Happy fifth anniversary!

Wow! Five years ago today, RandomlyGenerated opened up on Etsy.

When I was taking photos of my first peg people on the windowsill of my old flat, I never imagined that I’d still be selling crafty things five years later. Or that I’d be writing this post in Canada!

That's an awesome windowsill :)

Thank you all so much for all of your orders over the years and the fantastic feedback that you’ve given me.

To celebrate this awesome anniversary, use the coupon code 5YEARS to get 20% off your orders this weekend.

I’m also going to be running a giveaway – details coming soon!

My most obscure cross stitch pattern yet? The USCSS Nostromo’s self-destruct system from ‘Alien’

Everyone has their own favourite parts of ‘Alien’ – whether it’s Sigourney Weaver kicking ass, the facehugger, the chestburster, the ragtag crew – but I’ve always been drawn to the self-destruct system. I love all the steps that Ripley has to go through (the massive switches on the wall, the weird-looking keyboard, screwing in the bolts...) so I decided to commemorate it with this awesome cross stitch!

Using 18 count Aida, it’s pretty much life-size – well, movie-size :)

The pattern is for sale in my Etsy shop.

“If we ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space.”

A symbol of the spirit of the Griswold family Christmas

I do a lot of my stitching and designing in front of the TV – it’s a lot easier to do this with cross stitch than painting peg people! When I was thinking about geeky cross stitch patterns that I could make into Christmas cards, I looked up at the TV and realised my inspiration was right in front of me!

The design fits a card blank with a 3x5” display, but can also go into a standard 5x7” picture frame. Like the Christmas Weeping Angel, I’m going to frame one in an embroidery hoop and keep it with my Christmas decorations!

This pattern is a classic Clark Griswold quote, inspired by ‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation’ and Chevy Chase’s festive breakdown :) It’s a perfect  Christmas card or gift to show *certain* loved ones exactly how you feel about them.

The pattern is for sale in my Etsy shop.

"Merry Christmas! Shitter was full."

Christmas (Weeping) Angel – don’t blink!

This year, I wanted to design a couple of geeky cross stitch patterns that I could make into Christmas cards. When I started brainstorming ideas, I realised that a Christmas angel would be a good traditional image, but a Doctor Who-style Weeping Angel would be perfect!

The design fits a card blank with a 3x5” display, but can also go into a standard 5x7” picture frame. I’m actually going to frame one in an embroidery hoop and hang it up with the rest of the Christmas decorations every year!

They may be the scariest Doctor Who baddies since the Daleks first rolled on to the TV, but that doesn’t mean they don’t let their hair down during the festive season :) Oh, and “that which holds the image of an angel becomes itself an angel”, so I’d keep an eye on whatever you make. And this screen, come to think of it…

The pattern is for sale in my Etsy shop.

“They're coming. The Angels are coming for you, but listen – your life could depend on this – don't blink. Don't even blink. Blink and you're dead. They are fast, faster than you could believe. Don't turn your back, don't look away, and don't blink. Good luck.”

Small, yellow, leechlike, and the first cross stitch pattern I designed

The first cross stitch pattern I ever made myself (rather than using a kit) was the Babel Fish entry from Douglas Adams’ ‘The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy’, inspired by Rod Lord’s animations for the 1981 BBC television adaptation.

I was close to picking the Magrathean planet cross-section screen, but the curved lines were a bit beyond my beginner designing skills! In hindsight, getting all the text lined up was pretty tricky anyway.

Some people may love the movie, some may prefer the books or the radio series, but my heart (of gold) belongs to the TV series version of HHGTTG. Ford and Arthur were two of the very first peg people I ever made, so it was appropriate that the wee Babel Fish was the first cross stitch :)

By the way, the "computer animation" is all done by hand - just let that sink in for a moment

The pattern is for sale in my Etsy shop.

“Meanwhile the poor Babel fish, by effectively removing all barriers to communication between different cultures and races, has caused more and bloodier wars than anything else in the history of creation.”

P.S. For a blast of nostalgia, why not have a go at the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy computer game.

Cross Stitching Across Westeros

My latest project is a cross stitch map of Westeros, inspired by ‘Game of Thrones’. I’m pretty pleased with how this turned out :)

I started to add a border of things like swords, ravens and goblets, but decided to stick to the House sigils (in the little boxes that appear beside the actors’ names in the credit sequence). The locations are mainly those that appear in the credits, as I figured those were the ones that most people would know. I added the family seats of some of the Houses though, even if the show hasn’t been there yet.

After showing this pattern online, a few people commented about some locations that I should have included. The original map was designed before season 4, but I’ve now updated it to include the Dreadfort, Moat Cailin and Sunspear.

Five points for Gryffindor if you can spot the new places

And sooooo many people complained that I didn’t have the Martell sigil! Although I’ve read the first few books, I don’t want to overtake the TV series, so I didn’t know and love Oberyn Martell then.

So while the main design has the sigils for Houses Stark, Lannister, Targaryen, Robert Baratheon, Stannis Baratheon, Greyjoy, Tyrell, Tully, Arryn, and Frey (boo! The North remembers), I’ve also made patterns for eight others – Bolton, Clegane, Martell, Mormont, Baelish, Seaworth, Reed, and Renly Baratheon.

FYI, the Martell pattern looks better with the actual thread – the software makes the red and orange too alike.

The pattern is for sale in my Etsy shop – both the main map design and the additional sigils, so stitchers can choose exactly who they want to display – pick your allegiances!

"Sansa can keep her sewing needles. I've got a Needle of my own."

Peg People on Pause

I opened my Etsy shop in March 2010 and made hundreds of teeny peg people on my kitchen table in Scotland for people all over the world! I closed up (temporarily) in March 2013 – initially for my wedding and honeymoon, but then for planning our move to Canada – not an easy task :)

Now that we’re here and pretty settled (fingers crossed), I should be starting up the peg people again. But when you’ve moved from Aberdeen to Vancouver and suddenly have actual summers to enjoy and, even when it’s raining, you have a puppy to go exploring with, it’s not easy!

Once the lovely weather dies down, I will get painting again. I now have a gorgeous craft room to work in and I’ve already had a few people asking for John Hurt and Peter Capaldi peg dolls to complete their Doctor Who regenerations set :)

In the meantime, I’ve been doing lots of cross stitching. I finished off an ancient kit that had been in a drawer for ages, but when I looked for my next project, nothing really grabbed me. So I started designing my own!