Tuesday, 11 April 2006

Finished pieces


My very first ever cross stitch done in 1991. Bought this and the bluebells as kits and done them both up at the same time. Mum had these in storage and showed me today 13 May 2007.

Cross stitched pieces I have finished over the years (and remembered to take photographs of).

From 1993 onwards. Current calendar year's finishes are in its own album.

372 comments:

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Terri England said...

This is great. I love it.

Jodie Hill said...

I LOVE IT!!!! Man, I wish I didn't have little kiddos in my house...

Claire EJ said...

Very useful this one....!!!

Laura Landis said...

Mel, this came out so cute!! I LOVE it! Congrats on the finish!

Melissa Hicks said...

Thanks Laura - it was indeed the right chart at the right time - Chele has such superb intuition with these things!

And its currently on its way to the next person .......

Carolyn Ford said...

Happy dance! What a great finish! I love the line 'with ...stitches for you to have always" I hadn't noticed that on the pattern before. How sweet! What a nice idea to pass it around - wouldn't it be cool to see it keep going and going and going... = )

Claire EJ said...

I have this one hanging right next to the smallest room here..it hangs underneath our living room wall light. I do love it.
I think this was quite possibly one of the first things you and I bonded over:)

I really wish they had done more of the Oliver Otter series, they are such fun pieces.

Melissa Hicks said...

I think you could be right - we had both done this one independently before we "met" online ....

Mariann Mäder said...

Ah! Okay, I suppose I should have seen those if it's a Heritage Stitchcraft design...

Amazed you would do something this cute :-) I think it would not be realistic enough for me. I just love those sleek, playful, clever little fellows!

Claire EJ said...

Over here, they were kits and charts put out by DMC. Some of the first things I was drawn to when I started to xs. Must take a picture of the big sampler one on the wall here. Will have to ask Steve to get it down though...It's my real Oliver fave!

Melissa Hicks said...

It was done a few years ago :) And its not that cute - after all he is half naked sitting on the toilet :) :)

Mum was renovating her bathroom facilities and I wanted to stitch something for it - I believe this piece still does hang inside the uh smallest room in the house !!!

Claire EJ said...

Oh it is cute...it's adorable....

Lori M. said...

This is one really adorable otter!

Laura Landis said...

Oh my gosh, is he a cutie!!

Mariann Mäder said...

LOL! That's a really good place, too - at least when it's right in view. I do think that the loo has become almost a taboo with the recent return to prudishness all around. What rubbish! Good place to decorate with funny themes! At my brother's in Basle I always get to check out the carnival speeches (which are political and social satire, sometimes of the best!), which I enjoy a lot! Usually spend more time in there than needed, LOL!

Claire EJ said...

Our loo has a magazine rack in their to relieve the boredom and give something to think about while you hang around. There's cross stitch on one wall and a couple of my favourite pictures in there...ever get the feeling I spend quite a bit of time in there? LOL...

Karen R said...

We don't have bathrooms in our house; we have libraries equipped with showers :)

Claire EJ said...

I counted the pictures in the smallest room earlier, it's up to six and one Venetian mask...don't think I can realistically fit any more in there....

Melissa Hicks said...

I have two pieces hanging up in the toilet ....

One of my previous houses had a built in bookcase in the toilet. It was actually recessed into the wall - large too.

The toilet is a different room to the bathroom in both this house and my current abode :) :)

Claire EJ said...

Ours is separate to the bathroom. Nothing stitched in the actual bathroom, just a typical Greek scene with white buildings and red flowers.
A bookcase in the toilet, marvellous:)

Mariann Mäder said...

I couldn't even put ONE picture up - both my bathrooms are fully tiled - don't want to use glue of any sort :-(

Melissa Hicks said...

Toilet has tiles on floor and paint on walls. Bathroom has tiles on floor and up to about waist height on walls .... Everything about that is just paint ....

Paula Hubert said...

Ours are both "sort of" separate rooms - there's an odd little dividing wall that comes out from each of the side wall with an open doorway between the "main" part of the bathroom and the toilet. (You have to walk through the bathroom to get to the toilet.) Not sure if that was the "style" in the late 50s when our house was built or what. {shrug}. But both rooms are tiled about halfway up and need desperately to be repainted... think Pepto Bismol pink downstairs and In Your Face Aqua upstairs... but the pale yellow tile upstairs is lovely.

Melissa Hicks said...

That's against the Geneva convention - imagine seeing that as you wake up at 4:30am and stumble out of bed - its enough to scar you for life ....

Mariann Mäder said...

Fully in agreement with Mel! Something like THAT kind of pink ought to be banned from ANY part of the bathroom, LOL!

Mariann Mäder said...

Gorgeous frame, Mel!

Melissa Hicks said...

Thanks Mariann - but I can take absolutely no credit. I just let my great framer have her way! She had been thinking about this piece quite a bit while we were getting others framed so I said - go for it. As long as its in my price range I'll agree - I trust you !!! She had tears in her eyes!

Looks darker than that on the wall - it will look fab above my bed when I get the right covers back on the bed - its cool enough now to drag out the doona. Might set the bedroom up and take a pic of the room so you can see how it will suit - or not ....

Trish Froggatt said...

Stunning Mel! It's absolutely gorgeous - congrats on getting another piece framed. I hate to think of the ones I have done that are languishing in the bin not framed.

Nancy Murdock said...

I love it! Love the dark rich colors! I am a sucker for the little wooden inserts by the mats, (I know they have a name, just can't think of it now- filligerette or something like that) I have my wedding sampler framed with one of those and its my favorite! Congrats on getting it finished and on the wall. Will look forward to seeing the bedroom photo!

Shawn Medrano said...

It look wonderful Mel!!!! She did a great job with the frame. Beautiful job on the stitching as well!!!

Karen R said...

WOW - that looks fabulous, and if this is a bad picture, WOW again!! LOVE the inner fillet - I can't afford to do that here, but it is a gorgeous treatment! I love just that hint of color peeking out from under the wide black mat! Well done, both of you!!

Claire EJ said...

Wonderful framing....she's got such a good eye to set stuff off with...lovely!

Melissa Hicks said...

Actually the mat is dark grey - she wanted to focus on the blackness of the fabric so she deliberately chose a mat that was a few shades lighter .....

As usual it looks fabulous on the wall and I can't capture that with the camera ....

Anita B said...

Wow, how lovely!! Both the stitching and the framing are beautifully done!

Sisu Lull said...

Gorgeous Mel! I love what she did with the piece!

Jennifer Wall said...

I love it Mel, very nice frame, and stitching is beautiful

Melissa Hicks said...

Thanks everyone - I feel so lucky in the framer I have found ;) :)

Michele Anderson said...

Oh this is wonderfully done! What a beautiful heirloom!

Patty Smith said...

very nice WTG love the frame.

Tim T said...

Excellent work !!

Nancy Murdock said...

Thanks Karen, thats the word for it!!! I was close... LOL

Terri England said...

This is fantastic. The frame is perfect.

kay jones said...

What a super job she made of it. It looks perfect

Paula Hubert said...

Wonderful framing - I can only imagine how much better it looks in person!

Melissa Hicks said...

Come for a visit then :) :)

Dee Erickson said...

Wonderful collaborative effort!!!! This is gorgeous!

Milly Dunaway said...

Wow that is awesome. I just got this chart and hope to get to it this year.

Lori M. said...

Wow Mel! Fire Flower looks really great framed! Congrats!

Laura Landis said...

Wow, it came out fabulous!! Congrats again!!

Keti Tabidze said...

You have very nice works, and very nicely decorated too.

Debbie Lord said...

Lovely Mel & I can relate the sentiments to both as well.

Claire EJ said...

That's sweet. love the font:)

Karen R said...

That's a very cute design! Lovely finish!

Terri England said...

I really like this Mel. It is so wonderful and would look great in my room.

Terri England said...

I really like this Mel. It is so wonderful and would look great in my room.

Sisu Lull said...

That is pretty. Sweet and serene, lovely in it's simplicity. You did a great job Mel!

Laura Landis said...

I love this, Mel! Now I'll have to add this to my Lust List!!

Mariann Mäder said...

Turned out well after the frogs left :-) Bravo for finishing!

Shawn Medrano said...

Very cute finish Mel!!

Nancy Murdock said...

Simple but elegant! Nice job even if the frogs came a visiting!!

Lori M. said...

Cute finish Mel! I love all of the bubbles in this design. I'm glad you were finally able to chase away all of those blasted frogs.

Paula Hubert said...

Another nice finish, Mel! I can safely say that this one does *not* belong in my office - I'd probably take it as permission and my productivity would hit zero! :)

Katie Gengnagel said...

Very nice! Congrats on the adorable finish.

Jacquelyn Distenfeld said...

Lovely!

Milly Dunaway said...

Love this piece. Monique has such great designs.

Rachel Cox said...

That is amazing!!! Fantastic! I love it. - what I am trying to say is WOW!!

Melissa Hicks said...

That was quite a simple piece to stitch Rach. The designer was very very clever with her use of so few colours to achieve such a depth of design.

Claire EJ said...

Not as subversive as some, but stil cute!

Claire EJ said...

Framing and matting go perfectly with the piece! Perfect for Denise:)

kay jones said...

Framing is perfect

Lori M. said...

This looks amazing Mel, and the framing suits it perfectly! Congrats on the finish!

Lori M. said...

Great finish Mel!

Milly Dunaway said...

LOL...how cute!

Milly Dunaway said...

Wow she is very regal indeed.

Jacquelyn Distenfeld said...

The framing just adds the right touch to your work.

Nancy Murdock said...

Great framing, love the pattern in the wood!

Nancy Murdock said...

Ah, a set??? Any more to come?

Melissa Hicks said...

yup another three in this set.

And then there are instruction on how to make your own ...... I just need to source the Aida doilies ....

Linda T said...

Wow! Looks great!

Linda T said...

Funny!

Fatema Y. said...

Its lovely..

Terri England said...

Looks great

Milly Dunaway said...

This is really cute. Wish I had the figure to go in that red dress. LOL!

Melissa Hicks said...

Thanks Milly - me too !!!!

Sisu Lull said...

Very Cute Mel!

Joyce Hayden said...

This is so cute. I could see this on the wall just next to the closet. As inspiration.

Melissa Hicks said...

No but I do remember Lady in Red by Chris de Burgh ...

Will watch the YouTube tonight when I get home - no speakers at work {sigh}

Melissa Hicks said...

Well I don't know about the inspiration, but this is definitely being hung in my bedroom :)

Paula Hubert said...

I really like how this stitched up - great job!

Lyne-Elizabeth Blodgett said...

I love it! Hang I hang it on my fridge to keep me from going in so that I have a figure like this??

Claire EJ said...

Lovely....wonder how ANYONE could fit thighs into this one....lovely finish.

Shawn Medrano said...

That's a cute finish!!

Karen R said...

Such a great piece!!! I can't wait to see the set hanging up :)

Melissa Hicks said...

Well the thighs I could see - but could you imagine walking in it? It seems to be the skinniest around the knees ....

Melissa Hicks said...

Black Beauty has turned into my nemesis ..... and has been flung into a corner until I finish sulking.

Karen R said...

You just need to stand up to it like you did those punks on the train - tell it in no uncertain terms that you will not STAND for any more frogs!

Melissa Hicks said...

When I restarted Black Beauty from scratch I bought a whole new skein of GAST Black Crow.
I unfortunately left the remains of the previous skein in there.

I've now got as much done the second time as I did the first time and the two skeins are the same size. Unfortunately the new skein in more subdued than the older skein, but I cannot tell until I have stitched a few lines .... and I keep finding this out on the train and I don't want to remove the wrong skein on the train and lose it ....

So I think I've stitched the last inch of her skirt at least three times .....

Frishawn Rasheed said...

LMAO I gotta get a set of these!

Melissa Hicks said...

Frishawn, These were a limited edition set put out by Subversive Cross Stitch for Valentine's Day 2008. The pattern is quite simple with words and simple motifs - so you could design something similar for personal use ....

Claire EJ said...

Lovely! How many strands did you use? It's such a textural piece.

Melissa Hicks said...

Standard 2 over 2 DMC on 28ct linen.

Claire EJ said...

Looks more like a 3 over 2 with the depth..like it.

Karen R said...

Wonderful - so much expression in so few colors!

Melissa Hicks said...

Thanks Karen and everyone. There are only four shades of colour in this. Less than a skein each.

Melissa Hicks said...

I finished his face and ears while watching Snakes on a Plane last night :)

I nipped out at lunchtime today to pick up another skein of DMC920 to finish off the copper bit on the right bottom of the headdress.

Traffic, trams, parking lots were full, people everywhere, queues for checkouts, and then battling it all back home. A half hour trip took me two hours ....

I got home and started stitching and discovered that I had brought home DMC919 instead !!!!!

I did all the backstitching and then went and raided my stash. After all of that I found I already had a skein of DMC920 anyway !!!

So 10 minutes later he was finished. He is now washed, ironed and ready to take to the framers .....

Nancy Murdock said...

That's quite the experience for just needing to finish one area! I am sure your mom will love this new addition to her collection.

Stephanie Flynn said...

Looks awesome. Sure you mom will love it!

Melissa Hicks said...

Thanks Stephanie! I hope she will. Now to find a framer on Friday :)

Karen R said...

Okay - where was I when you posted this finish??? WooHoo! Fantastic - and well worth the skein hassle, I think :)

Melissa Hicks said...

Busy stitching?

Claire EJ said...

I always thought they were sheep?! LOL

Melissa Hicks said...

Yes he wanted a people are sheep - but I couldn't find that already charted!

Hilary Syddall said...

Why complaints? It seems fairly accurate to me! (Have you seen some bars on a Saturday night *shudder*)

Paula Hubert said...

Great finish, Mel! I really like this now that the other colors are all added in! :)

Karen R said...

WooHoo - you got it done!! Well done!!

Sisu Lull said...

Looks better now that it is finished. It is a really unique design. Weird-fun.

Melissa Hicks said...

Definitely a surreal piece. Especially up close where you can see the top leg of each stitch is a completely different colour from the bottom leg of each stitch. In all the colours the medium was used for the lower legs, with the light and darks used alternately for the top legs - very weird design/ Goddess knows how I'm going to frame it ...

Claire EJ said...

Cool finish!

Is it purely abstract?

Laura Landis said...

I remember this one! I LOVE that you've stitched it~!!

Melissa Hicks said...

I believe so. I've not seen anything to make me think otherwise...

Claire EJ said...

I wondered because I really can't seem to focus on it enough to see anything else in it LOL.
Super weird design.

Shawn Medrano said...

Good luck getting it to her....it looks great though!!!

Claire EJ said...

This will be adored.
It's stunning!

Claire EJ said...

He does look super framed up!

Terri England said...

Looks great Mel

Terri England said...

Looks fantastic

Karen R said...

That is so cute!!!!

Terri England said...

This is great

Claire EJ said...

Very sweet piece. Love the eyelet border.

Rachel Cox said...

No wonder you are pleased! COOLC

Nancy Murdock said...

Very cute.

Nancy Murdock said...

Great framing choice!

Melissa Hicks said...

Thank you :) I chose it all myself over the objections of the framer :) He wanted something lighter and warmer ... and less ostentatious .....

Lori M. said...

Adorable! I do really like the thread that was used in the border.

Lyne-Elizabeth Blodgett said...

Cute Mel and so glad you got something done for yourself.

Lyne-Elizabeth Blodgett said...

Great job picking something you know the recipient would love...no matter what the framer said!

Melissa Hicks said...

All stitching is done in JAR threads:

Wording: Mystical Midnight Dark
Border: Christmas Cheer

Milly Dunaway said...

You did a great job with it. Very cute.

Milly Dunaway said...

That's cute. Nice job.

Laura Landis said...

How cute! I can just hear my ds asking this one, too!!

Claire EJ said...

*shifty eyes" indeed.....Meow!

[cackles with happiness]

Melissa Hicks said...

Yes dear! Merry Christmas !!!!

I'm glad you like your present :)

Claire EJ said...

I do, very much!
It's on the wall and looks super there. I'll probably be swapping it out again after Christmas but in the mean time, it looks super up there.
I will take a photo later on.

Claire EJ said...

MeowyC has found a very good home indeed.
I'll look fwd to this one turning up here in a couple of years [evil grin].

Looks super framed up:)
The new framer is great.

Melissa Hicks said...

I'll add it to the list :)

Melissa Hicks said...

In that case I'm VERY glad you opened it now :)

Paula Hubert said...

Great job, Mel! I really like the framing job on this one!

Karen R said...

Yeah, that came out as gorgeous as the others!!

Melissa Hicks said...

And here's the framed version before I wrap it :)

Hilary Syddall said...

Looks even better all finished off - so who is this one going to again? Or are you keeping it now?

Mariann Mäder said...

Looks good :-) I'm sure he'll love it!

Melissa Hicks said...

This is for Mr Bears so that's why it is in a closed group. So he can't see the pictures :)

Karen R said...

Perfect - and true :)

Melissa Hicks said...

Yeah I got a frame that looked extremely professional - black with a silver inner trim - the sort you see used for certificate framing :)

Melissa Hicks said...

And present number 5 was stitched this afternoon while watching cricket - in between texting with the recipient all afternoon.

Mariann Mäder said...

He he!

Melissa Hicks said...

And absolutely true :)

Karen R said...

:)

Melissa Hicks said...

Good grief Karen - I've never seen you so succinct! You OK?

Paula Hubert said...

Heh - great finish, Mel! :) I have mornings where this would be SO appropriate!

Paula Hubert said...

Another great gift!!

Paula Hubert said...

I know I'd commented before - but I'll tell you again that this came out really well! Congrats on the finish!

Jennie Stuart said...

So love this one!

Laura Landis said...

Very pretty!

Mariann Mäder said...

This naturally looks more "orderly" - but I do like the first version, simply for its randomness from the thread :-)

Well done on both of them, sweetie!

Janine Smith said...

Mel came to the shop tonight. The 2 versions are lovely but I think I am in love with Aventail two. She also bought all her other finishes along for another show and tell and I can tell you that the fair I am attending the end of July will have some wonderful new models. I love seeing Mel's stitching.

Fatema Y. said...

Congrats on both your finishes,but I liked the 2nd one better.

Nancy Murdock said...

Not sure which I prefer, they both look nice. I guess that's one reason I don't "play" much with my patterns.

Janine Smith said...

And I meant to show you the finished bell pull Mel. It is lovely and I think you will be pleased with it.
Janine

Melissa Hicks said...

I also left the Halloween piece at the shop by mistake too :) If you see it, can you put it somewhere safe for me?

Nancy Murdock said...

I've only done one of these myself, but they are fun to work with the different threads and they are so much faster than cross stitch! Congrats on all your finishes.

Karen R said...

Cool!!! It's so cute!

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