Geek Crafts

One of my favorite fantasy creatures, the dragon, gets such a bad rap. So they burn villages, eat fair maidens and have magical powers, does that them bad? For centuries, knights have attacked them with lances, magicians have cast a myriad of spells, and random people with pitchforks have attacked the dragon’s lair. I think that if I was constantly harassed by human kind, I would be cranky too.  Maybe our Society’s perspective is all wrong.  Maybe the Dragon just wants some understanding!  To quote the Most Knowledgeable Hagrid, “They’re seriously misunderstood Dragons.” We should all keep our minds open to the good that Dragons can do.

For example, how about a dragon made out of recyclable materials!

This is a sculpture was created by~toge over on DeviantArt using only plastic kitchen utensils and hot glue.  It proves that they can be just as concerned about our environment as we are.  We need more positive press about dragons so that our society no longer discriminates against these reptiles! Remember, dragons want love and respect too!

Plasticdragon by ~toge-NYC on deviantART.

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“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!”

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Just as geek crafts can be found in the strangest of place, so too can geeky crafters.

The last place you might think of looking for one would be in the U.S. Army. However, that is precisely where the creator of these two charming, crocheted fellows can be found.

Made from Roxycraft patterns (that seem to be out-of-print, sadly), these little guys were stitched up by my brother-in-law when he was stationed in the Middle East last year.

When you craft gifts for a friend or loved one, you can’t help but keep them in mind as you work on the project: will they like the color? Will it fit right? Will they get the in-joke I incorporated? Will it go straight to the Goodwill box?

So, I like to think that stitching these — as well as the other creatures he made for his family — helped give him a sort of quiet connection to the people he loved back home.  It makes these plushies all the more special to know that he was thinking of us when he was half a world away.

Not to mention, they’re friggin’ awesome! I still can’t get over the dragon’s wings. Or it’s little toes…

• Roxycraft crochet patterns
• More crochet crafts on Geek Crafts

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I don’t play Dungeons and Dragons, but I do love regular dragons so I appreciate how awesome this cake is. PLUS it has  raspberry compote filling, and  buttercream frosting! Craftster user olmulekiller made this gorgeous 12 inch layer buttermilk cake and covered it in geeky goodness. And it’s not fondant, it’s real frosting, which makes it so much more impressive. It’s almost too pretty to eat. Almost…

• Bahamut Dungeons and Dragons Cake on Craftster
• olmulekiller’s Profile
• Bahamut (for non-D&D fans)

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Craftster user shedko247 not only crocheted this awesome Pokemon amigurumi Charizard the dragon, but she posted instructions on her blog, AH! Creations. She’s got more geeky crochet patterns there too, so be sure to check it out.

• Charizard the Amigurumi Dragon
• AH! Creations

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merricat posted this baby dragon cape she sewed over on Instructables. Click through to see the wings, plus step-by-step photos of how she made the eyes with polymer clay.

• Baby Dragon Cape

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