Two finished finishes

I did wind up making the BBD Sampler into a pillow for my mom for Mother's day. This year was the first year that I wasn't able to be with her on Mother's day and it was hard. I count everyday with my mother as an extra blessing because almost 10 years ago she had a liver transplant without which she obviously would not be with us now. I'm going to Michigan tonight to attend a tea party with her tomorrow :)

Since I wasn't able to be there, I mailed it to her and she got it on May 9th. She called me as soon as she opened it and said she loved it, it was perfect! Below is the backing fabric I used (it really does match better in person). I kept it simple and am pleased with how it turned out. I wish I would have done better on the hand sewing where I closed the pillow.

I also finished a gift for my sister who got married this January. I hadn't planned on stitching her anything as I didn't think she was particularly fond of handmade gifts. But when I mentioned the one I made for my friend, she said she like handmade things. So, when I saw this free pattern "Wedding Swans" from Carousel Charts on the online needlework show, I thought, why not. So, here it is, I hope she likes it. I added some ribbon to the sides so that I could use a standard 8 x 10 frame without having so much extra linen showing on the sides. I used a small piece of silkweaver solo, I can't remember the count, either 28 or 30, and white and black DMC (those were her wedding colors).

Thanks for stopping by,
Meghann