Yvette's Inner Geek Blog

I just wanted to share some of the crafty things I’ve been working on this past year in an effort to feel better about myself for procrastinating. Cross-stitching while watching TV or talking with friends makes me feel more productive! I find that I’m usually working on two patterns at a time, so if I get stuck or bored with one, there’s a back-up to prevent my hands from idling.

After I finish a pattern, the addiction makes itself clear. I can’t wait to start another.

It’s to the point, though, that I have about a dozen finished or nearly finished patterns laying around unframed. It’s really sad, and my friends are mad at me for not having any hanging on the walls yet. Well, that leads me to this first design.

Decisions are hard, yo!

My husband and I are both Libras. This is pretty much our mantra. In fact, I had the idea to use a strand of gold for one column in the uppercase D, but I still haven’t decided if I’m going to keep it that way… so the needle with a bit of gold thread is still there as a reminder to make a damn decision already.

The Libra pattern is from “Cross Stitch Borders and Motifs” by Jana Hauschild LIndberg, as are the letters. I just put the sentiment together.

This next “Irony is Not Dead” piece is actually the first cross stitch I ever attempted. The pattern is from Julie Jackson’s Subversive Cross Stitch book which, along with my friend Marie’s own brand of subversive embroidery, was responsible for this crafty addiction.

Instead of using the recommended 14-count Aida fabric, which I’ve used for almost everything since then, I used a 28-count linen that I’d purchased before I read the book. Along with a very pointy needle, that made for an interesting first cross stitch experience.

(I still prick myself with the blunt embroidery needle I use now, but it’s not as gory or painful. Impossible and unintentional self-injury is just a fact of life for me.)

Okay, that’s all I’m going to share today… next time I’ll have some geekier needlecraft works of art to share with you. Because if I can’t put the real ones up on a wall, at least I should share them online. Way more people will enjoy them that way!

While we’re on the topic of geeky needlecraft, I challenge you to find something of greater awesomeness than this: tech specs for a standard LEGO figure, hand-embroidered onto fabric.

The only thing that could make it better is if it were stitched from hobbit hairs that had been gently caressed by Wil Wheaton.

I award 1 point for LEGO, 1 point for clever tech specs, and 1 point for geek craft. 3 points of awesomeness for Cross-stitch ninja, who gets a bonus kajillion points because of the other cool stuff that she has on her Flickr photostream. True, it’s not all cross-stitch. But the fact that she stitched the entire second world map from Super Mario Bros 3 (finished size is 59 x 18 cm, which I think is about the size of a football field! Okay, not really, but it’s still HUGE for a cross-stitch) gives her kudos of the highest regard in my book.

Cross-stitch ninja, if you’re out there, will you be my friend? Because I kind of have a giant crafter crush on you. I’ll do my best to not make it awkward.

I am fortunate to have friends who understand (or at least accept) my passion for a) Geeky Things, and especially b) Geeky Things in Cross Stitch Form. It’s been less than two years since I first picked up Julie Jackson’s Subversive Cross Stitch book, but I fell hard and fast in love. The repetitive motion and pattern-following of the craft itself are right up my alley, but what really snagged me (CRAFT PUN) was the realization that this new hobby could speak to me in ways that others cannot.

Exhibit A, from Steotch (rhymes with Beyotch):

I’m not a church-y person, but neither was my grandfather who introduced me to this wise proverb. So double the traditional wisdom with nostalgia, then add the awesome juxtaposition* of Jabba the Hut and slave Leia.

POW!

This framed cross stitch is available through Steotch’s Etsy store. It’s easy to balk at the $299.00 price tag, but I know how much work goes into a piece like this. If cross-stitchers could charge what auto mechanics charge for hourly labor, this piece would easily be over $1,000. And apparently the artist has been using cross stitch as a distraction from her battle with cancer. So, if you can afford it, I think this would make a lovely addition to your home.

I don’t see that the pattern itself is for sale, which would be a more affordable option for the poor yet ambitious, so maybe I’ll contact the artist about that.

This is my second favorite from Steotch’s selection:

(Thanks to my old high school friend, Mike Fisher, for tipping me off to the Slave to Serenity cross stitch piece.)

*A degree in English provides a person with the lifelong ability to use words like “juxtaposition” in a non-academic setting. Also, a nice piece of paper to display on the window of the old van in which the graduate likely lives.

My first day of school is tomorrow. Again. If I’ve calculated correctly, this will be my 25th first day of school since I started kindergarten. I’m counting each semester of college in there as having one first day so the numbers may look a little inflated. It’s not like I’ve been going to school for 25 straight years. I mean, I’m not in a PhD program…

I’m registered for 19 credit hours again in all Digtial Media classes at Utah Valley University, but I’m pretty certain that’s going to drop to a more reasonable 16. I just need to attend a couple classes first to decide which one goes. I won’t be learning new languages or intense programs like last semester (Adobe Flash and ActionScript, I’m looking at you) so I think overall my semester will be more conducive to blogging, freelancing, and you know, general sanity.

I haven’t addressed what happened to make me stop blogging a few months ago. Basically it started with a seriously intense Flash class, and two weeks into the semester I’d compounded my initial struggle to learn the program with two failing quiz scores. That’s very unlike me, and I was dramatically distraught (I’m a girl, I’d also like to call hormones on this one). I almost dropped the class, but I really wanted to learn Flash… and dropping it would screw up my graduation plan. The professor was great and encouraged me to stick with it. I came to terms with the possibility of a potential poor (but passing) grade and gave it a go. I’ve never worked harder in a class before, and there’s no doubt that I learned a ton. I managed an A- so I guess it paid off.

My Flash professor has turned into my favorite professor at UVU. I had another fall semester class with him (Advanced Photoshop) that required a ton of work as well, but for me it was mostly dedicating the time to do it. I actually have decent study habits now. Quite the change from College 1.0. Anyway, I had 4 other 3-credit-hour classes and a weekly lecture series that required nine 2-page papers. It was a challenge to keep pace and my blogging and social life suffered.

Oddly, I picked up cross-stitching at the end of the summer and keeping up with that helped me stay sane. I craved the rhythmic needle movement and loved seeing little details reveal themselves as I went along. All of my classes required computer programs, so when I wasn’t doing homework, I didn’t want to be staring at my monitor.

It’s important to note that I’m doing subversive cross-stitching. Fun stuff, not the vomit-inducing crap that might typically come to mind at the mention of cross stitch. I was influenced by my friend Marie, maker of the hot zombie chick embroidery, and also by the awesome Subversive Cross Stitch book by Julie Jackson. Marie prefers freeform embroidery, but so far I’ve been very happy following a set cross-stitch pattern and having predictable results. Like these! It’s good left brain activity that doesn’t make my right brain jealous.

Okay, so I still need to iron and frame them. Baby steps, people. I haven’t scanned my first project from the Subversive book yet, and I have a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy pattern in the works right now. Hopefully I’ll find a way to keep up with school, cross-stitch, AND blogging this semester.

I better post this. Midnight is fast approaching and I have lots more to do before I can go to bed. Holy crap, I’m over 1% through my blog-every-day challenge! Inconceivable! Yay.