How to knit letters into a square

[trishknitz]

Hi everyone
I am making a baby blanket - I am doing it in strips of 4 squares, each in a different stitch, which I will join together, maybe with a patterned insert. On the last panel, I want to knit the baby's name & birthdate & was wondering if anyone has any ideas? The area is about 60 stitches wide, by 60 rows - I have graphed what I want to put in, and thought I might do it in reverse stocking stitch, with the lettering reversed. One of the stitch patterns I've done is a reverse stocking stitch, with some stitches knitted and purled into the back of the stitch, and some twisted to the left and right to produce a nice raised diamond pattern. Do you think this would work for lettering and numbers? Does anyone know if I need to allow a knit & purl row for each raised stitch? Also want to do a row of hearts if there is enough space. I am using a 4 ply baby wool which gives a nice fine finish. I will post a pic when I'm finished
Hope someone can figure out what I'm talking about!!