First a big thank you to ever one for the kind words. I'm getting toward the end of so here are a few photos.
First thing, I need to do was refine my shape and the sand, sand, and sand some more.
Here is the final shape after sanding
Next came a big decision, leave her smooth or rusticate. I'm partial to blast and rusticated pipes, but I wanted to do something that left me with a lot of control. I decided to use a small gouge 2mm no. 9 sweep to do a sort of smooth tree bark pattern on the sides and stem leaving the front and top smooth.
After this I need to stain her and do a little tweaking on the stem, then some more polishing and wax. The home stretch is in sight.