Famous Sports Couples

Famous sportsmen and sportswomen from all around the world have long held our fascination for living glamorous lives and getting paid tons of money for playing our favorite games. But behind all the glamor and flashlights are long hours of struggle, loneliness and personal failures that are known only to them. This side is never shown to the public eye, and the only people who can truly understand the pressures involved are fellow sports personalities. As a result of this, hook ups and marriages between sports personalities are inevitable, and they always end up capturing the watching world's imagination like nothing else.

Celebrity couples have always held a very special place in the minds of people, and when both members of such couples are famous sports stars, things get even more interesting. Everyone wants more details about how the couple met, where they go, how they feel about each other and how their entanglement is affecting their performances. Newspapers and journalists build up these couples with the most romantic notions only to watch most of them crumble under the pressure, because ultimately, the stress gets to them all. Nonetheless, there are some famous sports couples that manage to work at it and see themselves through the rocky patches and the intense spotlight and lead a happy life together.

Famous Couples in Sports

These couples are listed in no particular order. Their involvement with each other has been the source of much entertainment and controversy for many parties, and how they have managed this stress is commendable. Moreover, the couples here also include pairs with one member a famous sports personality and the other a famous celebrity.

Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf
When it comes to famous tennis couples none can match this high profile sports couple. They met on the winners ball in the French Open in 1999 and started dating. They married in 2001 and are now the proud parents of a son and a daughter. They currently reside in Las Vegas and are rarely seen out together. This is undoubtedly the first couple that pops to mind when one wonders about couples in the sporting world.

Iker Casillas and Sara Carbonero
Casillas is the captain of Real Madrid FC and is also the captain of the successful Spanish football team that won Euro 2008 and the last edition of the World Cup. He is also the most capped goalkeeper in the UEFA Champions League, so his love life will definitely create headlines everywhere. Carbonero is a famous sports journalist in Spain and was recently voted the 'The Sexiest Reporter in the World'. They are dating each other and their public appearances cause many a stir around the world today.

Shelden Williams and Candace Parker
It is very rare to find a couple that plays in the NBA and the WNBA, and this couple achieves just that. Williams is a retired basketball player who played for the New York Knicks, and he was famously known as 'The Landlord'. Candace Parker plays for the Los Angeles Sparks and is one of the most recognizable stars of the WNBA. Along the way she has broken several rookie records and she also happens to be the younger sister of Tony Parker. They were married in 2008, have one daughter and are leading a healthy married life away from the spotlight.

Sasha Vujacic and Maria Sharapova
This couple has been together since 2009 and recently got engaged as well. Sharapova was the heir to Anna Kournikova's title of most attractive Russian female tennis player, and she actually won titles to back this up as well. She was the world number 1 for a long time, and she is still only 24 years old, so her tennis career is still wide open. Vujacic is a professional Slovenian NBA player and he plays his trade for the New Jersey Nets.

Nomar Garciaparra and Mia Hamm
When it comes to athletic couples, it truly does not get better than this. Garciaparra is a former baseball player famous for his time with the Boston Red Sox. He was also on the Olympic team for his sport, and so was his wife, Hamm, for soccer. She is one of the most popular women soccer players in the world, and she also happens to be a world champion and an Olympic champion. The couple regularly stays away from the spotlight. They were married in 2003 and had twin girls in 2007.

Ronaldo and Milene Domingues
The Brazilian Ronaldo was a true phenomenon in his time as a soccer player, and if not for his serious knee injuries, he would have surely been known as the greatest player ever. Apart from his dazzling skills on the field, he was also famous for scoring off the field. His flamboyant lifestyle led to several hook ups, and none could perhaps match up to his marriage with Domingues, the most expensive female soccer player in Spain. Their marriage lasted 4 years, and in that time they played for Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid respectively, and the flashbulbs and paparazzi literally followed their every move.

Some more famous sports couples are listed below as well.

    * Soccer star David Beckham and Spice Girl Victoria Beckham
    * Pop singer Enrique Iglesias and tennis player Anna Kournikova
    * NBA player Carmelo Anthony and VJ turned actress Lala Vasquez
    * Cricketer Michael Clarke and model Lara Bingle
    * American footballer Tom Brady and model Gisele Bundchen
    * Footballer Reggie Bush and reality TV star Kim Kardashian (not involved anymore)
    * Basketball player Tony Parker and actress Eva Longoria (not involved anymore)
    * Soccer player Ashley Cole and singer Cheryl Cole (not involved anymore)
    * Baseball player Alex Rodriguez and actress Kate Hudson (not involved anymore)
    * Tennis stars Jimmy Connors and Christine Evert (called off their wedding and split up)
    * Tennis stars Lleyton Hewitt and Kim Clijsters (not involved anymore)
    * Soccer star Sol Campbell and tennis player Martina Hingis (not involved anymore)

These were just a few of the celebrity couples that were involved in the sports world and as you can see, most of them could not work it out for various reasons. This just goes to show how hard it is for such couples to actually be together, and this is what feeds the newspaper columns and the gossip magazines from all corners of the world.

How to Embroider by Hand 2

Hand embroidery is an interesting craft and since many generations provided women with many hours of pleasure. You can read more about this traditional hobby in histroy of embroidery. Hand embroidery is a type of needlework or handicraft, that is to be done without a machine. You need to learn to embroider by hand as the stitches involved are very intricate and require practice. You need to outline a pattern on the cloth piece to be embroidered. Let us go into the details of how to embroider by hand.

How to Embroider by Hand
The first thing to do is choose the cloth you want to try embroidery on. Then plan the design you want to stitch on your cloth. Choose the colors of the threads and the thickeners of the thread. You need to then choose a pattern from a chart or pattern sheet, that will help you decide the types of embroidery stitches to use. Then draw the pattern or trace the design over the cloth with a washable fabric marker or quilting pencil.

Tread your needle with the thread you wish to embroider your design. You can use thick cotton or wool yarn, in case you are trying to embroider by hand on pillow cases and napkins. In case of delicate patterns like monograms or fashion trims, you may use embroidery floss, silk thread or cotton thread that is divided into sections.

Now stretch the fabric on a tension hoop. You can keep the use of tension loop optional if you are not comfortable using it. But be sure that the fabric is stretched and not pulled out of shape. Now, holding the fabric in your left hand (right hand, if you are a leftie), begin stitching at the bottom of the fabric. Secure the threads with a double stitch to get started. Then push the needle up through the fabric and down again at the end of the stitch. Remember, the length of your stitch depends on the type of stitch you are following.

Once you are done with a particular color or section of your embroidery, weave the end of the thread at the bottom of the fabric in a secure knot. Continue to stitch till you complete your project. Remove the frame from the hoop only after completion. This was something about how to embroider by hand. Let us take some idea on interesting and easy embroidery project, for those trying to learn to embroider by hand.

How to Embroider Words by Hand
How to embroider words by hand is not a very difficult project to try. You need to choose your fabric and the colors of your embroidery threads. You need to follow a pattern for the words to be embroidered like block letters, cursive letters, etc. With a washable fabric marker or fabric pencil trace the image of the word you wish to embroider by hand. You can read some tips on embroidery stitches

Now, place your fabric in a hoop and begin stitching from the left bottom edge of the word. Push the needle up through the fabric from the bottom and leave a tail of embroidery floss of about two inches. Pull the thread across the width of your word and push the needle back down into the fabric. You need to follow this step till you finish the entire word. This simple stitch of embroidery by hand, is known as satin stitch. You can learn to embroider by hand with many other stitches like chain stitch, cross stitch, back stitch, etc. The answer for how to embroider words by hand also answers your query how to embroider letters by hand. Just follow this simple step for an single individual letter.

How to Embroider Flowers by Hand
Just like a word or letter, you need to follow the above mentioned steps. Trace a flower design on your fabric with washable fabric marker or pencil. Then choose the colors of your embroidery thread. You can let your creativity flow with a flower design. You can try dual colors for the petals and to show the shading in the leaves. You can even embroider by hand with double shaded embroidery threads. You can choose a satin stitch for the petals and leafs. You can try French knot stitch for the center of the flower. The stem can be stitched using a stem stitch. You can refer to an embroidery magazine for ideas and the type of stitches you can try. You can read more on custom embroidery patterns and design.

This was a bit in short, about how to embroider by hand. Hand embroidery is a very interesting arts and crafts hobby, that will keep you engaged for hours on end. You can decorate your pillow covers, scarfs, wall hangings, table cloths and many more things in your house with your embroidery by hand. You can even give think about hand embroidered personalized gifts. You can learn to embroider by hand very easily. Once you learn to embroider by hand, you will get hooked on to this interesting hobby for life.

How to Embroider by Hand

We often exchange gifts with our friends, and friendship bands and bracelets are good gifts. To add a personal touch to your gift, you can make your own friendship bracelets. Usually threads or embroidery floss are used to knot these handmade friendship bracelets. The knots in these embroidery floss bracelets signify the strong bond between friends. Friendship bracelets are available in a variety of styles and patterns.

You can craft embroidery floss friendship bracelets and gift them to your friends to make them feel special. They would love to tie it on their hand. Believe me, crafting a bracelet does not require much time and effort and it is simple and easy. And the best part is that it is inexpensive!

You can start with a simple pattern and as you get more experienced you can make more advanced patterns, and try designing on your own. Here are the steps to make an embroidery floss friendship bracelet.

How To Make Friendship Bracelet?

Things required:

   1. Embroidery floss
   2. Scissors
   3. Measuring tape
   4. Masking tape
   5. Clipboard

Steps for making embroidery floss friendship bracelet:

    * Take four colors of embroidery floss thread. Cut a 25 inch strand of each embroidery floss.
    * Tie a knot of two inches at the top of the floss strands.
    * Tape the knotted side of the floss strands to your work surface or clip it to a clipboard.
    * Spread out the floss strands. From now we will refer to them as strand 1, strand 2, strand 3 and strand 4. Start with strand 1, loop it over strand 2. Hold strand 2 and pull the knot until it is snug.
    * Now, take the strand 1 and make double knots along strand 3 and strand 4.
    * Again, begin with strand 2 and make double knots with strand 3, strand 4 and strand 1.
    * Repeat the process with strand 3 and 4, one by one.
    * When you finish with this, tie a knot to secure the end.
    * You can add a colored bead before the end knot.

Now your embroidery floss bracelet is ready to be tied around the wrist. Wasn't that easy? You may also like to know more on how to make friendship bracelets.

Color Schemes for Embroidery Floss Bracelet

You may use different color schemes to prepare your embroidery floss friendship bracelet, like primary colors - red, yellow, and blue, or secondary colors - orange, green, and violet. Using a dark color with white is one of my favorite combinations. You can also try to combine light and dark shades of the same color. There is another scheme called, analogous color scheme, that uses two or more colors, that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel, for e.g., yellow and violet. Some other possible schemes are white and red/pink on Valentine's day, yellow, pink, and pale green for Easter or you can go for American patriot - red, blue and white. The best combination would be, your favorite color knotted with your friends' favorite color. This also shows that although, you both may have different choices, you are still bonded to each other. And your bond is as strong as the knots in the friendship bracelet.

It is said that, "Friends are the chocolate chips in the cookie of life." Do not wait for friendship day. You can gift these bracelets any time. It would be the best gift to your summer class buddies or to your high school friends, on graduation. Embroidery floss bracelets are memorabilia, that will be treasured deeply by your friends.