Weddings are Neat

This was stitched as a wedding gift for Ben's brother and his wife. Ethan and Rika live out in CA, and I'll be honest, neither Ben or I really knew Rika that well. We had met a few times and knew she was a really cool, down to earth kind of girl, but that was about it (oh, and she's a ballerina... yeah, a bonafide ballerina) and Ethan is the kind of guy who just buys what he wants when he wants it. So with that being said, I was a bit stumped on what to get them... plus I'm really not one of those kind of people who 'stick to the registry'... (how boring!)

Ethan had asked Ben to be a groomsman in the wedding and with us in the midst of planning a wedding of our own, we were a bit strapped for cash at that moment. With all those cards on the table, a handmade gift it was! We knew the colors for the wedding were going to be a rich red and autumn orange, so I went with that - and in variegated floss to boot! I framed it up in a square black frame and it looked great!

There's nothing so rewarding as seeing the look on someone's face when they open up an unexpected handmade gift...

Happy Stitching!
Amanda

Something Special for Sayuri

As I work to get caught up on posting my recent works, I realize just how far behind I am...

I made this lovely little 'sampler' (I guess...) when my newest niece was born last August. Ben's brother, Ethan, and his wife Rika had an adorable (no seriously, she's a stunning baby...) little girl on August 26. I framed this in a black frame to match the one I had made for Ethan and Rika for their wedding in the previous September (see my next post.) I ended up filling in a lot more knots and loops after these photos were taken - and for those who know me, I really dislike those stinkin' knots. I unfortunately don't have a photo of the finished product as I was running on a little bit of a time crunch to get it sent off to CA with my mother-in-law to save on shipping... I'll have to see if I can get a photo 'in use' in Sayuri's room...

Happy Stitching!
Amanda

Finished Quilt (finally)

With my recent comment posted on the Sublime Stitching Facebook page earlier today, I thought it would be nice to finally post some photos of the finished gnome quilt. I'll be honest, it's just so darn big that I've found it very difficult to photograph (and I realize that it's not actually finished here - it does have a border.) So with that being said, this is the best I have right now... hopefully I'll be able to get some better shots once we're in the new house. Oh, you haven't heard...? Ben and I bought a house - and we move Thursday (eep!)
I have grand plans to start posting more photos of all the cool stuff I stitch at work (to pass the time) now that I have my snazzy new iPhone 4 *squeal*. Be on the lookout for new posts over the next few weeks... there's a lot of fun stuff headed your way!

Happy Valentine's Day

Ok... so I realize it's been *way* too long since I last posted (it's been a little crazy lately) but I really wanted to post this today. I stitched this little hoopy for Ben for Valentine's last year... I'm really proud of it - I stitched the lines on first and then the words - it took a little while. What hits me a little below the sappy belt are the words... for those who don't know, it's the chorus from "All I do is Dream of You" which Ben and I know most from "Singin in the Rain". We both claim that as our favorite movie and decided it's really a foundation of our relationship. So with that being said, we danced our first dance at the wedding to a rendition by Michael Buble (find it in iTunes - it's great!) So here it is, last year's hand-stitched Valentine...