Vintage Crewel Kit: Squirrel 8

Wow. This guy has really beefed up. When he was just blue ink on linen, he didn't look like such a porker. Once again, I refused to follow the directions, and instead of filling in his body with stem stitches (?), opted for the ol' long and short stitch:

It's been proven in the past, that without directional lines, all hell breaks loose. So I sketched some in with pencil:

After looking at the box again, I decided not to follow all of my markings. Don't be afraid to draw (and redraw) on crewel. It's covered with yarn, so what's the dif? No harm done.

Once the rust was filled in, the chocolate brown was back in action. Unfortunately, some of the base fabric was showing through the yarn on his fat little body.

After these bald spots were plugged (very discreetly), he needed some outlines. Specifically, his forearm and hand, his back, and his drumstick and toes. The stem stitch, of course:

Oh. My. Goodness. He's really almost there. Only the head left. I can't wait to finish this jerk and never look at him again. I mean, put him in safe keeping until his company is desired.