Check out my new assistant . . .

I realized that I haven't been giving enough credit for my work to my assistant, Doyle, who's been helping me in the studio for some time now.  He's responsible for a great many of the details that make up my creative process, especially when I'm sewing and pressing (a typical routine consists of stitching the pieces, stepping over Doyle to get to the ironing board, pressing the seams, stepping over Doyle to get to the design wall, and so forth). But his salary is very reasonable -- he works for cheese snacks and a few scratches behind his ear -- and he often cleans up the threads on the floor( by trying to ingest them).  All in all, I'd say it's a great partnership -- I even get fringe benefits, such as a wet nose in my ear and slobbering licks from time to time.