Anyone struggle with Satin Stitch?

I used to be able to do Colonial knots (though we called them French Knots - I'll have to find out the difference sometime) with the best of them as a kid. My mother taught me "Candlewicking" as a child and a few extra embroidery stitches thrown in there for good measure, but one I've never mastered is Satin Stitch. It's a stitch that is technically simple, and yet pretty easy for you to mess up.

When I made my daughter a Bit Of Whimsy Dolls Squid, I simply left off the eyes and mouth. She's an infant and it didn't matter. My son requested eyes and no mouth. I don't know why, lol, but I obliged. And while I gave it my best attempt, "Squidly's" eyes are um...interesting at best!

Fast forward to today. I decided i really need to make a little something for my best friend's little ones for Christmas, and I really wanted to make Bit of Whimsy Dolls....but I was scared of messing up the eyes. I don't like getting something wrong and quite often if I do badly enough at the first attempt, I never attempt it again, or at least not for a few years. Sad, but true. But I need to get over this. Not everything is perfect the first time you do it, and practicing is good.

So I decided it was time to find a tutorial! And I found a beaut! Here we go:

http://www.sublimestitching.com/satinstitch.html

Needless to say, with a few tips from her I feel much happier about attempting some more eyes! Thank you Jenny Hart!