Fairy Tales in Stitches Week: Random Stuff

This is the last entry for Fairy Tales in Stitches Week. I saved these random patterns for last. They are offered by companies that have produced just one or two fairy tale patterns and don't necessarily specialize in fantasy designs.


Most of these are aimed more for hanging in children's rooms, but they are fun all the same.


The Jack and the Beanstalk pattern makes me giggle because it reminds me of the countless illuminated manuscripts and paintings I have seen of the Ascension where only feet are seen dangling from the clouds above wondering apostles. These have always tickled me for some reason. Perhaps because my dance training makes me want to say, "Point your toes!" It's a common device if you see enough of them (and being my mother's daughter, I have) and it was the first thing I thought of when I saw this pattern. But I have digressed...


And here's two booklets, both available through sellers on Amazon for less than anywhere I've seen them. Do you spy Rumpelstiltskin, Little Red Riding Hood, and the Shoemaker's elves? It has been rather surprising that Little Red Riding Hood has been very absent this week relative to her popularity--no samplers or other designs--just the pattern based on Scott Gustafson's illustration. Someone really should get on that...


Fairy Tales in Cross Stitch by Christina Marsh


Fairy Tales in Cross Stitch by Dorothea Hall

I hope you've enjoyed this week. I had fun finding all of these designs over the past month, trying to decide on my winter project and then sharing them with you this past week.

Most of the patterns--and most of the images--I've shown this week are available through 123stitch.com. I am in no way affiliated with them or any of the designers I've discussed. However, I have ordered from 123 Stitch and been pleased as a customer.

Fairy Tales in Stitches Week: Dragon Dreams

Today I'm sharing patterns from Dragon Dreams. The above is my favorite from this company. I searched for photos of completed projects so you can read the entire text and see the details. There are more, but this was my favorite and conveniently has the credit for the stitcher already printed on it. Thank you for sharing, Junette Stitch.


It says:

“Once upon a time” is how
Most fairy tales first start,
Then add a questing maiden
Or a knight so pure of heart.
Sometimes there is a treasure
Princely frog or magic blade,
Dangers to be conquered
Or long journeys to be made.
Yet strength and courage triumph,
To the enemy’s chagrin,
The questing soul discovers
That the hero lies within.

There are some nice castles and several dragon patterns--my favorite is a dragon alphabet. But I also like this Kingdom Sampler.


And here's a Frog Prince, the first for this week:


Most of the patterns--and most of the images--I've shown this week are available through 123stitch.com. I am in no way affiliated with them or any of the designers I've discussed. However, I have ordered from 123 Stitch and am a satisfied customer.

Fairy Tales in Stitches Week: Illustrators

These days with pattern making software and skilled rendering by knowledgeable people, converting photos and illustrations into cross stitch patterns is easier and thus popular. Several illustrators of fairy tales have had their illustrations licensed and converted into patterns by Heaven and Earth Designs, including Scott Gustafson, Ruth Sanderson, and Kinuko Y. Craft. Fantasy illustrations by James Christensen and others are also available.

I always debate these patterns when I see them. They are beastly to sew with their tiny details and they can easily be bought as posters and framed, often offering greater detail in poster form. However, there is the lush appearance of the sewn patterns, the tapestry effect and the unique quality of each piece. So I'm not choosing any of these for my winter project, but I am tempted nevertheless. Of course, they are also recommended for 25ct fabric--which means 25 x's per inch. That's painstaking detail and the finished projects look quite lovely.

Of course, if I were to attempt one, I would choose Twelve Dancing Princesses. I'm just not sure if I would pick Sanderson or Craft's for I love both for various reasons. The one at the top of this post is Sanderson's, by the way, and the one below is by Craft.


Here are some of patterns based on Gustafson's illustrations:




Here is Faery Tales by Christensen. I plan to do a post on him sometime soon, but I can't omit this one which is really quite fun.


Most of the patterns--and most of the images--I've shown this week are available through 123stitch.com. I am in no way affiliated with them or any of the designers I've discussed. However, I have ordered from 123 Stitch and am a satisfied customer.

Victory Gardens Theatre's The Snow Queen

Victory Gardens Theatre's THE SNOW QUEEN Returns To Chicago 11/27-12/27

Hold on tight, because Victory Gardens Theater's smash hit winter musical The Snow Queen - conceived by Chicago folk music legend Michael Smith, Tony Award-winning director Frank Galati, and master puppeteer Blair Thomas & Co - is sledding back into town for her fourth season as Chicago's #1 alternative to traditional holiday fare.

Based on Hans Christian Andersen's beloved winter tale about a boy who is lost in the cold, and the girl who won't give up until she finds him, Victory Gardens' The Snow Queen is the rare family musical that sings to children, and speaks to adults. Eye-popping puppetry, warm storytelling, and a chillingly beautiful score combine for "a terrific holiday show in a great theater" (Chicago Sun-Times) and "the nicest present we've gotten for the holidays" (Time Out Chicago). Anticipating this year's remount, Chicago Magazine just added "any musical rhyming ‘sturgeon' with ‘virgin' deserves a look-see."

The article is quite extensive, and for once, much more helpful than the Victory Gardens Theatre website. (The website is fine, but the article is a wonderfully informative write-up by Broadway World.com.) It reads like the materials straight from the playbill with information on Hans Christian Andersen as well as the talent responsible for the musical.

Anyway, this sounded intriguing and I thought I would share it now instead of waiting for my next Fairy Tales in Theatre posting. If you are in Chicago for the holidays, this should be a great night out.

Claude Levi-Strauss, 1908-2009

Anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss died this past Friday, October 30th. His work with folklore and myth has certainly influenced both anthropological and folklore studies.

Here are some links and excerpts from articles about his life:

Claude Levi-Strauss, French anthropologist, dies at 100

Claude Lévi-Strauss, 100, one of the preeminent social anthropologists of the 20th century, whose erudite, often mind-bendingly labored studies of indigenous Brazilian tribes led to influential theories examining human behavior and culture, died over the weekend in Paris. No cause of death was reported.

Mr. Lévi-Strauss was often paired with writers Jean-Paul Sartre and André Malraux as the towering French intellectuals of the past century. He said his life's work was "an attempt to show that there are laws of mythical thinking as strict and rigorous as you would find in the natural sciences."

He was best-known for popularizing a social science theory known as "structuralism," a philosophical method of approaching anthropology that identified behavioral codes that were crucial to the functioning of any society and that are inherent in the human mind.

Anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss remembered

Much of Levi-Strauss' widely-taught anthropological writings contain charts and maps of concepts that explore key elements of culture. In trying to explain various myths, such as the Oedipus story from Greek mythology, he assigned key themes and events to columns to explore the relationships and values within.

He found that myths were a way of retelling stories such as the relationship between the living and the dead, Lurhmann said. The myth form makes these difficult-to-deal-with concepts more complicated, but also softens them and makes them more comprehensible.

"His fundamental lesson was that culture shapes the way we think far more fundamentally than we are aware," she said.

Here is a short obituary off the AP Wire.

Claude Levi-Strauss

PARIS (AP) — Claude Levi-Strauss, an influential French intellectual who was widely considered the father of modern anthropology, has died. He was 100.

The Academie Francaise did not give a cause or date of death in the announcement Tuesday. French media said he died Friday.

Levi-Strauss was widely regarded as having reshaped the field of anthropology, introducing new concepts concerning common patterns of behavior and thought, especially myths, in primitive and modern societies.

During his 6-decade-long career, he authored many literary and anthropological classics, including "Tristes Tropiques" (1955), "The Savage Mind" (1963) and "The Raw and the Cooked" (1964).

Born on Nov. 28, 1908, in Brussels, Belgium, to French parents of Jewish origin, he was forced to flee France during World War II after Germany invaded and the collaborationist Vichy regime passed anti-Jewish laws. He ended up in New York.

He was widely regarded as having reshaped anthropology, becoming the leading advocate of what is now known as structuralism. His ideas reached into fields including the humanities and philosophy.

Finally, some of his important works include:

The Savage Mind

Tristes Tropiques

Myth and Meaning: Cracking the Code of Culture

The Raw and the Cooked: Mythologiques, Volume 1

The Origin of Table Manners: Mythologiques, Volume 3

The Naked Man: Mythologiques, Volume 4

Fairy Tales in Stitches: Willow Hill Samplings

Today's stitches come from Willow Hill Samplings and are much less romantic and much less complex designs, charming in their old-fashioned simplicity. I just discovered this line during my research, so I haven't sewn or seen one in person, but I am tempted by them. I would have to brighten the colors for myself since I prefer bright jewel tones to the aged, antique look. So if these simpler designs are more your taste, but the colors are off-putting, remember they can be changed quite easily. And a white or cream fabric would make a big difference, too.

I will have to order one or two of these once I decide which are really my favorites. I think I prefer Rapunzel and Cinderella although I am tickled by them all. I like the storytelling design of Cinderella and Rapunzel's tower which has always been a tale close to my heart. However, I might change the words just a little if I sew that one. It's accurate, but I know too many versions to be willing to stick with just one...


I can imagine myself looking at the Cinderella sampler over and over if I had seen it is a child, telling myself the story with the little images. It also makes a great sampler for smaller hands learning to sew at the intermediate level. I remember well the unicorn that was my first attempts at sewing. Despite my weariness of the story, I am charmed by that pumpkin carriage and am tempted to pick this design as my favorite.


The Snow White is also fun, but once again, not my favorite fairy tale. I have to admit I am growing to enjoy it more as I work on my Sleeping Beauties collection which will include several Snow Whites and Sleeping Beauties.


I went ahead and included the Alice in Wonderland Sampler, too.


Most of the patterns--and most of the images--I've shown this week are available through 123stitch.com. I am in no way affiliated with them or any of the designers I've discussed. However, I have ordered from 123 Stitch and am a satisfied customer.

Rapunzel's Revenge

You may have thought Halloween was over, but I had to share this picture of Bekah as Rapunzel, in Shannon and Dean Hale with Nathan Hale style. Bekah is a great artist in her freshman year at college. This was her costume this past weekend and I'm bummed I didn't see it, but I'm grateful for the picture. Her mom, Martha, assured me that the braids were eight feet long. And, yes, they are both family friends. Very impressive! I have some talented and creative friends offline, too...

And here's the book cover for reference although there are even better pictures inside that I don't have to share, so you really should read it if you haven't yet. All of this makes me more excited for Calamity Jack in January with all of its steampunky goodness.

If you missed it, Shannon Hale's fourth Bayern book, Forest Born, came out in September. It all started with Goose Girl and now we have so much more. Forest Born isn't a direct fairy tale retelling, so I didn't post about it previously, but this is a perfect time to mention it.

And if you ever have the chance to hear Shannon Hale in person, she is a great speaker as well as author. Of course, you can also read her excellent blog, too, for a taste of her humor.


Thanks for sharing, Martha!