eastern side of Oklahoma with my pastor husband, who I refer to on line as ‘Sir Dragon Preacher’, and our two dogs, Rowan (a german shepherd who thinks she’s a norfolk terrier) and Piper (a norfolk terrier who thinks she’s a german shepherd). Together, we share a geeky fondness for the medieval period, all things celtic, Renaissance Faires, reading and exploring various places including but not limited to museums, used bookshops and ops shops (aka thrift shops). Most of my time, I have my crochet in hand which is something that was taught to me by my grandmother when I was nine. Knitting is one of the crafts I’ve learned with some assistance with  from talented friends and have been doing that for about six years. Over the years, I have also worked with counted cross stitch, needlepoint and a few other crafts.

My first geeky fandom was the Dragonriders of Pern series by the late Anne McCaffrey. Dragons have always fascinated me and it only took seeing the word in the title of her book to result it in being checked out and read as fast as I could. From there, it was a neverending love of her work, with the Dragonriders always holding the top of the list. It’s no surprise, that eventually, I would start to read the Harry Potter series and never leave it. Thanks to that series, I have made some amazing friendships both online and off. I’ve also really come to know my geek crafting. The first true geek oriented item I ever made was the Molly Sweater from a pattern available here.

When not working or crafting, you can find me writing drabbles for The Petulant Poetess or character rp for Wizards Without Boundaries.

Hopefully, when we meet up each Saturday, I can share some of the wonderful geek crafting that led me to join in!