Dark Alphabet Framed!

OK, so the title gives it away so I won't ask you to guess what I picked up from the framers this weekend!  Yes, it's Dark Alphabet.

I was a little limited in my choice of frames as I wanted a carved dark wood which aren't "in fashion" round here right now.  The nicest one in the catalogue was no longer available.  Alot of the plain dark woods have a gold band round the inside which I didn't want either so the framer lady found this one.  There is gold/bronze in it but not a bright gold and it goes really well with the brown in the border.

For new followers and those with bad memories here's a link to The Danse Macabre post where I celebrated finishing this piece.  And here's a link to Julie and Becky's Note of Friendship blog where you can find the charts for free.  And lots of other lovely free things too.  And some lovely things you can buy.

I also stitched a little card for Kell of Kincavel Krosses as part of the Needlecraft Haven Birthday Exchange.  Most of the ladies are getting the WOCS Flower of the Month cards but I stitched September for Linda so wanted something different for Kell.  Of course I could have stitched one of her own designs but that would be strange!  I saw this saying on a greetings card and it made me smile.  I knew I had a 70's Disco font in an old Cross Stitcher so I was sorted.

The lettering is all backstitched then coloured in with my felt tip pens (again!) as is the card.  Kell has opened it already and really likes it.

I also framed the final of the Just Nan Four Seasons - Autumn Haze:

This was completed some years ago but only framed this week!  It replaces the Summer Sampler on my wall.  And also on my FB profile!

Finally, how are you all getting on with the new Dashboard?  I tried it once before, hated it and changed back but they must have made some changes after getting feedback because it's alot better now.  Not as good as the old one but better than the first new version!  The word verifier glitch is fixed too and I can comment on those blogs again.  Hurrah!

The Danse Macabre

Well, what else would you call a Happy Dance for A Dark Alphabet?

Dance of Death, also variously called Danse Macabre (French), Danza de la Muerte (Spanish), Dansa de la Mort (Catalan), Danza Macabra (Italian), Dança da Morte (Portuguese), Totentanz (German), Dodendans (Dutch) according to Wiki here.

Yes, I have officially finished the entire piece, and here it is in all it's glory:

The title block uses the A and D from Julie's design, the lower case letters are my own design.  Cute little witch comes from one of the blocks.  Can you spot her elsewhere?  Where's Winnie?!

The signature block feature W from Julie, Capitals by me based on W and lower case by Brenda Keyes as are the Roman Numerals for the dates.  Annis Domini is the plural of AD and means "in the years of our Lord".  I love the word "wrought" as it's often used on antique samplers so it fits this design perfectly.

While I was stitching I was thinking about each letter and I wrote a little poem as I went.  I say poem but it's more rhyming couplets of doggerel.  Just for fun, here it is along with each block:

A is for Apple and temptation from snakes

B is for Brimstone and the fiery pits that it makes

C is for Coven and witches three

D is for Devil, a Dutch spinning monkey

E is for Eek, disturbing the peace

F is for Furies, three women from Greece

G is for Gargoyle made out of stone

H is for Headless Horseman on a bay or a roan

I is for Inky Darkness on a black night

J is for Jack-in-a-box who gives you a fright

K is for Kelpie the Scots’ water-horse

L is for Lightning Bird and its storms, of course

M is for Mummy with a bandaged head

N is for Necromancy and raising the dead

O is for Occult and fortune telling

P is for Phantom singing in his underground dwelling

Q is for Queen of the Night and her Dark Power

R is for Raven who lives in the Tower

S is for Skeleton made out of bones

T is for Things that go bump and their ghostly moans

U is for Urmahlullu the Protector of the loo

V is for Voodoo, a doll which looks just like you

W is for Wyvern, like a dragon with only two feet

X is for Xaphan and demonic bellows fanning the heat

Y is for Yggdrasil the legendary Norse tree

Z is for Zombee, yes – an undead Bee!

This is the whole of the Dark Alphabet

In memory for Lisa who we’ll never forget.

For my new followers and those of you who've been living in a cave all year, the Dark Alphabet was designed by Julie from A Note of Friendship in memory of Lisa Roswell, the designer who sadly passed away last year.  Here's where it all started last March.

A letter was released as a free design every couple of weeks on Julie and Becky's blog.  Julie designed the blocks and Becky did the research.  I stitched every block and sent them photos for their blog and generally cheered them on!  The Large Boy and I played "Guess the Letter" each time and even suggested a couple.

And this is what I received in the post today:

Yes, it's a coffin!

 And inside was not a dead body, but a selection of goodies!  A headstone thread winder, a skeleton pin keep with a dinky pillow and pins, a great witch's cat (this will become a fridge magnet) and the most gorgeous little scissors with a spider web dangle.

Close up of the cute scissors.  We just don't have cute scissors like this here.

The cross stitch mags never even mention scissors beyond the basic stork shape.  I wonder why?

Julie sent me these lovely things as my prize for completing the alphabet before she did!  A while back I did challenge anyone to try finish before me but sadly no-one did!  Hahaha.  The Large Boy has commandeered the coffin but the rest is mine to keep and love.   The customs form made me smile - it said "Hallowe'en ornaments", I wonder why it didn't say "miniature coffin and contents"? LOL.

What a great adventure the last year has been stitching this design.  I've learned so much too, Becky's blog posts are always full of information and links to more information.  On both the subject matter and the stitching.  Several blocks contained stitches beginning with the same letter.  Bargello being an obvious one.

I stitched the design 1 thread over 1 on 28 count evenweave, tea-dyed by me.  Using mainly the recommended DMC.  In some places I used variegated DMC and in some places I stitched the bottom /// in one colour and the top \\\ in another.  This is a great alternative to tweeding when stitching using one thread.

Phew!  What a long picture-filled post, hope you enjoyed it!  I suppose the Finally should be "don't forget to enter my giveaway".  I'm so pleased I offered a free choice of charts, everyone is picking such diverse designs I could never have chosen just three to suit everyone.  Good Luck to you all. 

May WIPocalypse and Manka's Hungarian SAL

Here's the round-up for the progress since the last Full Moon.

Part 1 - My 12 in '12

1. Completed all the letters on the Dark Alphabet, charted the title and signoff block, stitching an "A" for Alphabet.

I'll do a complete blog post dedicated to this design very soon.

2. No progress on Green Goddess.  Oh dear, poor old GG.

3. Stitched a couple of days on My Lovely Sewing Tools.

4. Home of a Needleworker - not started

5. Blackbird Designs - I tea-dyed a piece of fabric for this!

6. Ed Hardy Skull and Roses - not started

7. I chose the design for my friend's wedding.  This chart was a prize from Minnie of All XXs.

Isn't this lovely (and hopefully quite quick to stitch!).  I plan to put the Bride and Groom's initials and date in the centre rather than the verse.

8. Baby Sampler.  Have stitched A - N on this one.

9. Baby design for my cousin - baby due this month, gender currently unknown.  Not started

10. Yiotas Coffee Fairy - have made a start on this one (only 2 evenings but it's a start!)

11. Papillon Around the World in 80 Stitches (this "bounced" Castles in the Air off the 12, one of my "rules" is that I'm only allowed to bounce a design in favour of another design by the same designer).  Have started (see separate page for progress pic).  If you're stitching this too then let me know and I'll add you to my list.

12. Nora Corbett Trick or Treat Fairy - I did look at the fabric for this when I was sorting my stash out!

Part 2 - Just Nan-a-thon

Nothing at all for Nan this month.

Part 3 - Theme-a-licious: Amazon April

I worked on my BAPs - Big Alphabet Projects.  My Lovely Sewing Tools, Dark Alphabet and Baby Alphabet.  All of which featured in the Theme-a-licious update here.

I did sign up for a Mini Mystery SAL with Manka and a few others.  This is Part 1, stitched on 28count green evenweave using the current favourite DMC 4045.  I used this on Life's a Stitch, CCN Cherry Hill and the Needlecraft Haven monthly challenge (not pictured yet).  Here it is used again:

Now I can email this to Manka and get Part 2!

Be sure to look at her album on Pinterest for all the versions of this.

 

Finally, Yiota who makes the Coffee Fairy (see above) and all these lovely cross stitch kits has offered to sponsor my 250 followers giveaway.  Only problem is - I've stalled at 243!  Hopefully I'll pick up a few people through the WIPocalypse post on Measi's blog.  So if you're just drifting past looking at the projects, consider clicking on the "follow" button!

Theme-a-licious Looking Backward and Forward IV

You do know that Theme-a-licious is a "It's Geek to Me" activity, don't you? 
Click the above pic to find out more.

April's Theme was Amazon April or your biggest projects.  I decided that BAP stands for Big Alphabet Project and worked on both Dark Alphabet and my Turquoise Baby Alphabet.  I also worked on My Lovely Sewing Tools (which actually has an alphabet in it, scattered around the piece) and had a completely unexpected start in Papillon's Around the World in 80 Stitches.

ATW80S is certainly an enormous piece of fabric for me and it's a full two years project so that will definitely count as a BAP.

Pictures:

Papillon Around the World

My Lovely Sewing Tools (includes an alphabet!)

Turquoise Baby Alphabet

Please come and follow The Stitching Gift blog.  There are a group of us who love the Gift of Stitching magazine and are going to be showcasing our WIPS and finishes from the magazine.  The final issue came out this weekend and it's a great finale.  Kirsten will still be involved in designing and sending out her newsletter.  She will also continue to offer the old issues to buy as bundles or individually.  There is currently a sale on, where everything is half-price!  You can get a whole year's bundle for only US$12.  Amazing.

May Memories -

Remember when you took that class? Or decided to commemorate that event? And then abandoned your poor WIP? Take a stroll down memory lane by working on it again.

Green Goddess is becoming a distant memory!  So maybe I should give her some love.  I also have an old Autumn sampler in my stash chest I could dig out.  Or I could decide to make some new memories - stitching things which relate to my blogging friends, charts they have sent me or recommended the designer.

I have signed up for a couple of small partwork SALs.  No, ATW80S is not counted as one of them.  First was a Hungarian Mini Mystery SAL from Manka's Blog which I found via Blu's SAL Directory Blog.  Manka blogs in Hungarian, English, and other languages too.  I do love multi-lingual bloggers, as Google Translate should be renamed Giggle Translate due to the weird translations it comes up with.

(edit to add - when you go to Manka's blog, the cursor turns into a little rose!  Even cuter than falling things!)

The 2nd small SAL I found via Dulcinella's blog.  It's from a French blog Voyage sur Toile.  You need to sign up for the newsletter and you will get Parts 1-3 with Part 4 due soon (Dimanche is Sunday, right?).  There is a Translate button at the top but for some reason my brain thinks it can read French although it can't.  Saying the words with a fake French accent is not the same as understanding what they say!

Finally, I have switched to Photobucket for my photo storage, my Picasa album was nearly full due to the fact I don't make my photos smaller before loading them on!  I could not be bothered to resize every photo in my blog so I've switched.  Sheila said she has trouble seeing the photos last post, so here is a link to the album.  If anyone else has difficulty seeing them on the blog, please let me know and I'll think again.

edit July2017 - switching to Photobucket was a huge mistake!  They decided to start charging for storage at no notice whatsoever and are holding our photos to ransom.  I can't even download my own photos from my folder there, so I'm having to photograph my screen to get them!

Y, Y, Y does it have to end?

Okay, it hasn't actually ended yet, but Y is the penultimate block on A Dark Alphabet

This is my favourite block of all (I know I've said that before!).  I love the design and the stitching technique, a nice geometric pattern.  The trunk and roots are as charted but the leaves are stitched in DMC 4045 a lovely variegated green.  Yggdrasil is the Celtic Tree of Life and as usual Becky has found out lots of information about it and posted on the Note of Friendship blog.  Apparently Julie is the designer for this alphabet who comes up with the pictures then sends Becky off to research and write the blog.  I think Becky deserves a huge round of applause for finding out so much about so many diverse subjects!

(edit - Yggdrasil is, of course, the Norse Tree of Life not the Celtic - thanks to everyone who reminded me of this fact!)

If you go read the post for Yggdrasil you will also find out which inspired person thought of using it - Me!  The Large Boy and I play "Guess the Next Letter" each time and we sent our suggestions for W,X,Y and Z to Julie who chose our "Y".  Fame!

I have signed up for the new Papillon SAL - Around the World in 80 Stitches.  I'm doing the speciality stitch version although I've heard the plain cross stitch one is nice too.  I'm going for a plain white fabric and I'll be choosing my colours this IHSW, probably pinks and purples.  I noticed bloggers all over showing their floss tosses and started a little list.  Then I thought it'd be nice to share this list with everyone.  So I asked Yvonne's permission and she said "of course you can".  So there is now a nice new page tab at the top of this blog which will take you to a list of Stitchers Around the World and a link to their latest SAL blog post.  There won't be photos, that's what Yvonne's Gallery is for, but it'll be a great way of finding other SALers and stalking following them.

So if you'd like to be included and I haven't asked you yet, step up and leave a comment.

Cherry Hill is steaming along.  I love this design and the Newcastle it's stitched on.  I made a slight error with one sheep, it's a line lower than charted so I had to fiddle with the word "Hill".

There are two different variegated greens in this, 92 and 4045.


Finally, while browsing T'internet (as they say in Yorkshire) I found this fascinating chart on Sprite Stitch:

Game of Thrones map

Anyone a fan of the books/TV show?  I love the opening titles.  Most programmes get them fast-forwarded but we always watch these ones in full!  I do love a book with a map in it.  When I was a child I used to spend hours copying the maps from my favourite books!

Theme-a-licious April Update and my Blogaversary Easter Treasure Hunt Giveaway Winners!

Nice long title there!

April's Theme is Amazon April, stitch on your biggest BAP.  I've decided to go for A Dark Alphabet as it's a 26 parter which is pretty BA.  It'd be even bigger if I'd stitched it over 2 so I'm quite glad I didn't.  Here is the bottom half so far:


See that, I'm on the bottom row now!

 And a close-up of the Wyvern itself:

I stitched him using a DMC variegated number 4145.  I am wondering if I should have stitched a solid outline first like the Kelpie but he's done now and I'm not frogging over 1 stitching.

Here is X for Xaphan the Demon:

He's rather cute for a Demon, he fans the flames of Hell, hence the bellows.

And now onto the exciting bit, the Easter Treasure Hunt.

The Mystery Phrase was indeed Chocolate Bunny as worked out by everyone!  Well done, I hope you all enjoyed blog-hopping as much as I did and found some new blogs to follow.  I gained several new followers and a couple of stalkers who aren't officially following (yet).  Hello New People (waves).

I put all the names into two piles and selected one from the Picture Posters and one from the Treasure Hunters.  If you did both then you went into both piles.  If you remembered it was my Blogaversary then you got your name put in twice.

The winners are - Drum Roll -

Picture Posters - Christine from The Alchymyst's Study

Treasure Hunters - Lelia

(I believe Lelia came from the Mouse House to visit)

Then, because Cross Stitcher magazine gave some sweet little cards as their cover gift this month, I decided to do four bonus draws and send those people a little Thank You card.  It won't be the designs in the mag because I don't like them, it will be something else!

1. Katica

2. Mel

3. and 4. I'm not telling!

(I have your addresses already so it will be a nice surprise LOL)

So there we are, Easter all over until next year.  My next event will be an online Summer Postcard Trail which will start on 1st June and last all Summer, so be thinking about what you have/would like to stitch.  I'll tell all in mid May.

As I mentioned it was my Blogaversary on April 8th, my First Blogaversary!  Here are a few stats:

*
1 year,

111 posts,

239 followers

1,552 comments

29,503 page views

WOW

The most popular post was the Advent Calendar with 859 views, not surprising as it was updated every day for 24 days.  Then it was my First Post with 345 views.  I guess alot of people come to the blog, read the recent posts then go back to beginning to find out how I got started.  I often do that with new blogs. 

The next 8 most popular posts all have more than 100 views and are all Activities or Giveaways including Travelling Patterns and Granny.

I'm so pleased with the way this blog has grown and developed over the last year.  I've "met" so many lovely people and taken part in so many great Giveaways (Giving and Receiving) and Activities.  I have a whole new vocabulary - TUSAL, WIPocalypse, Theme-a-licious, IHSW, SABLE, PIF, RAK, SAL, ORTS, Followers.  I have a new awareness of the phases of the moon too.

Finally I'd just like to say a Big Thank You to everyone who follows, stalks, comments, joins in, pops by, reads, or just looks at the pictures.  Without you, I'd just be talking to myself, nowhere near as much fun!