Birds of Death
260 stitches wide x 265 stitches high
68,900 total stitches
14,686 stitches outside the circle
54,214 stitches inside circle
Color this pattern however you want - I have seperated the color fills as follows:
# of stitches - DMC Floss Color
4,348 grey 168
13,621 white blanc
19,920 black 310
16,325 blue 775
From the illustrated pages of Frère Basile Valentin's Les Douze Clefs de Philosophie, this full-coverage design captures one of the grimmest symbolic tableaux in alchemical lore: a chaotic sky of birds descending upon a field of human skulls and bones. Rendered in dense, rich stitching, the scene fuses medieval mysticism with visceral decay—a reminder that the path to enlightenment often begins in ruin. Let the birds guide your needle as they peck at mortality itself.
Image Source & Credits:
Title: Les dovze clefs de philosophie de Frere Basile Valentin ... Traictant
de la vraye medecine matalique. Plus l'Azoth, ou Le moyen de faire l'or
chaché des philosophes. Tradvction francoise
Alternative Title: Douze clefs de philosophie de Frere Basile Valentin
Creator: Basilius Valentinus and Thoelde, Johann
Published / Created: 1624
Publication Place: Paris
Publisher: Chez Ieremie et Christophle Perier, a la grand Salle du Palais,
ioignant les Consultations