Old School Video Game Cross Stitch

[fuzzington]

Every year I try to enter something in the Competitive Exhibits at the San Diego County Fair.  Generally my entries are very amateurish compared to the hardcore entrants (every year there are people that DOMINATE different categories) and I never expect to win, but it gives me an excuse to do something crafty, PLUS I get a free ticket to the fair out of it!

This year, I decided to try something new and enter the Needlepoint/Cross Stitch competition.  It gave me a new craft to try and learn.  I'm pretty new to cross-stitching, and in retrospect I had NO IDEA how long it would actually take me to complete my submission.  I have never worked so hard on something that ended up looking so simple.  I've estimated that I have spent at least 60 hours and made more than 10,000 stitches in this project. But in the end, I was pretty happy with how things turned out, all things considered.

I present to you, my Cross Stitch sampler entry for the San Diego County Fair 2011 Needlepoint and Sewing competitive exhibit!



This cross-stitch sampler is a tribute to the old school Atari video games that I played as a kid.  The three that are featured here are Pac-Man, Centipede, and Space Invaders.  I played these games endlessly on my Atari 5200 game system, and had so much fun with them.  Video games have since become such an elaborate and sophisticated experience-- sometimes I just yearn for the simplicity of an 8-bit video game with a joystick and one button! These games may seem old school, they never go out of style.







When I turned my entry in, the older ladies volunteering at the Fair gave my project an odd look.  That's right ladies, this isn't a traditional sampler with pretty flowers, animals, houses, and alphabets.  It's not traditional by any means.  If the judges' reactions to my piece is anything remotely close to the reactions of the ladies that took in my entry, then chances are I have zero chance of winning anything.  BUT, I know that some child of the 80's will stumble upon this during the fair, as they hang out in the Home and Hobby exhibit to enjoy the air conditioning in the exhibit hall. And when they see this they'll give it an approving nod in agreement, and that's all I'm really looking to get out of this.

[barbie820]

i think this totally rocks!

[LimeRiot]

Great job! I love the writing for the "old school" part!

I think it's really awesome that you're scaring the old blue hairs with your non-traditional cross-stitch. You'd certainly get my vote .

[microjivvy]

I wish I was one of the judges. I would crown you Queen of All that is Awesome.

I think it was 1979 when I spent most of my college book money on Space Invaders.

I think it's really awesome that you're scaring the old blue hairs with your non-traditional cross-stitch.

hey, hey hey -- it's really hard to keep white hair white!

I speak as someone who may have crossed the thin blue line once or twice my own fine self. 

[Sandroo]

This is fabulous!!!

(and who cares what the blue hairs think, right?  isn't it all about taking what you've learned and giving your own twist to it?)

[striker923]

I too would totally vote for your project! Great work!  There's something about cross stitch craft and old school video games that seem like a match made in heaven.

[TroubleLovesMe007]

I LOVE this. I don't think it looks simple at all--the gradient on the lettering is fab!  Excellent job! As a child of the 80's - I thank you--
this made my day.

[SiakelA]

This is great. I love that you're reaching out to fellow children of the '80s!

[ChaniLM]

What is the "SYLE" bit? is that a Atari joke?

[Helena Puck]

I think it's wonderful that you showed them all that cross stitching can do other things than the traditional samplers. I like your modern twist on the sample. You are including a younger audience into this crafting medium. I like the ironic twist too, using a traditional or old school craft like cross stitching to celebrate retro video gaming.