Standing nutcracker, 6

I don't care what political party you support, you have to be fed up with all of the political ads on television.  Or maybe because Florida is a "battleground" state we are getting more than our share.  Seems like 2 years since this thing began.  I'd consider changing my vote if they would say they would do no ads and give all that money to the homeless and hungry.  Show a little compassion rather than vitriol.  Sigh!

I've made great progress on Gunther in the past few days, primarily because I worked on his hair.  It's done in the long/short split stitch with black angora and I made myself stop dithering and get it done.  I must mention that when stitching with angora you shouldn't use too long a strand.  I'm the queen of long strands and I had one just part into two pieces.  Then I moved on to his mustache.  I debated doing a padded stitch, but I'm a French knotter par excellence and I couldn't resist the angora with a double twist.  

I lightened this photo to try to let you see the texture of the long/short in Gunther's hair.  It looks real.  I am considering bunka brushing it to make it a smidge fuzzier, but will think about it a little longer.  

I finished Gunther's teeth, using slanted gobelin and changing its direction on the bottom half of "the mouth".

Just had a scare--my screen disappeared and a message appeared that I was trying to log in from somewhere else.  Perhaps my out-of-body experience for the day?  Thank goodness I hadn't lost my post.

I started his sash in the Diagonal Triple Parisian.  It looks so smooth and satiny.  Just the right effect, not to mention it's another fast stitch.    I'm hoping that this next week will see me completing enough to move the canvas to the bottom of Gunther's body.   Time will tell.