This n that

First, Sara sent me a much better picture of Otto.....which she loves!  The look on her face when she opened her eyes (I had her close her eyes and hold her hands out and then set him between them) was speechless!  She really likes him and plans on hanging him in her office.

Next, I wanted to share:

This Charley Harper design was a present from DH for Christmas.....He is going to be part of a set of three that I plan to stitch for the four season room.  He is a lot smaller than Brrdd Bath, but will go nicely in the trio.


Then, a couple of presents I bought myself this last week:

Aren't they fantastic?!  These are both by Orna Willis and they are in her Etsy store!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Ornaw?ref=seller_info    
The needle case design comes with a button threads, fabric and all.  The Needle Art kit comes in several colors and of course, I wanted blue so she made one up for me and posted it to the store and....magic....it showed up so very quickly!  Thanks Orna!

Otto framed

Otto is framed!  The true color of the frame is depicted on the lower right.  The sun was shining and this is the best shot I could get!  The mat matches the darkest wine color in the mountains and the design on the frame reflects the mountain angles.  I will try again to get a better shot, but he is ready for his road trip!

Just by the hair....

Well, folks, I am finished!  I have certainly had such fun reading all of your comments and talking and flirting with all of you--as appropriate, of course!  My chin hairs were finished with two strands of black Splendor in buillion knots.  Then my top eyelash was stitched on with another single strand of black thread.....oh, all right, it is a fake one....did you really think she could stitch something like that??  Last, the three bells are attached and knotted on by black Ultrasuede.  I think I am just as dapper a Suffolk sheep that hit town.  Thanks for coming along during the creation and for all the great comments.  See you after I am framed for an encore!

A full coat

Now that Otto is fully coated, he is much happier and a lot warmer since the temperatures are down in the twenties here in the mountains.  He was also a tad upset this morning during the snow flurries, but they have subsided and with his full coat he has returned to his happy disposition.  The last of the mountains under his chin are also completed and there are just a few odds and ends to finish up.  Anne asked about the background.  In her piece Ms. Portra did a four way continental in a matching DMC floss.  I am choosing not to do that on this piece.  I will finish this piece tomorrow night!

A long neck

Otto has a long neck and I worked more knots along his neck and down the fur to the bottom of the design.  All I have left is to complete one small area and hope that I don't run out of fiber!  I hope to get this last bit of fur done tomorrow....fiber permitting!

So it grows

Otto's coat is growing, maybe not by leaps and bounds, but by inches every day.  I have continued the two different color strands down the left side for more shading under his ear and close to his neck while staying with
the solid off white on the outside edge.  I also think his wool would be dirty close to his head but not so much further back on his body.  Either way, I like it.

Adding on

I finished out to the top right corner, rounded the ear and moved down the back of his head.  In so doing, I added in some of the darker color along the neck and then used a strand of light and dark under the ear closest to his neck.  I think he needs some shading in here and will shade some here and there all the way down.

Out to one edge

I worked on the top right area tonight and got out to one edge--see, up in the very corner-- and
also shaded ones around the ear.  I am glad so many of you like Otto as he is quite the character.   Thanks for
all the comments and emails about him!  Adding the "wool" adds to his charm I think and I am going as fast as I can!  I will look for the turbo needles tomorrow!  As you can see I still have a ways to go and some finishing touches, so thanks for the encouragement too!

A change of plans

Allright, I can hear you laughing since I change things a lot, but I did it again!  I did not like the wool and it did not brush up very much doing the irregular gobelin stitches.  So, I changed to Alpaca and used two strands and am doing Colonial knots.  I know....more knots, but I think it looks more better......more better....where did that come from??  I think it looks more like sheep's wool and I am also using two colors.....time for me to take a typing break!

Little progress

Sorry there is no photo tonight.  I finished the mountains at the bottom of the canvas and started doing the Interlocking split stitch.  I did not like it.  I pulled it all out.  Better luck on that tomorrow.  In the meantime, Judy has asked me who the artist was on this.    Suffolk sheep was an original art piece painted by Beth Van Hoesen and this canvas interpretation was done  by Doris Gustafson.  Otto was stitched by Susan Portra and written up in 1991, and I saw the canvas on eBay and bid on it.

I can hear you

Yes, Otto is listening to what is going on!  His ear is finished.  I started by padding horizontally and diagonally and did four layers of padded stitches.  I then came back and laid six strands of floss over the gray area.  I then did basketweave with six strands of black for the bottom section of his ear.  Next I put in a few more rows of muntains under his chin and in the corner.  I realized that I should go ahead and finish Otto and take him to his new home at Christmas, so I will work on him until he is finished, which should not take too long!

The last French knot!

It is true!  The holiday is over, the shopping is done, and I took my niece to the airport.  So I sat down and started the rest of the French knots on Otto's neck......and much to my delight I finished them!  Yippee...Woohoo...Happy dancing....and all that jazz!  What an amazing number of knots, but so effective for texture on a sheep.  Otto is very pleased with himself and is waiting patiently for me to do his ear so he can better hear what is going on!  I started by laying in the first of padding stitches.

Will you look at that neck?

I made significant progress on filling in Otto's neck!  I can see the light at the end of the French Knot tunnel!  Yippee!  And, there was no chuckling tonight....just a great deal of patience on his part!  In an earlier post, I was asked how I do the French knots on canvas.  I am using six strands of DMC floss and I wrap the needle twice after coming up in an empty hole.  I then go down into an adjacent hole over at least one canvas thread or intersection.  Hope that helps!

So for Thursday....

Yes, it is Otto!  Otto has the Thursday slot and he is not minding a bit.  I was working on the French knots on his neck again tonight, trying to complete these pretty soon.  And, then he just chuckled!  I guess he is ticklish under his chin.....

Knot again

I started off again with the six strands of DMC 413 and did knot after knot under his ear and at his jaw line....it really is starting to fill in.  Even DH said "the goat is filling in"....what does he know?.  Then I worked on the diagonal stittches again using the DMC #5 Varitions in 4140.  When Susan Portra did this piece she states that the denseness of all the French knots called out for the open background which are supposed to look like mountains off in the distance.  I like how it looks and that the entire background does not have to be stitched.  More on that later!

Some neck

I filled in more French knots under his ear and then moved over under his mouth and filled in lots more there.  I also put in the diagonal stitches above his head to the right as well as another row above his nose.  One can only do just so many French knots before striking out to do a little something else, right?

Knot some more

It is time to get Otto back into the rotation as well.  I worked six strand French knots under his ear tonite and then a few down by his chin.  I want to try and get this done for a Christmas present, so I need to get crackin' on this guy!  The rest of his head and down his neck are to be all French knots.  The white needs to be stitched and a few more rows of the diagonal pattern need to be worked.....oh, and the hairs on his chinny chin chin.

No, it is not a mask

It really isn't a face mask but it is the underside of my jaw. What with all the noise, bangs, booms, and swooshes I heard tonight, I am surprised there is that much of it! This is all done with six strands of the darkest grey and will be for all of the rest of my jaw and neckline. Kind of boring I know, but that is what I really look like. So I hope you all had burgers or hotdogs or watermelon or what ever you do to celebrate. See ya next week!

I see you

Hi, gang, I'm back! And, now I can see you My eye is all stitched and she decided not to add the eyelashes that were on the canvas. I don't mind as I thought they were kind of prissy, you know? Then, all of the over my ear is covered and that made me feel a lot better too. Last but not least, you can see my masculine jawline is evolving. So, here's looking at you, kid! (I heard someone famous said that a long time ago.....am I dating myself? LOL, I mean Baa!)

Warming up

Hi, everyone! It's me....Otto! I have been sitting quietly by while all this needle stabbing and poking has been going on. I know a lot of you think I am really cute...I saw your notes....and Thanks! I needed to hear that. We sheep are very sensitive you know? Anyway, I finally got some wool back on the top of my head--all of that area above my ear! I should be able to keep some of that body heat in now while I gaze at some of those mountains over there. I will be back next week to see what happens then!