A Honey of a Memory Pillow

Honey-n-me

I have had many special pets in my life, but there is one that remains the most special of them all: a palomino Shetland pony named Honeysuckle Rose -- Honey, for short.

She was just six months old and no bigger than a German Shepherd when we packed her into the back seat of our car to bring her home. Oh, how I loved that pony! I was 11, and I spent so many hours out in the backyard grooming her and talking to her and loving her.

At the time we were living on Willie Rd. in Folsom, Louisiana, which is not known for its cold weather. But all the thoroughbred horses that lived on the farms in the area always sported blankets whenever the temps dropped below freezing, so I thought Honey should have a blanket, too. But where to find a blanket for such a small pony?!

a picture of me with my Christmas
loot (including Honey's blanket),
circa 1982

Enter my seamstress mother who is a genius at solving problems with fabric. When she was a teen active in 4-H, she had once made a blanket for her cow -- a blanket the cow couldn't shake. So she made one similar for Honey and gave it to me for Christmas.

I put it on Honey right away! And have this oh so distinct memory of a photograph of the two of us that day, on the back patio, Honey sporting her new blanket, and me patting her head. But. Maybe that photo doesn't actually exist, because I haven't been able to find it anywhere!

Fast-forward 35 years... I found the blanket in a box of keepsakes. My mom was shocked to learn I'd kept it all these years! On our scrapbook weekend, I brought it to my mom with a pillow form and a request: make this into a pillow. And  this is what she did:

Isn't it gorgeous! She used the red plaid lining as piping, and kept one of the straps operational! (I told you, she's a genius.) And here's what she monogrammed on the backside:

What a treasure! Thank you, Mama. Here a couple of other Honey-n-me pics, just for fun: