The Ungalled Hart

  Looking through my collection of digitized illuminated manuscripts, I’ve come across numerous variations of the red dragon, known as the devil or Satan, from Revelation 12. One medieval depiction caught my eye, as it featured the dragon surrounded by red stars—a reference to verse 4, where the dragon's tail sweeps down a third of the stars from heaven and casts them to the earth. This, of course, referring to Lucifer's fall from heaven and taking a third of the angels with him. I liked the image, and I was curious if I could capture all the little details in a cross stitch design. Well I'm proud to say my latest cross-stitch creation , an exact and meticulous replica of Revelations' red dragon, was a resounding success. I’d like to upload the original illuminated manuscript for comparison but I’m concerned it may violate someone’s copyright. While the manuscripts themselves are ancient and in the public domain, the photographs or images of these manuscripts can still ...

Some time ago, a dear friend travelled to see the breathtaking landscapes of Scotland, where she had the opportunity to visit the legendary Loch Ness. Although the famous sea serpent, Nessie, remained out of sight during her visit, she thoroughly enjoyed exploring the beautiful area. Loch Ness, home to the ever-elusive Nessie, has emerged as a popular tourist attraction over the years. Yet, few may realize that the legend of a massive water creature dates back as far as the 6th Century. It is said that during his travels, the renowned Saint Columba (Colmcille) encountered the ferocious water beast and employed the sign of the cross to keep it at bay. With a commanding voice akin to the iconic Gandalf, the saint boldly proclaimed, "You will go no further!" to the stunned creature. This actually isn’t too surprising as hagiographies (biographies of saints) tell us that saints couldn’t walk a mile or throw a stone without having to battle all kinds of demons and fantastic creatu...

Finally! After an unfortunate delay (dental emergency) my book curse cross stitch is finished. I’m very happy with how well it turned out. When the fabric is pinned the words line up so neatly and it looks absolutely perfect. I can’t wait to frame it. I only wish I had a camera that could capture how well the gold sparkles in the light. Right now I'm using an ancient camera phone which is not ideal. I’ll try to take some better photos later but for now I’ve made the pattern available in my Etsy shop . Onward and forward to the next project!

In the past, writing was a painstaking process that required significant time, effort, and skill. Whether inscribed on tablets or written on parchment, manuscripts were highly valued for their rarity and the knowledge they contained. To protect these precious works from theft, some monks added book curses to their manuscripts. While many of these curses were entertaining, such as those that threatened to pluck out the thief's eyes or execute them, others were far more severe. One such curse was the Anathema Maranatha. Unlike curses that aimed to inflict physical harm or punishment, the Anathema Maranatha warned of spiritual consequences. Anathema means "accursed" or "devoted to damnation," while Maranatha refers to the return of Christ and the judgment that will follow. Together, these words formed a serious warning to anyone who committed sin, suggesting that their very soul was at risk of divine judgment. Modern readers sometimes misunderstand this curse, be...

All morning I've been test-stitching these little guys and finished around noon. I thought it turned out really cute so I've uploaded the pattern to my Etsy Shop . I combined different rabbits found on various Illuminated Manuscripts so it looks like they are marching off to war. Ready to move on and test stitch my next pattern a book curse! Spooky!

I just finished test-stitching my tiniest pattern and put it up in my Etsy shop . It's a winged pig inspired by one found in a real Illuminated Manuscript. My goal was to make him as tiny and cute as possible. I think I nailed it!