“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!”