Stitching Pixels: Sew Old School

Cross stitching is something I used to do a lot when I was younger (I guess it should come as no surprise that I spent a lot of time with Grandma as a kid).  It's a fairly relaxing and stress-free activity.  It's easy.  And most of all ... it's fun!

Or at least I think so.

Did I mention stress-free?  That's also kind of important....

In any case, not only do I occupy my time with a lot of old lady crafts, I play a LOT of video games.  Old, new, something that came out last year, yesterday, or twenty years ago ... I love 'em!  It seems only natural that, by some chance, these two hobbies would cross paths somewhere in the twisted wires of my overactive brain...

Thus the birth of my concept, Sew Old School.  I started browsing The Tubes (also known as The Internet) for screen shots and sprites from some of my favorite 8 and 16-bit games and, with some mad Adobe Illustrator skills, turning them into cross stitch patterns.  It was a bit tedious at first, but, on the list of weird things I find solace in, tedium is pretty close to the top.  Hey, I did say "weird," didn't I?

My first project idea came from one of the pioneers of my favorite genre of gaming: the RPG classic, Final Fantasy.  I used the sprites for the team I chose to play the game with (from top to bottom: Fighter, Thief, White Mage, and Black Mage) and the "title" of my new project.

From there, I moved on to a character any fan of the Final Fantasy series knows and either loves or hates: Kefka, the mad villain of Final Fantasy VI.  His laugh is an iconic part of his character, so it was obvious that I should choose his sprite's laughing animation for this one.

Although I didn't play it until much later in my "gaming career" than most people (what can I say, I was a Sega kid), Final Fantasy VI quickly became one of my favorite games of all time.  Not only is it one of my favorite games, but it's one of my boyfriend's as well.  So, at his request, I chose another FFVI sprite for my third cross stitch, the diabolical reoccurring octopus monster...

ULTROS!  Isn't he just cuuuute?!  Erm, yeah...

He came out a little lighter than the actual sprite, I think.  At this point in time, I was having a harder time matching thread color to actual pixel color, but I have a much better grasp on it now.  I've discovered that building a "color sheet" out of the individual pixel colors and then transferring that as a photo to my iPhone is really useful, especially with the 16-bit sprites.  Eventually, this piece will be accompanied by another, namely the team battling this fiend (Edgar, Shadow, Locke, and Celes, for those of you who are curious).  I don't know if I'm quite ready to handle that many colors in such a small space at once just yet...

In the mean time, I've decided to work on a simpler pattern or two, build up my thread reserves, and work on something both a little grander and simpler at the same time.  You see, I've recently taken a trip back to the 8-bit age of gaming and finished a game I can remember watching my uncle play when I was but a wee kindergärtner... 

...the original Phantasy Star!  It was released on the Sega Master System at about the same time as Final Fantasy and is somewhat overlooked as far as genre-defining RPGs go in my opinion.  So, paying homage to this great game from ages past (and killing some time before I fire up Phantasy Star II), I've decided to stitch the title screen in all of it's 187 x 245 pixel glory!  At 14 stitches per inch, it's a good thing I have a nice big, open space on my wall just waiting for the framed up version to be done.

Also on deck, I have a few more classic patterns all gridded-up and ready to go, namely Sonic the Hedgehog, Donkey Kong, and Astro Warrior.  Until then, I'll be busy sewing, painting, collaging, and who knows what else...

If you have any requests, please feel free to let me know.  I like to think I'm pretty good about checking/responding to e-mails, so shoot one my way!  Who knows, I might even end up working out some sort of exchange with you...