"But, really, why does anyone create? You feel a... a restlessness inside, a need to make something new, something no one has ever seen before. You want to add to the beauty and the richness of the world with a gift, an offering that is uniquely yours. It's an act of selfishness and generosity, all rolled into one."

-- Bruce Coville,
The Last Hunt

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Babies! Thanks, Marty!

Well, lots of people seem to be tatting animals lately, and I have too-- dragons!

My problem with the card has been the perspective.

The dragon is basically eye level with the viewer, so tatting things on the ground, like flowers or shrubbery, would look funny. I couldn't think what else to do, though.

Then Marty gave me the most brilliant suggestion: baby dragons, of course! They'll be up in the air with their mom (or dad, I'm not sure which), so the perspective will stay right. I did exactly what Marty suggested and tatted Anne Bruvold's Ringtrim Microdragon in several colors.

Aren't they cute? Left to right, they are done in a purple HDT I got on The Thread Exchange, LadyShuttleMaker's Helm's Deep, Yarnplayer's Midnight Oil, and LadyShuttleMaker's Rainforest. The pale yellow thread for the bellies is DMC color 579. I also added the same silver-gray Delica seed beads that I used in the big dragon. The addition of the beads meant I had to shorten the tails by one ring. And let me tell you, by the time you've done a few of these guys, you will have your single-shuttle split ring technique down! (See Jane Eborall's SSSR instructions, or this video.)

Now all that's left is the glue. Thank you so much, Marty, for the wonderful idea!

2 comments:

  1. Way to go, Marty! That will be perfect!
    Fox : )

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  2. Awesome solution! Hats off to Marty, and to you for brilliant execution on mama (or papa?) dragon and her babies. The hatchlings are such deadly lil' charmers!

    ReplyDelete