Meep, Meep!

Happy Birthday to Jim Henson! Today would have been Henson's 85th birthday, and September 24 is observed as Jim Henson Day. My friend Janice requested I make something for today, and since it's also her birthday, I did. 

Like a lot of people my age, I grew up watching The Muppet Show and the various Muppet movies and Sesame Street. My favorite Muppet movie is The Great Muppet Caper. A colleague once told me I was funny in a Charles Grodin kind of way, and it was the best compliment I've ever received. I was also traumatized by The Dark Crystal as most children of the 80s and early 90s were. Several of my friends are huge Muppets/Henson fans, so I hope they enjoy today's piece too. 

I probably should have picked Janice, the guitar player in The Electric Mayhem since Janice requested today's piece, but Beaker is one of my favorite Muppets. I don't know if it's because he's always getting into some sort of shenanigans because of Dr. Honeydew or if it's because there's a little dark side to Beaker, but he was always a favorite. It also gave me an excuse to use the Turkey work stitch again. 

I highly recommend watching this video of Beaker singing "Smells Like Teen Spirit." 

Before the "hair cut"

Details:
Stitches: back, satin, straight stitches, French knots, Turkey work
Thread palette: DMC 437, 3845, B5200, 3854 (3 strands), 910, 3818 (2 strands), 310 (2, 3 strands), 947 (6 strands)
Reference photo: I used the photo from Beaker's Wikipedia page as a reference for my drawing.