Dragon's Wear Lipstick

I started this project back in June. The knitting was fun and went by pretty fast, but it wasn't until last weekend that I turned this

Into this

I know that makes it hard to believe me when I say, I don't really mind seaming.

In fact, I kind of like mattress stitch. The reason this was neglected was because of all the little pieces. I do most of my knitting on the subway, and I just didn't want to see an eyeball fall into the tracks. He got set aside until I could find some time at home to focus on him. Then we moved, so he was packed.

Excuses aside, he's been rediscovered and stitched up.

Pattern: Fiery Dragon Scarf by Brook L. Hanna
Yarn: Knit Picks Essential (now Stroll) Multi in Meadow Multi, Knit Picks Shine Sport in Grass and Leapfrog, and various bits of this and that.

Needles: US 5 (3.75 mm)
Notes: For the top of the dragon, I knit holding both the Meadow variegated yarn and the Leapfrog at the same time. For the bottom, I alternated between Leapfrog and Grass. I wanted to use the yarn double thick on the top and single on the bottom. In my head this meant that the top would be bigger/fuller and be a bit more substantial than the bottom. In turn, the belly would draw in a bit because it was smaller. It kind of worked, but it also caused a tiny problem.

Being bigger also meant being longer. I kept the row counts of both pieces the same (because that is ideal for mattress stitch), but the top had about an inch more than the bottom. I was still able to put them together, but it is not quite as perfect as I would have like. It is doubtful that the young man this is going to mind. Even I don't mind.

What I do mind is the lips. I think it looks like this dragon is wearing lipstick. It is my own fault. First, I didn't add the felt teeth like the pattern recommended. They probably would have made that seam between the red and the green more elegant, but I just don't have any felt lying around. Second, I probably could have tried another seaming method for putting the mouth in. I used mattress stitch because I like how invisible it is, but something a little more visible might have been less rounded. If that seam was flatter, the mouth would look more inset.

Now that I've aired my complaints and been my own critic, I have to say, I LOVE the nostrils. It is not a sentence I have occasion to use often, but they are my favorite part. They are just so cute!