G[r]eek Alphabet : O is for Odin

Odin is one of only 3 characters from northern or Norse mythology in the alphabet. He's quite simple with not a lot in the design to signify who he is. A friend of mine who is Asian and not UK born saw it and thought it was Jesus because of the beard which amused me. I have debated adding a raven but I really like the background fabric I chose and it's a tough one to sew through being a fake kind of leather thing.

I have a couple of photos but I think I will just share the final product because there isn't much to see in the others that's much different.

My main craft choice was that because the backing fabric is so tough, I would do as much sewing as I could before I attached the design to it. This meant I sewed Odin's beard and hair to his face and sewed his face to the O before I attached it to the base fabric. This is, as you have seen, mostly not how I do things.

At one stage I was going to make Odin's hair fill the inside of the O but I changed my mind. I kind of like it better this way.

A last minute decision that may not be so visible on camera is that having made Odin slightly bumpy I decided to fill him out a bit and make his face 3D. It's fun little detail when you look at it with your eye and fingers.

Mythology spot

Why then, does Odin only have one eye you ask? Funny you should ask that, well Odin gave up his eye in exchange for the chance to gain wisdom by drinking from a well beneath Yggdrasil, the world tree.

For a fuller description see Norse Mythology - Why Odin is One-Eyed - not a bad site considering I found it by just googling right now. It cites primary sources, even if it doesn't link to online translations of those primary sources. Props though to Dan McCoy for a very scholarly site.

This little corner is something I may well go back and retroactively add to other posts!