Melissa Shirley Wild Women Marilyn

 This is Marilyn!  I stitched her using an Amy Bunger stitch guide.  I really like the false eyelashes.

Again...stuffed boobs!  So hard to do but they look good.

Melissa Shirley Wild Women Betsy Ross

 This is Betsy Ross of the Wild Women series by Melissa Shirley...I finished her in 2011 (I think).

 I like the needle and thread...

I used woven ribbon stitch for the dress.  Go Betsy!!!

Woven Ribbon stitch.

Melissa Shirley's Wild Women Brunhilde

 Here is Brunhilde...she is the first Melissa Shirley Wild Woman that I attempted to stitch.  The guide was from Fancy Stitches in Cleburne, Texas. I was a very "insecure" stitcher at the time and did not trust myself to pick the stitches.  I like her but if I were doing her over again...I would have done a few things different.

 I would have done big fabulous lips!  I would have braided her hair.  The flames on her shield would be plumper. Her boobs would have really stood out...3D!   But I do like her.  I also detest basket weaving Flair!  I would have done something else to the water.  I am posting her because I think there is always an idea to be gained from other stitcher's work...good or bad/what to do or not to do.

Melissa's Shirley Wild Woman Pandora

This is the canvas prior to stitching.  I used Amy Bunger's stitch guide and only made a few minor changes.  Let me just say...the boobs were hard to stitch.  You have to pad them with felt and then draw them out on smaller mesh canvas, stitch them and then sew them onto the padded boobs.  My husband says it looks like she is holding her boobs up...when in fact she is opening Pandora's box and letting the coils of evil out.

The above picture is where I deviated from Amy's stitch guide.  I wanted her hair to really look wild (wild woman) and so I needle felted her hair with various colors of wool.  I really liked the white because it scared her so bad when she opened the box that her hair went white! I also added some fuzzy stuff for highlights.  I found no tutorials for needle felting onto needlepoint canvas so I was scared to death.  I did make a video of how I  did it...it was surprisingly easy...maybe I will post it.

Here she is from far away...she will be joining Betsy Ross, Marilyn Monroe and Brunhilde to await my huge collage of wild women.  I got the idea for the giant collage from Daphne's Collection found on the www.melissashirley.com

Melissa Shirley's Wild Bill

 Here is Wild Bill.  I have finished him and he is off to Funda Scully with Calamity Jane for finishing.  He wasn't done here but I loved the stitch for the pink wallpaper border.  I used beads for his six shooter's handle to make it a true pearl handled gun.

 I used this stitch for his coat by the lapels and I added fringe. The stitch is from a fabulous book called Stitch In's and Out's by Little Shoppe Canvas Company, Inc.  I suggest you get this book!!!  So fabulous.

I used the buttonhole stitch for his hair.  Hair always gives me fits!  Here he is finished below.