My first original Cross Stitch pattern

It is always a struggle to find a gift for my younger brother. Well, more accurately, it's a struggle for me to figure out how to use my artsy skills to make something he might actually enjoy. He's an engineer, so he hates clutter & trinkets. Nix decorative glass baubles. His hobby is bass fishing, but what can I do? Crochet a cozy for his reel? Not so much. His other favourite activity is hanging out in his shed/ man-cave. Hmmm.


This year, as Father's Day rolled around, I had just started a counted cross stitch project with this pattern purchased from STEOTCH: Fine New England Needleart. It was my first time trying counted cross stitch. At first, I found it infuriating, but about 1/2 way through the pattern, I fell in love. Then I decided to try my own pattern... my younger brother's habit of singing hip hop in his shed provided the inspiration.

For a time, my brother would sing this song so frequently that my niece started repeating it. This prompted a swift change of lyrics to "Oh Hot SAM, this is my Jam" (Hot Sam was a hot pretzel joint).

When I first heard my brother singing it, I asked, "What IS that?"
My sister-in-law said, "It's a song by Flo Rida."
I asked, "By whom?"
She said,"Flo Rida. Spelled Florida."
THAT made me laugh.

Oh, and I totally had to google how to spell "AYER" properly. *snort*

He really liked it. I mean, what shed doesn't need a sampler?