Dragonflies

Small dragons living in unexpected places.

Size = 12“ x 11“ (14 ct.)

Mushroom Magic

The mushrooms in this pattern are based on those in the genus Armillariella, and are produced by a fungus parasite of trees. Several species of Armillariella produce reproductive mushrooms in the form depicted here, though they are generally pale orange and cream in color. These are reported to be very edible mushrooms, though you should never pick and eat anything you are not absolutely certain is harmless.

The wings of the ‘dragonfly’ are based on the wings of a species of dragonfly called the common whitetail (Libellula lydia). Males of these dragonflies have dark brown heads and legs and white abdomens. Their wings are patterned in clear and dark brown patches, just as those on the dragon in this pattern. Females have a different wing pattern and have darker colored abdomens.

Size = 13“ x 13“ (14 ct.)

Amazon Velvet

This design was inspired by a trip I took to the Amazon last summer. While there, we took a small boat back into the flooded jungle to a pool full of giant lily pads and caiman (the Brazilian cousins of alligators). The giant water lily (Victoria amazonica) has leaves that are 7 feet across and covered with spines. The flowers measure 12 inches across and the first night they open, they are white (and look like the one in this design), female, and release a scent to attract their beetle pollinator. At dawn, they close, trapping the beetle inside. After it has been pollinated during the day, the flower becomes male and its own pollen gets stuck to the beetle. By nightfall, when the flower opens for the second time to release the beetle, it is male and a rich, pale magenta in color.

The ‘dragonfly’ in this pattern is modeled after the stunning Brazilian species called Diastatops obscura by scientists (I wasn’t able to locate a common name). It is a large species that truly has a black head and thorax, red abdomen, and iridescent black wings.

Size = 9“ x 14“ (14 ct.)

Prairie Skimmer

It’s spring in the tallgrass prairie as I write this and wildflowers are starting to pop up everywhere amongst the grasses. In another month or so, one of the most common will be the purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), a beautiful Aster with pale magenta petals and yellow-brown centers. The flower in this pattern is a purple coneflower, just done in colors as they appear to tiny prairie dragons who see in different wavelengths of light than we do.

This “dragonfly” has wings with a pattern similar to those of the male widow skimmer (Libellula luctuosa). These common large dragonflies are brown with whitish abdomens and brown, white, and clear patterned wings. Males defend territories from other males along the borders of ponds and streams. A female, which lacks white patches and has yellow stripes on her body, chooses a male to mate with, then lays her eggs in the water within his territory. While the female lays her eggs, the male hovers above chasing off any other male that might harass her. The larvae hatch in the water and spend their first year or so as aquatic predators before metamorphosing into adult dragonflies.

Size = 12“ x 9“ (14 ct.)

Appalachian Morning

A few summers ago, I was walking through one of the old pastures at my parents' farm in Tennessee and came across some passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) vines with blooms on them. These odd looking flowers, also known as maypop, intrigued me and I took a number of photos. Later, I thought that one of them would make an interesting perch for one of my 'dragonfly' designs. The only problem being, how to put a dragon on the flower without taking away from the beauty of the flower. With input from Marilyn and Shari, and Beth, this is the result. Though, rather than the dragon wings patterned after real dragonflies, this one has the wings of a zebra longwing butterfly (Heliconius charitonius). The zebra longwing is known to use passionflowers as a host for its caterpillars. I did take a bit of artistic license with the design by giving it red stripes. These butterflies actually have white or pale yellow stripes on their wings.

Ebony Jewelwing

The colors of this ‘dragonfly’ are actually based on a damselfly called the Ebony jewelwing (Calopteryx maculata). Damselflies are smaller, have more slender bodies, eyes that are farther apart, and wings that fold differently than true dragonflies.

Fern leaves start out as a structure called a ‘fiddle head’, which are in the center of this fern. Fiddle heads unfurl into the leaves as ferns grow.

Size = 12“ x 12“ (14 ct.)

Size = 13“ x 13“ (14 ct.)

Umber Shadowdragon

So far, my “dragonflies” have been perched alternately on some non-flower (mushrooms & ferns) and flowers. The fifth one, then, needed to be a non-flower, but I was having trouble coming up with something until I happened to be watering the caladium plants on my deck one day and the light bulb went off. I made the caladium fairly realistic and wanted to do a “dragonfly” in the colors of the Stygian Shadowdragon, which is a fabulous name for a species of dragonfly and the pattern came out with a black “dragonfly” on blue caladium leaves. But, I thought that black and blue were colors I had used already, so I decided to go for the natural green leaves with a golden “dragonfly”, which is patterned after a species called the Umber Shadowdragon (Neurocordulia obsoleta ), which inhabits the eastern United States.

Size = 12.5“ x 11.5“ (14 ct.)

Hitchhiker

In Kansas, in early summer, female cottonwood trees shed what seems like tons of little fluffy seeds that fill the air like a set for the movie Legend. Later in summer we get milkweed seeds, which are larger and not as lofty, but are still pretty fluffy. Sitting on my deck watching seeds float by, I was struck one day by the idea of hitching a ride and seeing where I would end up. Unfortunately, I am far too large for such an endeavor, so I created this little guy to take a ride in my place. He's loosely patterned after the smallest dragonfly species in the world, called the Scarlet dwarf (Nannophya pygmaea). They are only 20mm (3/4 inch) long and are native to Southeast Asia. He's riding on a seed of the butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), which also produces large displays of bright reddish-orange flowers.

Butterfly and Moth

This design is from the 'dragonfly' series. The 'dragonfly' in this case has wings patterned after a tropical clear wing butterfly of the species Greta oto. These butterflies are found in Central America where they feed on an pollinate common lantana flowers. Their purple and red striped caterpillars feed on tropical nightshade plants and accumulate the plant toxins, which protect them from predators.

The ‘dragonfly’ is sitting on a Phalaeonopsis orchid, which are the most common and easiest tropical orchids to grow at home (I have 3 myself). These plants are originally from SE Asia and Australia. They are generally called ‘moth orchids’ because the petals of the flowers resemble moths, hence the name of this design. I chose blue for the flower color because I thought it would work well with the fabric, though orchids don't come in blue.

Size = 6” x 15” (14 ct.)

Fairy Ring

Fairy rings are circles of mushrooms that can be sometimes observed in almost any habitat. The actual body of a fungus is a mass of slender filaments in the soil or organic tissues that they digest. Mushrooms are the reproductive organs of these almost invisible masses of filaments.

This particular fairy ring is made up of Amanita mushrooms, a group that includes some of the most poisonous species in the world. Amanita are generally reddish orange rather than the variety of colors represented here.

Celtic folklore says that fairy rings are created by the dancing of fairies. They can be hazardous places for the unwary human, bringing bad luck or even death for disturbing the fairies involved. This young dragon, though, has no need to worry, as he is immune to both fairy glamour and mushroom poisoning.

Size = 14.5” x 9” (14 ct.)

Repose

I had been mulling over the idea of a sleeping dragon for some time, but had never decided what to use as a background. Fallen leaves seemed like a good substitute for a hoard of golden treasure, and more environmentally friendly. But, how to make leaves look like leaves beneath the immensity of a dragon? Then, I thought of making him more of a dragonfly, sleeping on only one leaf. My friend and creative consultant, Beth, spent some time gathering likely looking maple leaves from her yard and I sifted through them for one of just the right, comfy shape, and here we are, a dragon settling in for a short nap with a fallen leaf for a sleeping bag.

Size = 12“ x 8“ (14 ct.)

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