{Guest Post} Why I've Fallen in Love With Pixel People

Today I'm happy to have a guest post by author Amanda Lee (who is also Gayle Trent, author of the Myrtle Crumb mysteries.) She's hopping to promote Thread End, the latest in her series of Embroidery Mysteries set on the Oregon coast -- you can get the entire schedule on her blog.


Between the embroidery theme and the setting, which is just a couple of hours down the highway from here, I don't know how I've managed to miss these. I jumped in with Thread End, which is the seventh book in the series. It's an intriguing mystery with some vicarious stitching and fiber shopping along the way.  Even though I haven't read the earlier books, I was able to figure out who was who and what was gong on. Of course I wound up wanting to know more about the  characters and picked up the first book in the series when I was in town earlier this week.

Now here's Gayle/Amanda --

WHY I’VE FALLEN IN LOVE WITH PIXEL PEOPLE

Do you know what I’m talking about when I mention “pixel people” or pixel cross-stitch? It’s an easy and cute way of cross-stitching that allows you to work quickly. It’s not that I don’t like traditional cross-stitch anymore, but I fell in love with pixel people over the holidays.

Let me back up a little. This is my boy/girl twins’ senior year of high school. Naturally, I want this year to be a year of BESTS! The BEST CHRISTMAS EVER had to include hand-stitched gifts from Mom…something to remember me by.

I know I’m not going to die the instant they graduate (at least, I hope not because that would be so traumatic for them and I’m doing everything I can to make the year GOOD…plus I have the party to take care of), but this year has been terribly hard for me. Once these two fly from the nest, I’m left with a bunch of downy feathers and fervent hopes that I did the right things.

Sorry for the detour; I simply wanted to lay a little groundwork for you.

By the time I reached the realization that I absolutely had to include hand-stitched gifts to my children, it was already Thanksgiving. I didn’t have time to do anything too elaborate. And then a friend posted the Marvel characters she’d been cross-stitching on Facebook. My daughter loves the Avengers. I immediately messaged my friend to see where she’d found the patterns. She told me, and I went to the site, ordered the download, and printed off the pdf. I could easily make a bookmark for my daughter featuring the Avengers. Yay!

But what about my son? If you search for “pixel cross stitch” on Etsy.com, you will find all kinds of adorable patterns. I found casts of characters from movies and TV shows: Scooby Doo, Monty Python, Star Wars, Sherlock, and then…there it was…It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. My son and I watch that show when we need something completely inappropriate to make us laugh. He doesn’t read as much as my daughter does, so I framed his pixel people.

So if you’re unfamiliar with pixel cross-stitch but want to do something quick, easy, adorable, and fun, check it out.  It’s great for when you’re pressed for time. I was able to get each of those projects done in a weekend.


Happy stitching! (And happy reading too!)

Bio:
Amanda Lee (a/k/a Gayle Trent) lives in Virginia with her family, which includes her own “Angus” who is not an Irish wolfhound but a Great Pyrenees who provides plenty of inspiration for the character of Mr. O’Ruff.