My first attempts at cross-stitch video game sprites

Okay, so I tend to try out lots of different crafts, mostly trying to figure out what technique works best for what effect.

I'm also a lot more into gamer culture than I used to be.

This inevitably led me to wanting to cross-stitch game sprites, since it's perfectly adapted to that. However, my eyes are bad and Aida cloth is hard for me to see. BUT I finally found a solution- I found on super clearance these needlepoint purse kits. Basically, purses with flaps sewn on that were an open needlepoint mesh.

Mesh is easier to see and count on. So...I took the opportunity to try some sprite stitching.

Here's the most basic, the mario one:



I do like the red shrooms playing off the red fabric of the purse.

Also did a Metroid one:



And finally, Kirby:



That one is my fav. The background is just made up, but based on the background you see during that little launching platform bonus stage in the first NES game. The reason I really like this one though is that I got some wooden beads and painted them up as little Kirby's and incorporated them into the handles (see 'em in the picture?)

I like details.

Oh, and that handle is not ribbon, it's actually holographic plastic lacing that I crocheted really loosely. Looks weird, but feels really cool, kinda like those gelly sandles we wore in the 80's. Remember those?

Dr. Who Scarf!

Yes, it is at long last finished.

Several years ago, I started a Dr. Who scarf. This was when I was first tip-toeing into knitting. I could cast on, and ...knit. Thazzit.

I got 8 feet into this scarf before I realized I'd made a mistake and made it far, far too wide. As dense as it was it couldn't be folded in half, and it was about 1.5 feet wide. Not good for a scarf.

So, I had to take that one off the needles and try again. After 8 feet of scarf. On size 6 needles. *sob*

But I gave it another go, casting on with size 8 needles for a looser drape. And eventually...it was completed. Here it is on Ed, the lucky recipient. And no, it wasn't a surprise...like I could hide working on a project this big in an apartment.



Now, this is sort of a looser interpretation. Partly because I was working off instructions from the BBC which called for DK wool...and I wanted to use worsted weight acrylic. Hey, this much yarn, I'm going with the cheap stuff. So I had to fudge the numbers. This meant I ended up with fewer, wider stripes. But ya know? It still looks like a Dr. Who scarf.

It also looks different because you can't find such funky colors anymore as the original was in. I mean, that color of yellow/orange whatever hasn't been made since the 70s. The scarf was for Ed, who picked out the colors, so at least he's happy with it. We also swiped out the gray section for a dark blue just because it seemed to go better with the whole thing.

So...yeah, it ain't a exact replica. But...it still looks like a Dr. Who scarf. And it's 15 feet long. I ended it short to allow for some stretch (you KNOW a knit scarf that long is gonna grow longer with time) but...still. That's a lot of knitting.

Pretty epic for my first knitting adventure, eh?

Oh, and I've done other stuff along the way, like learn to purl, increase and decrease. But this was still my first project.

Pac-Man scarf!

Okay, I'm kinda proud of this one...

I'm not a huge Pac-man fan, mostly because I suck at it. BUT it is fun to watch other folks play it. But even more importantly, it's colorful and has ghosts and is graphically fun to play with.

So I had an idea for a scarf based on Pac-man...perhaps the first scarf that actually plays with TIME ITSELF.

Ahem. Over-dramatic much?

Anyhoo, here's the scarf:



Notice that one side has the pac running AWAY from ghosts towards a large pill...and the other side has him running TOWARDS the ghosts who have now turned the slightly ill looking blue and white scheme.

It ain't perfect- I would have liked it better if whack-man hadn't suddenly shifted way to the right, but for structural reasons it worked better to sew the little guy onto both sides of the scarf at the same time.

The scarf is double crocheted in black worsted weight, the white dots, ghosts and pacman himself are crocheted in sportweight yarn and sewn on separately.

This is by no means the first pac-man scarf online. Still, I think this might be the first scarf with a plot.

Non-project update

Well, you might have noticed there was a good two year gap in my posting there...okay, nobody reads this so nobody noticed but I still feel inclined to explain it.

The past few years got CRAZY. The past year went extra-crazy-supersized, substitute a big batch of crazy for the fries, with a cold medium glass of crazy CRAZY.

Yeah...

So, um...the highlights then.

1) I quit my job. This was a good thing. It literally was so stressful that it was giving me heart problems, at 24. Yikes

2) got married. See "need insurance through hubby's good job since I just quit mine." Oh, and love and all that.

3) broke off all ties with my parents (long story- trust me this is a good thing)

4) hubby finished making a movie (see: free time suddenly appears)

5) I decided to start writing a novel (yep, I'm crazy)

6) got new job (just recently) yay!

So yeah...a lot going on. Things are pretty good now- I got a new job, and have gotten rid of two huge stressors in my life- my parents and my old job. So smooth sailing.

Of course, I'm now trying to work my job, take care of the apartment and the still super busy media dude that I'm hitched to, and have decided to add "writing a novel" n top of that.

Still, things are better- see the list of goodness?

1) married
2) figured out knitting somewhat
3) slightly better at cooking
4) I love working on my book, even though it's hard and hard to make time for and I know it stinks

Not bad, eh?

Further details later.

Even More Tapestry Pieces!

Okay, clearly I love Tapestry Crochet. Or, more clearly, I love the sorta kinda tapestry crochet thingy that I do...true Tapestry crochet goes in one direction only, creating a slant. I turn around and go back and forth on each row, resulting in 1) no slant 2) slightly messy edges for the color changes.

It works for what I do.

Anyhoo, here's some more logo pieces I worked up for fun...

The Superman logo (as if ya didn't know)



The TV logo from one of the best TV series ever, Home Movies



I worked the text in rough cross-stitching on the tv background because I realized that bright orange yarn doesn't carry well behind white. It works okay like this I think.

Aaaaaand the logo from yet another of the best TV series ever (the folks who later did Home Movies)- Dr. Katz!



I don't think there's craft fan art for Home Movies or Dr. Katz out there, so this was fun.

Not at all sure what to do with these now...or any of the other tapestry pieces I've done. They're literally sitting in a pile under the bed. Originally I was going to sew them together into a blanket, but with the gauges being so uneven and the Home Movies piece having all the stitches exposed on the back...I'm not sure if it would work. Any ideas?

Even more stashbusting!

More stashbusting photos from the past year!

Lots of cotton became lots of knit washcloths...



Some Caron Simply Soft became this demure scarf



While some Simply Soft Brites became this floral scarf- it's based on a scarf from the first SnB book, but I did it in more floral colors and added the leaves for fun and to make the scarf more stable.



And some cotton/nylon blend in nifty nifty colors became a set of six coasters...because I wanted to use it and only had a small ball. And who doesn't like fiesta colored coasters?



I actually bought that yarn in Wisconsin while visiting friends awhile ago and have been waiting for it to tell me what it wants to be ever since.

Scarf-stravaganza

Well, I've been not exactly flush with cash lately, which means a lot of stashbusting instead of stash enhancing. Luckily about a year ago a crocheting friend of mine (who had to move) left me boxes of her old yarn. So I've had quite a stash of yarn that's new to me.

Here's some of the products of the past year of stashbusting:

A ton of snazzy scarves



The three on the left are actually very soft and fluffy- that isn't fun fur!

I also made this funky thing, making up pattern stitches as I went



You can't see the patterns too well, but they're there :)

Some more odds and ends became this polka dot scarf...



And the bits and pieces I still had became this stack of hats!



More stashbusting pictures soon, as well as some other more interesting bits.

Metroid Tapestry Piece

I love me some tapestry crochet. Here's another little guy I did, a black and white version of a Metroid from the great game of the same name. It's my hub's fav game, and I've grown quite fond of the creepy little guys who look like a cross between ticks and jellyfish.



It's a little fuzzy looking, but still there!

Batman Baby Blanket

Some friends of ours spawned, and as the father is our bud and a Batman nut, I figured this was a good gift to make for his little girl:



Thanks to the Dark Lilac cross stitch pattern generator for spitting out the chart for this based on the Batman logo- I then chose baby yarn in what I think are appropriate baby colors. Tapestry crochet finished this off- it's about 4 foot by 3 feet. A weird size, but good for wrapping around the little tyke...and that's how the math worked out.

I realize this is now in classic Batgirl colors, which also seems appropriate.

I'm not a girly girl, not really into babies, but if a friend spawns and you're a craft geek, ya gotta do something appropriate, right?

Okay, I'm back

Yeah, long time no blog right? Well, I'm back and I should be updating regularly again. No pics yet, but there is some crafting news...

I (supposedly) being published! I sold about 19 patterns to Leisure Arts a year or so ago, to be printed in a leaflet. Things got delayed, but supposedly it will still happen. It's all crazy stuff, of course.

I finished the Dr. Who scarf! Woot! It's 15 feet long. I stopped short to allow stretch room, since it's already long enough to go around the neck once and hit the calf, and I don't want it to stretch to the ground!

After a year or so of getting blown off by video game craft blogs, Sprite Stitch posted my Mortal Kombat square! Hooray! Extra fun, at least one Mortal Kombat fan spotted it and gave it a nod on another site.

Also, I am finally actually learning to knit- I've finally figured out increasing, which always threw me off. So now that I can knit, purl, increase and decrease, I'm officially a newbie knitter! Although that doesn't mean abandoning crochet.

Right now I'm broke and in stash-busting mode, but I hope to share some pics of the stacks of stashbusting goodies I've made, as well as the complete Dr. Who scarf.

Happy Crafting!