I got the idea, just as I was sewing the beads to the otter's forehead, to put a jewel there. Out of about 6 possible ones, I picked this one because among the brown fur and dark beads it got lost. The flashes of light is all that leads the eye to it. Instead of continuing to bead elsewhere on the piece until evening when I could let the glue dry overnight,  I had to see how the gem looked in place. Naturally the glue needed the rest of the day to dry properly. What to do. It was raining. I had finished writing the haiku and boxed the tanzaku for the Mendocino Music Festival - there was nothing to do!

Then my eye fell on the leftovers box with the giraffe that I had started and then ripped apart. It was lying next to the spool of sequins. I had wanted to put the sequins on the giraffe. Then I realized (actually heard a voice in my head suggesting it) that I could bead brown picots around the randomly placed sequins to make giraffe-skin patterns. I don't know how successful that is, but I do love the combination of beads and sequins. The patterning, because it is not really like giraffe skin, could be used on other works. I have often felt the sequins were 'too hard," "too solid" but this technique softens the surface and looks very rich. I had stopped using the sequins, but now I feel I can find many new combinations for them. I hope I remember to do a fish next. Silver or gold? With which color of beads? This is what keeps me beading.