F is for Furies, Fairies and Frankenstein

F is for Furies from A Dark Alphabet designed by Julie and Becky's Note of Friendship blog.

In classical mythology the Furies were avenging deities, fearful goddesses from Tartarus who avenged wrong and punished crime. Usually the furies refer to three sisters, Alecto, Tisiphone, and Magaera, children of Gaia and Uranus.  They were placed in the Underworld by Virgil and it is there that they reside, tormenting evildoers and sinners. However, Greek poets saw them as pursuing sinners on Earth. The Furies are cruel, but are also renowned for being very fair.

You might have been surprised by the next F - Fairies, not really very spooky or Hallowe'eny you might think.  Sorry, Tink, this blog is not for you!!

This is the sort of Fairy you want at Hallowe'en:

Mystic Stitch - Bad Faerie 

After all, traditionally fairies were not the saccharine twinkle toed good guys, they were something to be feared, they would steal your babies and leave a changeling in its place.  Of course, they are dangerous to adults too - if you stumble across a fairy ring in the woods, don't step inside.  Some stories say you will die at a young age, others say you will be spend the night only to return to find a hundred years have passed.  Still more stories say you will dance until you drop dead of exhaustion.

And here's one from my own stash - Nora Corbett's Trick or Treat Fairy.  She was orginally in Cross Stitch and Needlework magazine in September 2008.  I believe you can get hold of a copy by contacting them direct.

Our third F is for Frankenstein.  I looked everywhere for a cross stitch of Frankenstein but couldn't find one anywhere.  This is the closest I could get:

Nerdy Cross Stitch - Scientist Pig

Because the name Frankenstein belongs to the creator of the monster, Dr Victor Frankenstein.  In the book by Mary Shelley, the creature is simply called Monster.  And there are hundreds of great cross stitch designs for Monster!!

I love this one, based on Boris Karloff in The Bride of Frankestein:

Danielle Sayer Etsy Shop

If you prefer cute, you might like this one:

I am not a Doll Etsy Shop

Or the Happy Couple for a quirky Wedding Sampler?

Lady Beta Etsy Shop

It's been a bit of an Etsy-fest this post.  The smaller crafters seem to be best for the more quirky designs.  Of course there are plenty of Frankenstein's Monster charts in the JCS Hallowe'en specials so maybe you will choose one of them for your May subject?