About eight years ago I found the most deliciously soft comforter cover in the entire world. It was the color of farm fresh cream; the softest, thickest, warmest cotton imaginable, and it was chenille; not that awful, shiny chenille that feels like something you would insulate your attic with, the lovely, old fashioned, grandma kind. The type of chenille that you want to lie on for hours, gently pulling out the short pieces of cotton when your mom isn’t looking, then wondering how to cover up the little holes that were left behind.
That type of chenille. You know the one I mean. And then we got a dog. A dog who was never technically allowed on my bed, but would sneak up in the middle of the night when he knew I was asleep (or too tired to yell at him). He wouldn’t move, and he decided that if he avoided eye contact in the morning I wouldn’t see him (kind of like when I take the garbage out in my nightie at 6am not wearing my glasses – if I can’t see properly then I am sure that my neighbor driving by can’t see me in all my disheveled glory).
So, eventually the dog and I stopped pretending, and he began to sleep on the bed while I was working in my office. And, he would lick the comforter (not so strange, because he also licks the polyurethane off the floors). After a while, I noticed a bare patch where the chenille used to be, but I didn’t actually twig as to what was happening; I just moved the chenille around, and assumed the washer and dryer had eaten the cotton. Unfortunately, about a year later, I had four giant, empty patches on my comforter where the dog had licked off the chenille, and it had gone from being the most beautiful thing in my bedroom to something extremely sad.
Because I loved it so, I kept it for another year, but the licking continued, and after several failed attempts to throw it away, I finally put on my big girl pants and put it in the garbage bin. I looked for ages, but I couldn’t find another one like it (well, I did see one on Ebay for sale, but it was in Australia and the cost was almost as much as an airplane ticket) so I made do with a cheapie that was dog-proof, kind of okay, and sort of went with the color of my room.
But it wasn’t cotton – it felt unnaturally smooth, almost unpleasant to the touch, and cold all the time. I have no idea what it was made of, but the dog sure as heck wasn’t interested in licking it.
Then, this last weekend, a friend was doing a Spring clean, and asked if I needed a comforter set. A bit adverse to comforter sets (visions of 90’s polyester bed-in-a-bag still haunt me) I was prepared to not like it. And then she showed me the color and pattern; it was simply beautiful, but completely wrong for my small bedroom with the dark brown walls, so I said no thank you.
A short while late I was showing my daughter, and we decided to open the package and pull the comforter set out. Inside was the softest, coziest cotton that I had felt in a long time. On the spot, I decided to take the gift, change my bedroom around, and repaint the walls to match my new comforter …
p.s. We rescued Toby about five years ago; he is a German Shepherd mix, and loves cuddles, country music and chenille.
For more by Wendy and the Blue Giraffe, go to: http://www.thebluegiraffe.com/