and this is my work.

This wild idea came up at a Christmas party where a friend received an ornament with a hand stitched QR code and my brain absolutely broke! How on earth had I never thought to make a QR code cross stitch after years of designing off beat stitch patterns. I attacked this project head on, doing test after test to see how far I could push the concept design wise. always thinking about how we can incorporate this idea in our regularly scheduled cousin cross stitch projects I started my journey! I knew what my test link would be IMMEDIATLY. I did some testing using URL shorteners, and finally plugged my perfectly shortened URL into stitch fiddle . From there I opened the exported PDF in Illustrator and customized my grid system. I used colored fishing line to match in the fabric and got to it. In my pre-stitch testing I did find that using the URL shortener did reduce my grid width from 33 to 25, which made my brain feel a lot better. Depending on your fabric gauge, you can get a code down to about an inch. These were done on 14 and are just under an inch and a half square. So how did the testing turn out? Here is the breakdown: Test 1: Basic, nothing flashy, works! Test 2: Four vibrant color gradient on a diagonal, works! Test 3: Four color tone change gradient on a diagonal, more subtle, doesn't work! (too light?) Test 4: Three color tone change gradient on a diagonal, works! We have a lot of design options which is great! As I shared out my findings with crafters people started to mention the interesting commentary I was making adding in technology to an much more traditional form of art. Bringing it to life in a new age and making it an interactive experience. Not something I had thought about specifically, but the interactivity was what interested me the most. We plan to work QR codes into some of our new designs and I can't wait!

I grew up in West Seattle if you've ever met someone who has or is currently living there, you'll know! West Seattle is just an ordinary neighborhood within the city of Seattle but for some reason, it's a peninsula of pride! We may not be as trendy as Capital Hill or can make legitimate claims to be the center of the known universe like Fremont, but it's safe to say we have the best rocky beaches, a famous music store, and tamales. I don't know if that is what West Seattle is "known" for it is just what comes to mind. A month or so ago the main bridge that connects West Seattle to the rest of the city was closed due to some structural damage. So now, more than ever, we are our own little island paradise. Come for a lunch and never leave, because it will take you 5 hours to go 6 miles. Being stuck here, I realized it's pretty great and maybe we just embrace it. Here is a new collection of graphic tees that people can sport showing off their west side pride!