As quilters, dreams about quilts are common place. However, my quilt dreams are usually about fabric, design, color, shopping trips, a grand new studio and sunbonnet Sue’s dancing in my head. (Not a Sugar Plum Faire.)

This morning, at 0445, the Husky wanted out. Bleary-eyed, I hobbled down the stairs realizing why I liked the cats. They let me sleep through the night. While I wait for the dog to do her thing, I have options. If I think she’ll come right back in, I’ll check my e-mail. However, she often just gets comfortable, and beds down for a couple of hours. In such cases, I may curl up under the sofa quilt and sleep a bit more myself.

Today, after a quick check of e-mail and twitter, I realized I was hungry, so prepared a bowl of instant grits and a couple of over easy eggs with a light sprinkling of salt and cayenne pepper. I was enjoying my breakfast in front of the computer, reading the quilting board, when the dog wanted to come back inside. Shortly after I finished the bowl of egg-grits, I realized I was nodding off in the chair. I staggered away to the sofa, quickly became horizontal and snuggled under the double fleece quilt, and entered slumber land, knowing that the dog was in and comfortable.

I reached the point of slumber when one is aware that they are sleeping, and somewhat conscious of their surroundings. I could hear the distant roosters crowing. Then I was dreaming. Because this was such a strange dream, when I awoke, I grabbed my glasses, a pad of paper, and a pen from the coffee table. I jotted down what I could remember, knowing that dreams fade fast.

Before I share this dream, there should be a bit of background. One) As a 4-H leader, I coach Cotton and Consumer Judging teams each Fall, and have judged at the district level. Our Junior, (seventh and eighth graders) must present a jingle or commercial about cotton in one part of their competition. The seniors prepare a public service announcement. Therefore, I hear all of the history and attributes of the plant, fiber and products. Two) One of my caving friends, nick-named Puppy, is working away from home. He makes multiple posts per day on his Face Book Page, so we can follow his journey and see the fine job he is doing on Western karst-lands. There are occasional hints of wishing he was back home in his posts. Three) I am not a fan of country music, and don’t follow the artists. Four) I once watched a television program about custom buses which become travel homes for their owners.

The details of the dream have faded now, but the skinny on the plot was that Puppy was traveling in one of the finest motor coaches, not as a conservation preserver, but a country singer. The coach was decorated similarly to his mountain home - rustic, lots of quilts, and pictures of his hound dogs. His favorite dog was his travel companion. The dream depicted Puppy singing this song about his grandmother to his dog, then on stage before a wild crowd. The melody and the words all fit together, and I imagine I was tapping my toe as I dreamed it. Now, the only thing I remember is what I scrawled in the dim, early morning light, freshly awake. I think this may have been the chorus.

No matter how far away from home I roam,
I have her quilted hugs to keep me warm,
She always quilts in cotton,
to absorb the tears I shed,
I’ll miss her when she’s gone,
but her cotton quilts will be forever,
in my rolling home.

Now, that isn’t poetry I would choose to write. However, it covers some of the basic components of a Junior 4-H commercial; example of an item which could be made, transportable, warm, absorbent, durable. Now, If only I could conjure up the music which went with the song, and the verses, I could sell it to Nashville and get enough money to buy a coordinated fat quarter bundle.

You read it here first. It will eventually become part of my Confessions series. There may be some editing, but this is how I work. Something happens, I write it down. I try to make it understandable to people who don’t know me. Then the snippets get merged into a category, or a chronology, where they await a publication.

For those of you who may be fairly new to the board, I’ve been publishing a series of articles, “Confessions of a Want-to-be Quilter”. I’ll have the next episode posted later today.

To read or re-read the story, here are the links.
episode #1 http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-89325-1.htm
episode #2 http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-91439-1.htm
episode #3 http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-93252-1.htm
episode #4 http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-95299-1.htm
episode #5 http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-97179-1.htm
episode #6 http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-99313-1.htm
Comments are welcome, they feed my motivation.

You never cease to amaze me:) I'll be watching for episode #7:)