Dragon KAL Update

He’s done! #khdragon #knitting #ravelry

A photo posted by Melissa (@karmic9) on Aug 21, 2015 at 8:58am PDT

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He’s finished and he is BEAUTIFUL!

At least I think so, especially as I can’t feel my little finger anymore…. I now know I hate Size 1 DPNs. Admittedly, my DPN technique is pretty lacking. Anyway after many hours of being poked by hundreds (slight exaggeration) of pipe cleaners and cramping my hands up on teeny tiny DPNs, he is a whole dragon. I’m really happy with the way he turned out. I will have to admit that all of the work was worth it. I was really starting to worry, but my own stubbornness wouldn’t let me waste the yarn, so…

I would never have taken the time to figure out all of the increases and decreases involved in getting this guy to have proper looking musculature, but thankfully Kim did. She is a Dragon Goddess. Bow down, folks. Bow Down.

Dragon KAL

It’s no secret that I like dragons. From video games (Skyrim, Dragon Age, etc) to books (Dragonriders of Pern, Dragonlance, Dragon Prince, more!), to art (Michael Whelan, duh). The pic above is Michael Whelan’s cover for ‘Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern’. So, they tend to find their way into pretty much all of my hobbies.

Kim Harrison (the author of ‘The Hollows’ series) knits some pretty cool stuff. She’s decided to share her Dragon pattern in the form of a KAL (Knit A Long). I wouldn’t recommend this for someone who has never knitted, but I think a beginner could figure this one out. Kim has very helpfully made some videos that help with most of the steps involved. Go here to get started. **Edit: the directions moved over to her main site.

It’s suggested to use cotton yarn. Kim does her dragons in Paton’s Grace, a DK mercerized cotton yarn. Only one of  my local craft stores carries Grace, and only then in a couple of colors. So my dragon is being done in Navy and Fiesta, which I think is a good color combo for Halloween. If you are going to have to order yarn, here are some other possibilities I found over at LoveKnitting.com. Their prices are good and more importantly they ship fast.  I hate waiting for yarn. Mainly because by the time it gets here, I’ve moved on to another project and forgot what I ordered it for…. Yarn is a sickness….

Paton’s Grace 

Rico Essentials DK Cotton

Wendy’s Supreme Cotton DK Knitting Yarn: I’m not sure if this is mercerized, but it’s a good price for 220yds if you really get into knitting some dragons.

Rowan Cotton Glace: I am in love with a lot of these colors. Of course it’s the priciest of the lot. Really, I NEED all of them. 😉

Schoeller und Stahl Limone

 

I’m also playing around with some regular Lily’s Sugar ‘n Cream cotton. I test knit a few of the wing panels on size 3 needles since it’s worsted weight. I think it will work if you can stand working with rough cotton. You might even be able to use regular 6mm pipe cleaners with this size yarn… That’s a plus.

 

So, onto MY DRAGON!

Here he is on Ravelry. (If you’re going to knit, you need a Ravelry account.)

He’s going to have a navy body with orange highlights.

I finished the Left Wing last night. I have to admit, so far it feels like I’ve been doing a lot more sewing than knitting on these wings. I HATE sewing all the pieces together, but I will say Kim’s method works well. I just hate it. 😀  Due to accidentally sewing the B wing panel on too tightly, I ended up with a very angular panel. I stared at it for a really long time trying to decide if I was going to rip it out and do it properly. I kind of thought it made the wing look kind of bat-like, so I decided to see if I could replicate it on the Right Wing. It turned out sort of ok, so I kept both of them. I’m sure my own laziness was also whispering very loudly in my ears during this important decision.

So here’s the Left Wing. Sorry, the table was very dirty.

Now I just have to finish the panels, and the freaking pipe cleaner fingers for the Right Wing. I’m obviously looking forward to it. In fact, I’m pretty sure this entire blog post is just a stalling tactic by my subconscious.

Poseable Wings, Mel. Every Dragon wants poseable wings. Do it for the dragon, Mel.

 

I knit so I won’t kill you.

For all of you out there who think knitting is just for old ladies and boring people: I knit so I won’t kill you all. There. I said it. Behind this placid face and these clicking stainless steel knitting needles with the really really sharp points, I am a mass of stress and unfocused rage. Did you know that knitting can produce a zen like state of meditation? Check out this CNN article. This is most likely the sole reason I’m not currently in prison. With massive problems looming at work, ongoing health problems in the family, and the ~800 rooster chicks I need to re-home I’ve been knitting nonstop for about 4 months now. And while this means I’ll be set for the holiday gifts this year, my repetitive stress syndrome in the old hands is at an all time high. But a true athlete works through the pain, so I knit on. Want to see what I’ve made? Sure you do!

So here’s a ginormous shawl.

 

 

And here’s a little Voodoo Doll. He turned out so cute, I couldn’t stand to mutilate him.

 

And here’s my favorite. I’m keeping it for me… It’s a shawlette shaped like Dragon Wings. It’s like having my own little fire lizard, only I don’t have to feed it.

 

There’s more, but after working for a whole month on a shawl with a horrible pattern, I gave up on it. The yarn was pretty though. And there’s the other part of knitting as stress relief, the yarn. Yarn is it’s own little addiction. It’s so soft and so pretty and so expensive, which leads back to stress as to how I’m going to afford all of this yarn! 😉

Did I mention I got new knitting needles? They are so shiny, and sharp. They’re also made out of stainless steel so it’ll be easier to clean the blood off…