Off to College Embroidery Pattern

Delivered hot n' fresh to you on this holiday weekend: my new "Off to College" embroidery pattern, now available in the shop!

As usual, the designs are my own original artwork and this one's got a handful of quintessential collegiate items such as a vintage street bicycle (based on a combination of my own bike and a Papillionaire), pen, #2 pencil, textbooks, ruled paper, composition notebook (an ode to my obsession with Harriet the Spy as a kid), school pennant, and a typewriter complete with all the keys and a bit of paper that's been rolled in and is just waiting for you (can you hear the tap tap tapping of those slick little keys?).

detail of my pattern sample

I'm a sucker for the nerdy details of each item with all it's bells and whistles but I also like for them to maintain the charm of the hand drawn original with it's slight imperfections. My goal then is to strike a balance in my patterns between technical accuracy and clarity so that each item is at once interesting but feasible for the novice to advanced stitcher. Depending on how practiced you are, you can stitch up each design in more and more complex ways to include as much or as little embellishment as you like.

How would you stitch this pattern up? Have you seen the quilts given at graduation open houses where all the guests write memories and well wishes on blank squares within a finished quilt using a permanent fabric pen? I'd love to see the designs in this pattern stitched up and incorporated into such a quilt to give as a going away gift for a grad's dorm room!