Tiny Dragons - The 34th Batch

Phew, it's been a while, hasn't it? The poor little dragons of the 34th batch have been waiting half an age to get their photos taken and revealed to you guys. Let's hope the next one will be ready to show a little sooner than this!

(There are only four shown, because number 170 has already flown to a new home.)

From left to right:

#166. Jocelyn - mint and bright teal
#167. Nikolai - pale green and lime green
#168. Neville - bright turquoise and cobalt blue
#169. Imogen - lavender and violet
#170. custom - black (sold, not pictured)

Here's how it works: Every now and then I make a batch of 5 dragons. Each dragon has a unique set of colours and they get a signed hatching certificate with their name, number and date.

When they're ready to list, I post an introduction on this blog like the one above. During the following few days, I'll list them in numerical order in my Etsy shop. Should you happen to spot one you must have, let me know and I can reserve it for you.

Tiny Dragons - The 33rd Batch

As promised in the previous post, here's batch 33 of tiny dragons. I definitely seem to be on a tiny dragon spree again at the moment, for number 34 is already in the works. Funny how some nice yarn in new colours can inspire you.

From left to right:

#161. Elena - sand and pale green
#162. Karina - bright teal and teal
#163. Shamrock - lime green and deep green
#164. Caleb - sky blue and cobalt blue
#165. Seymour - light purple and lavender

Here's how it works: Every now and then I make a batch of 5 dragons. Each dragon has a unique set of colours and they get a signed hatching certificate with their name, number and date.

When they're ready to list, I post an introduction on this blog like the one above. During the following few days, I'll list them in numerical order in my Etsy shop. Should you happen to spot one you must have, let me know and I can reserve it for you.

Tiny Dragons - The 32nd Batch

Well, it's certainly been a while and it was definitely fun to return to these little guys again. Batch 32 is in fact the first batch of tiny dragons for the year 2014. I'm already working on another one, so there will be more soon!

From left to right:

#156. custom - indigo & violet (sold, not pictured)
#157. Peach - peach and antique pink
#158. Avery - bright turquoise and bright green
#159. Elias - pale blue and light indigo
#160. Morley - pale yellow and brown

Here's how it works: Every now and then I make a batch of 5 dragons. Each dragon has a unique set of colours and they get a signed hatching certificate with their name, number and date.

When they're ready to list, I post an introduction on this blog like the one above. During the following few days, I'll list them in numerical order in my Etsy shop. Should you happen to spot one you must have, let me know and I can reserve it for you.

Introducing Nikodemus Plesiosaur and Angelica Apatosaurus

An Apatosaurus and a Plesiosaur—unlikely friends? Oh, I don’t know about that. Sure, one lives on land and the other in the ocean, but they nonetheless have much in common. For example, it’s easy to imagine these two having many thorough discus sions on the joys and issues of having a very long neck.

Say hello to the latest new additions to the Morrgan's Creatures family: Angelica Apatosaurus and Nikodemus Plesiosaur!

I've made both plesiosaurs and apatosaurs like this before, but never got around to writing them down in pattern form before. Well, that's fixed now!

These two are knitted in the round and they partially share the same pattern - they only differ in the shape of their limbs. These dinos are very simple and quick to make; especially the apatosaurus makes a fine project for a beginner.

Angelica and Nikodemus are available as a knitting pattern via Ravelry (or click here to buy now - no Ravelry account needed), Craftsy and from my Etsy shop.

Want to see more creature introductions?

Introducing Hektor the Tyrannosaurus

Tyrannosaurs may have a fearsome reputation, but little baby T-rexes like Hektor are actually very sweet. Much like an eager but adorably clumsy puppy, who stumbles over his own slightly too big feet in his excitement.

Say hello to Hektor, better know as Mr. T among friends and family!

I may have mentioned my notebook before. It's got everything from hastily scribbled notes and little drawings of ideas to the first pattern versions I write by hand as I create my creatures and other designs. One of the earliest idea notes, which I jotted down many years ago, reads (translated from Swedish): "T-rex (red with big feet) Hector".

Well, this guy may be a handsome plum purple instead of red, but he did end up with the big feet! It was one of those ideas that are almost complete in my head, but some vital bit is missing - in Hektor's case, the head. I knew I wanted a cute little baby Tyrannosaurus with huge feet, but the design of the head kept eluding me. That's probably why it took me so long to get around to realizing this idea.

Even now the head was the last thing I did. In the end I gave up trying to come up with a design first and just started knitting. Surprisingly enough, the first version I made ended up being perfect! Sometimes my fingers have a better idea of what to do than my brain, it seems.

Hektor is available as a knitting pattern via Ravelry (or click here to buy now - no Ravelry account needed), Craftsy and from my Etsy shop.

Want to see more creature introductions?

Knitting + Nerdery + Christmas = Awesome Ornaments

Most of November and December was spent completing orders and making Christmas gifts, but now that things have started to wind down for the year, I've had time to work on personal stuff. A friend of mine mentioned making knitted Christmas ornaments and I really liked the idea. The only problem was that the usual Christmas decor didn't seem right for Mr Morrgan and me. It didn't take long for a suitable idea to pop into my head, though. What better theme for a pair of long-time gaming nerds than old school gaming geekery!

The first imagery to come to mind was an old classic; the aliens from Space Invaders. It's as if these guys were designed to dance around in a circle in ornament form. And no, I'm not quite old enough to have played this back in the day, though I have some vague memories of having played a remake at some point.

Doom 2, however, I did play back when it came out. We didn't have a PC at home at the time, so I spent many, many school breaks playing it on one of the school computers. Ahh, fun times. Mr Morrgan played (and still plays) it way more than me though, and it was he who suggested I make this guy. He's called Coco the Cacodemon and he's a bit grumpy because I left out his ability to shoot lightning balls when I made him. Thought it'd be safer that way. Don't want a tree on fire for Christmas!

Next up will be another familiar floating face from Doom 2, the pain elemental, possibly a few of his lost soul buddies and finally a bit of D&D nerdery in the form of a Beholder. Then we'll have the most awesome tree in the neighbourhood!

(Note to self: need a tree.)

The year 2013 is about to end - a vacation is about to start

Well, we're a little over a week away from Christmas. This year has gone by fast. There's been a lot going on around here behind the scenes, such as me going back to university for a few more years' worth of studies. That has meant a lot of new routines and schedules to work out and get used to, which in turn has left (too) little time for my knitting and other related things.

It may be close to Christmas, but the weather is hardly winter-like yet. Sure, the ground is kinda white in this photo, but that stuff isn't really worthy of being called snow. Tsk.

Related things such as this blog! A mere, pathetic 18 posts this year, including this one. I suppose it's hard to post about new knitting when there's been very little new knitting to show off. I'm planning to change that next year, though! It's a bit early for New Year's resolutions, but now that I have these new routines (mostly) figured out, I can put more time into new designs. I have several pattern ideas I've been itching to try out!

As Christmas is getting close, it also means that Morrgan's Creatures will go on a little break as usual, starting Dec 19th. My Dawanda and Zibbet shops will be closed until early January. The Etsy shop will remain open but only for patterns, as they can be instantly downloaded. My patterns will also continue to be available from Ravelry and Craftsy. Any messages received during the break will be replied to after Morrgan's Creatures reopens in early January.

So, that's just a little FYI. This may or may not be the last post of the year, depending on how much time I have before the break. If this is indeed the last one, I just want to say thank you for the year 2013 to all my lovely customers! Thank you also to my readers, if you still exist with so little reading to do. ;)

See you again next year!

Tiny Dragons - The 31st Batch

Today we meet the last batch of tiny dragons for the year 2013, batch number 31!

From left to right:

#151. Tobias - mint and bright turquoise
#152. Miriam - peach and dark magenta
#153. Rudolf - moss green and deep green
#154. Meredith - rusty orange and dark purple
#155. Linda - creamy white and pale yellow

Here's how it works: Every now and then I make a batch of 5 dragons. Each dragon has a unique set of colours and they get a signed hatching certificate with their name, number and date.

When they're ready to list, I post an introduction on this blog like the one above. During the following few days, I'll list them in numerical order in my Etsy shop. Should you happen to spot one you must have, let me know and I can reserve it for you.

Tiny Dragons - The 30th Batch

It's been a while, both since any news and more specifically since any dragon-related news, but now we have a whole bunch of newly-hatched tiny dragons ready for introductions! Say hello to batch 30!

From left to right:

#146. Leo - rusty orange and red
#147. Sylvanus - pale green and dark green
#148. Bianca - white and peach
#149. Heather - dark magenta and black
#150. Russel - teal and brown

Here's how it works: Every now and then I make a batch of 5 dragons. Each dragon has a unique set of colours and they get a signed hatching certificate with their name, number and date.

When they're ready to list, I post an introduction on this blog like the one above. During the following few days, I'll list them in numerical order in my Etsy shop. Should you happen to spot one you must have, let me know and I can reserve it for you.

Introducing Konrad the Cognitive Panda

Konrad is a scientifically inclined panda. He especially likes numbers. Give him a sufficiently tricky mathematical problem and he’ll be entertained for hours.

Unusually enough, the main problem with Konrad was figuring out a suitable adjective for his logical nature. Intelligent? Smart? Cogent? Cerebral? Perspicacious?

As I may have mentioned before, while I work on a design I have many hours of knitting when my hands are busy but my brain is idle. Often my mind begins to create a story for the creature I'm designing, so that at the end the complete design also includes a personality. It's important to me that the adjective, if there is one, fits the creature I have made.

For Konrad, many, many alternatives were found with the help of a thesaurus and my walking dictionary, Mr Morrgan, but none of them seemed a perfect fit. Then eventually Mr Morrgan suggested "cognitive" and everything fell into place. Konrad finally had the right word to describe him!

Konrad is available as a pattern via Ravelry (or click here to buy now - no Ravelry account needed), Craftsy and from my Etsy shop.

Want to see more creature introductions?

Morrgan's Creatures patterns now available as instant downloads on Etsy!

Tony and Hubert are among the creatures
available as patterns in my Etsy shop.

As the title explains, the patterns for my creatures are now available as instant downloads after purchase on Etsy. No more waiting for emails! I've always taken pride in emailing patterns to customers as soon as possible, but we all know any wait is too long when you're excited about a new project, right? ;)

Plus, as I no longer have to worry about timely emails, this means I can also keep the Etsy shop open while I'm on vacation and the patterns will be available for purchase all year round. Hooray!

Tiny Dragons - The 29th Batch

Woah, May already? It's almost summer time. Where did spring go?

Probably missed it because I was obsessed with knitting tiny dragons. Again. Speaking of, batch no 29 is ready! And now I'm officially Knitted Out for now, as far as dragons are concerned that is.

Coming next? Quite possibly a new pattern, if all goes well!

From left to right:

#141. Natalie - peach and rusty orange
#142. Anton - bright turquoise and bright teal
#143. Callisto - light purple and dark purple
#144. Bruno - sand and brown
#145. Emery - deep green and greyish blue

Here's how it works: Every now and then I make a batch of 5 dragons. Each dragon has a unique set of colours and they get a signed hatching certificate with their name, number and date.

When they're ready to list, I post an introduction on this blog like the one above. During the following few days, I'll list them in numerical order in my Etsy shop. Should you happen to spot one you must have, let me know and I can reserve it for you.

Tiny Dragons - The 28th Batch

Behold, more dragons! Batch 28 has arrived. Yup, I'm on a tiny dragon spree again and already working on the next batch. 'Tis an addiction.

From left to right:

#136. Coffey - brown and black
#137. Lena - light purple and dark pink
#138. Bronwyn - pale green and dark brown
#139. Casper - sky blue and rusty orange
#140. Emma - grey and purple

Here's how it works: Every now and then I make a batch of 5 dragons. Each dragon has a unique set of colours and they get a signed hatching certificate with their name, number and date.

When they're ready to list, I post an introduction on this blog like the one above. During the following few days, I'll list them in numerical order in my Etsy shop. Should you happen to spot one you must have, let me know and I can reserve it for you.

Tiny Dragons - The 27th Batch

Tiny dragon batch 27 is here! One of them has already flown off to a new home, but the rest will soon be available in my Etsy shop.

From left to right:

#131. Onyx - black and grey (sold!)
#132. Cohen - pale yellow and light green
#133. Naomi - hot pink and dark magenta
#134. Franklin - white and teal
#135. Paula - dark green and dark red

Here's how it works: Every now and then I make a batch of 5 dragons. Each dragon has a unique set of colours and they get a signed hatching certificate with their name, number and date.

When they're ready to list, I post an introduction on this blog like the one above. During the following few days, I'll list them in numerical order in my Etsy shop. Should you happen to spot one you must have, let me know and I can reserve it for you.

Tiny Dragons - The 26th Batch

A whole bunch of new tiny dragons has entered the world. Please welcome batch 26!

From left to right:

#126. Vulcan - black and red
#127. Vivienne - white and light purple
#128. Marcus - pale blue and bright turquoise
#129. Sarah - sand and purple
#130. Erica - violet and black

Here's how it works: Every now and then I make a batch of 5 dragons. Each dragon has a unique set of colours and they get a signed hatching certificate with their name, number and date.

When they're ready to list, I post an introduction on this blog like the one above. During the following few days, I'll list them in numerical order in my Etsy shop. Should you happen to spot one you must have, let me know and I can reserve it for you.

Tiny Dragons - The 25th Batch

Two weeks into the new year and two batches of tiny dragons. I wonder if this counts as an addiction? Say hello to batch 25!

From left to right:

#121. Charlotta - dark indigo and dark blue
#122. Corbin - moss green and saffron yellow
#123. Francesca - dark magenta and dark purple
#124. Sebastian - sky blue and grey
#125. Benjamin - creamy white and bright yellow

Here's how it works: Every now and then I make a batch of 5 dragons. Each dragon has a unique set of colours and they get a signed hatching certificate with their name, number and date.

When they're ready to list, I post an introduction on this blog like the one above. During the following few days, I'll list them in numerical order in my Etsy shop. Should you happen to spot one you must have, let me know and I can reserve it for you.

Tiny Dragons - The 24th Batch

Happy New Year!

While the holidays were spent suffering from an überflu for the most part (me shivering from fever on Christmas Eve; Mr Morrgan's turn on New Year's Eve), I had a pretty good time during the holiday break anyway. I hope you did too.

The new year begins as the old year ended - with a batch of tiny dragons! A couple of tiny dragons are missing from the photo because they have already flown off to their new homes, but the ones shown will soon be available in my Etsy shop!

From left to right:

#116. custom - black & white stripes and red (sold, not pictured)
#117. custom - black and yellow (sold, not pictured)
#118. Ginger - sand and rusty orange
#119. Fortune - dark green and bright turquoise
#120. Finnegan - white and pale blue

Here's how it works: Every now and then I make a batch of 5 dragons. Each dragon has a unique set of colours and they get a signed hatching certificate with their name, number and date.

When they're ready to list, I post an introduction on this blog like the one above. During the following few days, I'll list them in numerical order in my Etsy shop. Should you happen to spot one you must have, let me know and I can reserve it for you.

Happy Holidays!

Well, this is it. I'm officially taking the rest of the year off. All orders are completed and have been shipped off. My shops are now closed (except my Ravelry and Craftsy shops, where my patterns will continue to be available throughout the break). I've even finished a few knitted presents of my own as well. Time to take a deep breath, relax with some nice mulled wine and get into the spirit of the season.

For once I thought ahead and planned for the holiday rush, preparing what I could in advance and scheduling the rest to be as efficient and stress-free as possible. (I even had almost all gifts ready by November!) You know, I'm actually looking forward to Christmas and New Year's now. Coincidence? I think not. ;)

The year 2012 has been a really good one and not the least thanks to my lovely customers. A big thank you goes out to each and every one of you!

Happy Holidays!

Tiny Dragons - The 23rd Batch

While the previous batch was likely the last one of the year, this one definitely is. Say hi to batch 23, the last dragons of 2012!

From left to right:

#111. Magdalena - antique pink and light purple
#112. Phineas - cobalt blue and sky blue
#113. Ethan - mint and light green
#114. Perrin - brown and dark indigo
#115. Lisbeth - teal and dark blue

Here's how it works: Every now and then I make a batch of 5 dragons. Each dragon has a unique set of colours and they get a signed hatching certificate with their name, number and date.

When they're ready to list, I post an introduction on this blog like the one above. During the following few days, I'll list them in numerical order in my Etsy shop. Should you happen to spot one you must have, let me know and I can reserve it for you.

Introducing Claptrap of Borderlands fame!

Greetings traveller! I am CL4P-TP; you may call me by my locally designated name, 'Claptrap'.

Claptraps are fun little robots you encounter in the Borderlands games. The poor things are often used for target practice and abused in other ways by the bandits of the Borderlands, so I spent much of my playthroughs wanting to give these poor guys a hug. Well, now I can!

Knitted Claptrap and Game Claptrap.

Work on Knitted Claptrap started in 2010. I made decent progress for about two weeks, then Christmas season kicked in in full force and I had little time for extra projects. Alas, after that poor Clapson had to sit on my desk in a semi-finished state for almost two years. When Borderlands 2 was released earlier this year, it inspired me to finish my own little robot!

Then for some oh-so-important numbers and other facts.

• Mr. Claptrap is knitted both flat and in the round, from various DK weight wool blends.
• Special techniques used include intarsia and i-cord knitting.
• He needed a ridiculous total of 40 separate pieces, if I counted correctly.
• He's a respectable 40 cm / 16" tall, making him the perfect size for hugs.
• Working on him gave me a really sore neck on three occasions.

I wanted Claptrap as detailed as I could make him by knitting alone (plus a wee bit of embroidery). I could add a few more details, I suppose, but then I might go insane, so I say he's ready now.

So, what do you think?