Hugs and Kisses for Reilly

This is my second journal quilt, still in the works. I decided to try free piecing X's and O's, and I had wanted to do a journal quilt about my studio dog Reilly. The dog image is cut from a Laurel Burch print. There's a smaller dog in the print that I think looks a little more like Reilly, who is a Miniature Poodle-Terrier mix, but it was too small for the composition. The fabric had actually been laying around for a couple of weeks (but had been in my stash much longer!). I knew I wanted to use it somehow, it just took a while to figure out how!

In this pic I have begun embellishing the bottom O. (Click on the image to get a REALLY LARGE close-up.) Since the picture was taken I have completed that beading. Now I have to figure out how I'm going to embellish "Reilly" to make him stand out visually as much as the letters do. I have some eyelash yarn I'm thinking of using. Beyond that I have no idea. I may also decide to try to beef up the beading on the X's. They seem a little wimpy compared to the O's. On the other hand, this is just a journal quilt and a learning experience. It might be better for me to leave them as is and learn from the experience!

Reilly is a lot rounder than Larel Burch's dog. He gets a pet or puppy Poodle trim every 6-8 weeks so his coat is short and curly. (And he's gray, not purple-blue.) We've let his ear hair grow long; it's mostly straight but waves at the ends. His tail is his greatest feature in my opinion. When he's happy or on full alert he holds it straight up and it sort of curls over his back. But the hair on his tail is looong and waves like a flag when his tail is moving. I love it! I'll have to try to get a picture of him in all his glory :- )

I'm having a real hard time getting anything done today. I felt great on Saturday, and accomplished a lot. Felt fine again yesterday but it was a quiet Sabbath day with no sewing. Today I just seem to have no energy at all. Developed a headache early this morning but it hasn't become serious (thank goodness). Can't decide whether this is diet induced or if putting out the trash this morning exposed me to something in the air that I wasn't aware of. The worst part of this condition is that I often can't even detect the toxins that make me ill. What's really weird is that, for me, chemical exposures can cause emotional depression, not just physical reactions. Sewing is usually a good antidote but I have to pick up that needle and thread first! Or have something ready to work on, something that doesn't require any thought or creative energy. It may be time to go piece some scraps together...