O is for Occult, Ouija and Owls

When we first started this blog I made a series of posts beginning with each letter of the alphabet starting with A.  Unfortunately, they ground to a halt after L.  So in honour of The Alphabet Club hosted by Chiara I have decided to continue the posts and link up each month with the rest of the Alphabet Club posters.  To learn more about this SAL follow the Alphabet Club link to Chiara's blog.

O is for Occult from A Dark Alphabet designed by Julie and Becky's Note of Friendship blog.  Those are Octagon stitches there.

The word "occult" comes from the Latin occultus meaning hidden or secret.  It generally refers to anything mythical, supernatural, magical or having those powers.  Most of the designs chosen for this blog could come under the heading "occult".  I thought I'd look at some occult symbols for this post.

Baphomet is a goat-headed idol used to denote evil in many sources from the Knights Templar to modern Death Metal.

Baphomet by Apocalypse Girl

The all-seeing eye and hand is often used as a symbol of an omniscient presence watching over us.  But is it good or evil?  There is a lot of information online about the Illuminati and their use of the symbol.

All Seeing Eye Hand by Cardinal and Fitz

Here's a fun one of a witch using her crystal ball:

Witch's Prediction by Janet Morningstar

The ouija board is supposed to be used to communicate with those who have passed over.  It's a staple ingredient for teenage parties where someone always makes the glass move to scare everyone else!

Primitive Ouija Board by Clouds Factory

Ouija Board by Gecko Rouge

Our final O is a very popular topic here on the Hallowe'en Ornament Blog.  Here are a few of mine:

Left - Cross Stitcher magazine, Blackberry Lane, Jacquie,

Centre - June Rose

Right - Knotted Tree NeedleArt, Blue Ribbon Designs, Blackbird Designs

And a bonus choice - O is for Orange, a great colour for a fabric, especially for Hallowe'en designs:

N is for Necromancy, Night and Newts

When we first started this blog I made a series of posts beginning with each letter of the alphabet starting with A.  Unfortunately, they ground to a halt after L.  So in honour of The Alphabet Club hosted by Chiara I have decided to continue the posts and link up each month with the rest of the Alphabet Club posters.  To learn more about this SAL follow the Alphabet Club link to Chiara's blog.

N is for Necromancy from A Dark Alphabet designed by Julie and Becky's Note of Friendship blog.  Necromancy is the art of communicating with the dead via magic, either summoning their spirit or raising them bodily.  The hope would be that they could predict the future, reveal secrets of hidden knowledge or just be used as an undead soldier!

Here's a fun stitch from Son of a Cross Stitch on Etsy:

N is for Night, the time when the witches and ghosts come out.  

Happy Hallowe'en Night by Jardin Prive

Out to ride without your head:

Wicked Night by Primitive Hare

Or out with your pals:

Fright Night Friends - Stoney Creek

And here come the Girls:

Another Girls' Night Out - Just Nan

The "girls" have their frogs' toes in their little cauldrons so all they need now is some eye of Newt

Witches Brew - Pine Mountain Designs

Got Newt? - Bent Creek

Or maybe you could just stitch with a newt?

Newt green silk by Thread Gatherers

M is for Mummy, Monster and Moonlight

When we first started this blog I made a series of posts beginning with each letter of the alphabet starting with A.  Unfortunately, they ground to a halt after L.  So in honour of The Alphabet Club hosted by Chiara I have decided to continue the posts and link up each month with the rest of the Alphabet Club posters.  To learn more about this SAL follow the Alphabet Club link to Chiara's blog.

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

Mummification is the method the Ancient Egyptians used to preserve their ancestors, removing their internal body parts, placing them into jars and embalming the bodies then wrapping them in bandages to keep them safe during their journey to the next world.  The British Museum has some interesting facts and information about Egypt and mummies here.

Mummies were allowed to rest in peace in their sarcophagi until the 19th Century when Egypt became the fashionable fad of the Victorians.  Following the publication of a book simply called The Mummy in 1821 the stage was set for the mummy to become the newest monster.  Even Louisa May Alcott of Little Women fame got in on the act with a book about a mummy's curse.  More information on mummies in the Hallowe'en story can be found here on Things in the Basement, a great website for all kinds of spooky things.

Teresa Wenztler - Egyptian Sampler

Just Another Button Company - Boys are Back in Town

Of course that JABC design features our second M - Monster.  We showcased a whole lot of Monster designs back in May for this post May Monster Madness Ball including several Frankenstein's Monster.

So here's a rather cuter set of monsters:

Pinoy Stitch - Monster Flower Power Minis

Pixel Power - Classic Movie Monsters

And this one is probably my favourite, you can stitch it in full colour or in silhouette:

Glendon Place - Monster March

Our final M features in many designs in the background, after all most spookiness happens after dark under the light of the moon.

The moon is connected with many strange forms of behaviours from werewolves to lunatics (the word even comes from Lunar or Moon).  On parenting forums it is a question asked in all seriousness "do your child's behavioural problems get worse at full moon?"  This article looks at some of the more common myths and tries to find the science behind them - Live Science - Moon Myths

Time for Stitch - Harvest Moon

Imaginating - Full Moon

I have this next one in my stash and love it.

Ink Circles - Masquerade

Just to finish off, here's an older finish of mine.  Not really Hallowe'en themed but very Moonlight!

Bucilla - Max's Moon

L is for Lightning Bird, Lantern and Leaves - Revisited

When we first started this blog I made a series of posts beginning with each letter of the alphabet starting with A.  Unfortunately, they ground to a halt after L.  So in honour of The Alphabet Club hosted by Chiara I have decided to resurrect the original posts and link up each month with the rest of the Alphabet Club posters.  To learn more about this SAL follow the Alphabet Club link to Chiara's blog.

L is for Lightning Bird from A Dark Alphabet designed by Julie and Becky's Note of Friendship blog.

A mythological creature in South Africa the Lightning Bird is the size of a human, black and white in colouring and it summons thunder and lightning with its wings and talons.  It is associated with witchcraft and has quite an appetite for blood.  Sometimes it takes on the image of a young man to seduce women. 

Another name for this bird is the hamerkop.  This bird is known to decorate its nest with anything from handkerchiefs to bicycle tires!  In the Zulu culture someone who spends much time in front of a mirror is called thekwane, their name for the hamerkop, because they are like the bird that is found to spend hours beside the water's edge looking at their reflection. 

I couldn't find any other cross stitch designs of a lightning bird but I did find these sweet little buttons which are available in a book:

MaMagasin

L is also for Lantern which we make from pumpkins on Hallowe'en.  We had some of these designs for J for Jack O'Lantern and here are some more!

Elizabeth Designs - Jack O Lantern

Vickery Collection - Laughing Pumpkins

(laughing being another L word)

I've been using one particular sampler to help me find the words for this alphabet, the Lizzie*Kate Hallowe'en ABC

Lizzie*Kate - Halloween ABC

And now I have another one!

Cottage Garden Samplings - Halloween Sampler

I'm taking the final L for Lizzie*Kate's ABC which gives us Leaf.  Of course leaves are more of an Autumn thing than specific to Hallowe'en but they do make lovely cross stitches.

DMC - Falling Leaves freebie

Stitching Hearts - Autumn Leaves

(one of a series of four)

Country Garden Stitchery - Pumpkin Topiary

Joan Elliott - Autumn Goddess

K is for Kelpie, Knucker and Kahaku - Revisited

When we first started this blog I made a series of posts beginning with each letter of the alphabet starting with A.  Unfortunately, they ground to a halt after L.  So in honour of The Alphabet Club hosted by Chiara I have decided to resurrect the original posts and link up each month with the rest of the Alphabet Club posters.  To learn more about this SAL follow the Alphabet Club link to Chiara's blog.

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

The Kelpie is a mythological shape-shifting water demon in the shape of a horse from Scottish Celtic history that lures people, especially children, onto its back then takes them out into the water, where it kills and eats them.  It was believed that if you owned the Kelpie's bridle you could control it.  But who wants to get close enough to find out?

edit to add this link to some amazing sculptures of kelpies - The Kelpies

Funnily enough I couldn't find many cross stitch charts of kelpies, but I find some rather nicer Water Spirits.  

But there was this one in Etsy:

Unconventional X - Beneath the Ice

HAED - Water Spirit

Joan Elliott - Water Goddess

 Still on the subject of Water Creatures, we have the Knucker; a kind of Water Dragon found in the county of Sussex in England.  There are references to them in the epic poem Beowulf and also in the church in Lyminster where you can see the gravestone of the knight who slayed the great beast.  You can find out more about this story here Dragons and Serpents in Sussex

Enchanting Lair - Water Dragon

Jennifer Aikman-Smith - Water Dragon

Dragon Dreams also have a freebie Water Dragon along with Fire, Air, Earth and Spirit

I got completely stuck on a final K so did a little Googling and found this interesting list of "Legendary Creatures beginning with K".  Many of them seem to be Japanese, so here are a few I liked the sound of:

• Kahaku (Japanese) - Little people and water spirits

• Kamaitachi (Japanese) - Wind spirit
• Kanedama (Japanese) - Money spirit
• Katawa-guruma (Japanese) - Woman riding on a flaming wheel
• Katsura-otoko (Japanese) - Handsome man from the moon

• Kitsune-Tsuki (Japanese) - Person possessed by a fox spirit
• Kiyohime (Japanese) - Woman who transformed into a serpent-demon out of the rage of unrequited love

(I like how specific that last one is!)

 And here is a nice Japanese cross stitch to finish with:

Dimensions - Samurai

He does at least look like he could battle monsters for us!

  

J is for Jack-in-the-Box, Jack O'Lantern and other famous Jacks - Revisited

When we first started this blog I made a series of posts beginning with each letter of the alphabet starting with A.  Unfortunately, they ground to a halt after L.  So in honour of The Alphabet Club hosted by Chiara I have decided to resurrect the original posts and link up each month with the rest of the Alphabet Club posters.  To learn more about this SAL follow the Alphabet Club link to Chiara's blog.

J is for Jack-in-the-Box from A Dark Alphabet designed by Julie and Becky's Note of Friendship blog.

Here's what Becky said about this block at the time:

"Depending on the country, the story varies a bit in it's telling, but most involve a devil! In French the jack-in-the-box is called a "diable en boîte", which means "boxed devil".  One of the first jack-in-the-boxes was pictured holding a boot with a devil in it. Some believe that the name "Jack" was a reference to the devil, referred to as a jack - is this also where we get Jack-o-lantern?"

Here is the perfect little 3D Jack-in-the-Box by Susan Myers:

Acorn House Designs - Jack O in the Box

Now some people might think that looks a little tricky but I stitched Susan's Drac-in-the Box and thanks to some nice clear instructions it really wasn't too difficult.  Good preparation and lots of slip stitching is the key!  Here is Drac:

Serendipitous Stitching -Happy- Jump Up for Drac-in-box

On to Jack O'Lanterns, most usually a pumpkin in modern times as they are the perfect size and shape for carving into heads or more imaginative shapes.  Vegetables have been carved out and used as lanterns for centuries, from the Maori (gourds) to the English (turnips, manglewurzels or beets).  The carved pumpkin was first used at Harvest Time in America but by 1866 had become associated specifically with Hallowe'en.

There are many stories about the origin of the name "Jack O' Lantern" with some believing Jack is the Devil and others saying he was a man who tricked the Devil.  This website tells the story of Stingy Jack and the Devil.

There are so many great Jack O'Lantern cross stitch designs to choose from, here are just a few:

All Through The Night - Jolly Jack

Amy Bruecken Designs - Jackie O Lantern

Birds of a Feather - All Hallows Night

There are Pumpkin Carving Festivals all over the world and Pumpkin Carving Competitions too.  I asked my older son to choose his favourite from one website and here it is:

Extreme Pumpkins - The Joker

Another J, for the Joker!

Other famous Jacks include Jack Skellington:

Kyotiutsukushii - Jack Skellington

Jack Skellington is the main character in the Tim Burton Nightmare Before Christmas animation.  One of our favourite Hallowe'en films.  Jack visits Christmas-land and tries to explain to the inhabitants of Hallowe'en Town what it is all about.  Of course, they put a Spooky Spin on the festival and it all goes horribly wrong.

The other famous Jack is Jack Sparrow, not really very Hallowe'eny but he is a popular character for people to dress up as for the occasion so that's why he's here!!

Pattern Maker - Johnny Depp

There are lots of computer generated Jack Sparrow charts out there but this one appealed because it is based on original artwork by Brian Duey rather than a photo taken from the internet.

And finally, still on the subject of famous Js, here is Jason from the Friday 13th films:

Pixel Power - Jason