BoooOOOOoooOOooOooOOoo

Happy September everyone!  I'm a little late for August--had the ornament stitched and finished but didn't get around to taking a picture of it in the right light.  This little cutie is from the new JSC Halloween issue.  I stitched them over 1 on 25 count black Jobelan with DMC glow in the dark floss. Finished them into a ghost shape.  Enjoy!

L is for Lightning Bird, Lantern and Leaves

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

August's Ghosts ... complete with manor

Even though I'm late getting this posted here, I did get my ghosts finished before September.  The reason it took so long to get them done is because I had to stitch the house for them to haunt first.  And that took a bit of time.

Plus over the long weekend I assembled a few of my Halloween stitchings into ornaments so they will be ready for this year.

August Ghosts

Today I finished up my ghost, another of my Behind The Gate Ornaments.

Just a few more to go.

Gwen

Posted with Blogsy

R.I.P SoCal Debbie

For those of you who have not already heard,  Debbie sadly passed away earlier today.

Debbie (known as SoCal Debbie) was one of our most regular contributors and to celebrate her stitching and love of life, including the Hallowe'en festival I have put together a collage of her contributions to this blog.

I have no clever words, but simply Debbie will be greatly missed by us all.  

R.I.P. SoCal Debbie.

Lili's August Ornament

Hi!!

My August ornament!

Model from The Stitcherhood - Ghosts.
The design is from the magazine Just Cross Stitch, Halloween Collection Book 2014.

Stitched on 35 count Cocoa Weeks Dye Works linen.
With DMC floss.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Hugs,

Lili

(my blog: Stitching Basket)

Jo's August Ornament

This is the second in the Just Nan set of Moon Riders, a little ghostie Nan called Jasper:

I used a piece of my favourite 32 count lavender evenweave for this and the recommended DMC, except for the moon which I changed to DMC 4090, a variegated thread and the green in the scarf.  The charted colour didn't show very well so I used the darker green from Jack's waistcoat.  I also changed the plain border to a stripy one.

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For those of you on Facebook, there are two different Hallowe'en groups you might like to join in with.  The first was set up last year and is simply called Halloween Cross Stitching and is a group which showcases Hallowe'en stitching of any kind.  People have also shared their spooky decorations and recipes.

The second group is a brand new one called Pumpkin Seed Stitchers.  Each month there will be an exclusive freebie by a different designer.  There are some familiar names on the list and some new to me.  Here is the link to the full list. This should be an exciting year!  It would be a nice co-incidence if any of the free designs matched our themes.  This month's does have a little ghost in it so feel free to stitch it for August.

July's pumpkins are finally finished

I finished my pumpkins for July this morning.  Since I just started them on July 30th, I'm thinking I did okay.  July was a busy month and I considered not doing the pumpkins and just jumping onto August's ghosts.  However, this is one of my favorite patterns.  I've stitched it 2 other times for people who are not me.  Skipping it was not an option.

I don't know what it is about this trio of goofy guys but they put a grin on my face every time.

July Pumpkin

July has flown away. I planned to stitch the five pumpkin related ornaments in Behind The Gate but just barely managed to get this one done.

I hope to do better next month.
In stitches,
Gwen

Posted with Blogsy

Debbie's June/July ornament

I missed the June ornament post, since I was trying to finish my oldest UFO and couldn't start anything new!  I planned to stitch Boo!, the free chart from Glory Bee, as my freebie Halloween ornament for June.  This also fits the July Pumpkins theme!

"Boo!"
Designed by Nancy Boyarsky
Glory Bee
14 ct Fiddlers Lite Aida
Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe floss
Started 7/29/2014, Finished 7/29/2014

Halloween Queen

One of my favorite pumpkin stitches
I stitched this in 2007


By Notforgotten Farms

Happy Halloween Stitching!

Lili's July Ornament

Hi!!

I love the month theme: pumpkins!!

My July ornament is a model from Stacy Nash Primitives: "Search for the Perfect Pumpkin".

Stitched on Newcastle Linen 40 count Flax.
With DMC floss.

(my blog here)

Thank you all so much for your sweet comments on my June ornament!!

Happy stitching,

Lili

K is for Kelpie, Knucker and Kahaku

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!

  

Jo's July Ornament

Nice to see a few Pumpkin finishes being posted.  Please feel free to post any finishes from previous months too, no-one is keeping track of how late they are!

I chose a sweet little Just Nan design for my pumpkin.  It's one of a set of three called Moon Riders.  The other two designs are a witch and a ghost, both sitting on moons.

Moon Rider Jack

I used a piece of my favourite 32 count lavender evenweave for this and the recommended DMC, except for the moon which I changed to DMC 4090, a variegated thread.  I also changed the plain border to a stripy one.

The fabric is big enough to stitch all three in a row although I haven't decided how I will finish them

Pumpkin Fairy

Ever since I saw this ornament in the 2010 JCS Halloween issue, I knew I would stitch it someday.  She's stitched on 28 ct Willow cashel linen and finished with tutu trim!  I love the way she came out!

A Little Behind . . .

I'm a little late for June . . . kept thinking it was pumpkin month so now I'm all set for July!  Below is my freebie for June, a little Prairie Schooler pattern I've had forever.  Stitched on "haunted" cashel by Picture This Plus and finished as a tag.  This is the first time I've made a tag, but I followed Vonna's easy instructions (http://tts-learntofinish.blogspot.com/2012/02/floss-tag.html?m=1), and wa-la, a cute little ornament:

July... already?!

Well yes I am a little behind... sorry :(
But stitched a pumpkin and thought YES!! July!!  Its not spooky so not very Halloweeny.. is that a word?  

Stitched on 28 count DMC beige linen

This design is a freebie and already been added to the list, under crow and pumpkin.  The original has alphabet letters surrounding the design... I left them out.

Made it into a pillow to go in my stitching basket :)

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

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 last year 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

June Freebie

I started my stitching for this entry very late this month. It was a very quick stitch and I just managed to finish the stitching and assemble a pincushion. I plan to add some beaded pins later, need to visit the bead section the hobby store.

Freebie: The Primitive Hare

Stitched with DMC 3371

In Stitches,