Title: 3D Transforming Optimus Prime
Date Completed: August 2010
Design: Lord Libidan/Paper Robots 1999
Count: 14
Canvas: Plastic
Colors: 6
Show: Transformers
 
Plastic canvas has always drawn me, it allows for the structured cross stitch to become its own structure. However, when I picked up a few sheets all of the patterns looked so boring. A boring simple house? Neh. I wanted to make something better. So I pondered for a while before realizing that plastic canvas can be used in a similar way to building blocks, and with it, you can make any shape. I knew that I wanted to push boundaries a little of what was possible, and I had only just started cross stitch, so I wasn’t afraid to fail.
 
I always loved fiddling with my brother’s generation 1 transformer toys and it started from there. It’s based on the original toy series so transforms into a Peterbilt style semi-tractor. Initially, I thought about making the robot itself and realized I could make joints move by using wire paper clips. One thing led to another and before you know it, I was planning on hundreds of scrap pieces of paper on how to make it transform.
 
It got a LOT of attention, and so I started designing a second transformer; Jetfire, a robot that transforms into a jet plane. It didn’t stop there though! I even have a Soundwave tape deck trasformer, with tapes that fit inside that transform into ratbat and laserbeak!
 
It’s now been featured on:
Mr X Stitch: Link
Gamespy
Reddit: Link
And won Penny Nickels Contest: Link
If you look out for Cross Stitch Crazy Magazine, I will be published in their March issue!
 
You can buy this pattern on my Etsy shop and many other transformers, so go have a look! LINK

Title: Got Milk Magnets – Harvest Moon
Date Completed: January 2010
Design: Lord Libidan
Count: 14
Colors: 8
Video Game: Harvest Moon
 
I love Harvest Moon, it’s one of my favorite video games, in particular, the versions on the Gameboy color. However, when playing through it recently I realized that guy drinks milk ALL THE TIME! I just happened to come back from America before I started playing it too, so I knew the “got milk” adverts were all the rage over there. Well, it didn’t take me long to make a pattern and stitch something up.
 
This project is also the first time I make cross stitch magnets. I chose to stick magnets on the back of the panels, which whilst working OK at the start, they were too strong for the glue. In newer attempts, I chose to enclose the magnet in plastic canvas to solve this issue.
 
This was later extended to include Doctor Who magnets.

Title: Got Milk Magnets – Doctor Who
Date Completed: June 2010
Design: Lord Libidan
Count: 14
Colors: 8
Show: Doctor Who

Title: Space Invader School
Date Completed: April 2010
Design: Neil Grefory/Lord Libidan
Count: 14
Colors: 8
Video Game: Space Invaders
 
After the success of my first self made cross stitch pattern, The Original Ghostbuster Pacman cross stitch, I felt a little more devoted to doing something big.
 
I once again took inspiration from a T-shirt I found on threadless called “A Simple Plan” which was one of their best sellers at the time. However, it always bugged me that the sprites weren’t correct. This was thanks to copyright, but I wasn’t going to sell the pattern, I didn’t have that issue, so I changed the sprites to be correct, changed the colors slightly (the first time I’d done that too), and started making the pattern.
 
One thing that many people don’t know about cross stitch is that you’re fixed to a grid of a set size. As a result making the space invaders look like they got smaller, without actually getting smaller, was a challenge, but with some careful placement, I think I solved that quite well.
 
You can now download the pattern for free too, so why not stitch it up yourself?

Title: Fire n Ice/Solomon’s Key
Date Completed: March 2010
Design: Lord Libidan
Count: 14
Canvas: Black
Colors: 4
Video Game: Fire N Ice
 
After finding SpriteStitch, a place to show off my geeky cross stitch, which I later made a SpriteStitch banner cross stitch for, I started in earnest creating cross stitch patterns. The first idea I had was to make a simple screenshot. But then I realized how huge that would be.
 
But undeterred I kept playing on emulators until I found this game. It was called Fire n Ice as it as an American ROM, but for us, European’s its called Soloman’s Key 2, originally for the SNES. I fell in love straight away. Its premise for a game is simple; you melt the ice away to solve a puzzle. I wanted to stitch something up that was a simple to this premise as possible, and finally picked a pyramid design to fit into a standard photo frame.
 
When I finished it, I put it in a frame and stuck it up on the wall. It’s since had a few places to live, but it always stayed in its frame. This, thanks to the sun, caused some problems though, as I never washed my cross stitch back then. I’ve since learned my lesson, but it’s still in its frame, on my window sill.

I had actually hoped to create some more Fire n Ice patterns, but as time went on, I found larger and larger projects, and never went back.

Title: Original Ghost Buster
Date Completed: February 2010
Design: Lord Libidan
Count: 14
Canvas: Black
Colors: 4
Video Game: Pacman
 
The original Ghostbuster, and the original Lord Libidan pattern. This was my first ever pattern. In fact, I had only stitched three projects in total before this. Being a Manbroiderer, or male embroiderer, I really wasn’t loving all the cute cross stitch patterns out there. To me, they were bland, and frankly not worth stitching. But I also loved cross stitching. So I had to decide, was I going to make the patterns, or give up stitching?
 
The fact that you’re reading this probably means you know the outcome, however, I designed and stitched up a pattern. It was based on a T-shirt I saw, although simplified considerably.
 
This is where the story of Lord Libidan started. I wanted to show off my creation and found the SpriteStitch website. In turn, I needed a user name and picked Lord Libidan. There, I found a whole community of people that were like me, and that wanted to cross stitch things that weren’t boring and cute. In fact, I ended up stitching a SpriteStitch banner cross stitch for the website too.