Who Wears The Pants?

Sometimes a person comes along that you just know instantly you are going to be friends. This is what happen when I met Amanda. She is a smart, sassy and a  knock down beautiful woman that can stitch like nobody's business. Once you find out more about her, you will want to be her friend too cause, yeah, she is just that cool.

Who is the real Amanda Panda Pants?
I am a relatively happy lady with a goofy personality
that can be a bit assertive, obnoxious and aggressive(this is
how the "Pants" of my moniker came about) at times. I love
music (currently British Rock), reading, and watching
movies, although right now I am deep into Season 1 of
Arrested Development. I also talk too much :)

Your embroidery is AMAZING! What or who inspires you?
Thank you!! I find inspiration EVERYWHERE!!! I
recently saw some posters at work that were an art deco
style and I thought "Hmmm I wonder where I can get some of
those so I can turn them into a embroidery pattern?"

A lot of my Flickr friends inspire me; Kunderwood, Penny
Nickels, Johhny Murder, Porterness, Bookwormbethie, Early
Bird Special, Jenny Hart, Bascom Houge, Mr. X Stitch,
Beefranck, Kromo - Threadstar, Themisstrest, Knottyknitty,
Giggly Mama, Follow the White Bunny, Georgia McDonald,
Allthestuffilike, Sewsew-a-gogo, Laura Hartrich, Badbird,
Snarkypants, Floresita, Glazedangel101, Sewitsforyou,
Lovestitches, Rachel McKay, Katiekutthroat, Claudia Marchan,
Ohsweetie, Karina Ascencio, Mimilove Forever, Ruby0042,
Jenni Waterloo, Moster8me, Ritapizza, Doe-c-Doe, Barncat1
and of course you Ms. Kittykill............really the list
goes on and on.

I feel inspired by all embroidery that I see on Flickr, and
what a great community the embroidery crowd is! Someone is
always willing to share methods, where to buy supplies,
share new books and vintage patterns. I truly feel like
you guys are my friends, even though we haven't met in
person.

I am also inspired a lot by print ads that I see in
magazines or images that catch my eye on the internet. Lord
Shiva was inspired by some clip art I stumbled into on the
net.

I think I love everything you do but do you have a favorite piece of embroidery?
Oooooh, this is a toughy. I think the one that truly stands out for me is the Thom Yorke piece. This is where I
saw my embroidery markedly improve. All the comments I got on Flickr cosigned the pride I felt.

Do you have any advice for the masses?
Just go for it. Don't worry about making mistakes, it
takes time to get it right. Always remember that it's about
having fun! Embroidery gives me a sense of freedom. I can
express myself and make something that is distinctively
mine, even if I am using a pattern developed by someone
else.

I saw that you like antiques and vintage finds. Do you collect anything?
I LOVE vintage anything! I am like a Magpie, I just
collect indiscriminately :) I have a good collection of
Chuck All Stars, purses and classic movies going at the
moment. I am currently having a love affair with earrings
from Target :)

I just saw a picture of your family and can I tell you they are BEAUTIFUL! What's their secret ? ;)
Goodness!!! Thank you so much :) Well I
am not sure what the secret is. My mom and dad are just
flat out cute good looking people. My sister was born
beautiful, she has the smoothest skin I have ever seen! I
call her brown alabaster :) For me I use A LOT of Vasaline.
I am of the school that moisturizer is key. I refuse to
wear makeup (I somehow manage to get it all over my clothes)
so I take great strides in making sure my skin looks the
best it can.

And you thought I was making the cool part up! Told you so! I simply adore Amanda. I'm betting her laugh is as infectious as her smile. I'm so glad that I can call her my friend.  Watch out for more of her amazing embroidery on Flickr. She will not disappoint.