My soothing journey began innocently enough 10 years ago: My sister took me shopping for fabric for a quilt for my third baby, Ty. We sat on the floor in my family room and she taught me how to quilt by hand. We made the quilt, by hand and with love. The outcome was an incredibly soft blanket, and I found that the scent of home on the blanket really soothed Ty more than any other comfort items.

My older children became jealous, of course. I came up with lovey pillows, so that the kids could have a pillow as a comfort item. The pillow cases are fashioned from my grandmother's favorite pillow sham style. It creates a silky secret pocket, which I love, and comes off easily to wash. Then the cats found out: so lovey pet beds and the landing strip entered my home. As my grandparents entered hospice and my friend went through chemo and surgery, I began to have other new ideas to help soothe.

Each lovey is made just like the first one, by hand and with love. The fabric's softness appeals to the entire cycle of life. Birth, life, aging...even when the senses of hearing and sight go, the sense of touch is still so important.

The bottom line is that my Lovies really help to comfort people and pets. Of all ages.

My thoughts about minky: Any comfort items that we love have to hold up to life. The major attraction is the durability and softness. Minky can be washed for years and still fluff up.

For any item that will be used in an institution or place other than home, I happily install a label with the Lovey owners name free of charge.

For years now, a portion of purchases in my shop go toward a donation of a lovey to someone in need.