Dream Pillows

When the nights get longer in the fall, there is more time to spend dreaming. It’s the perfect time of year to pile extra blankets on the bed, get out those warm flannel sheets, and prepare for our winter slumbering. A tradition I enjoy in my house is sewing dream pillows for everyone in the family to slip inside their pillowcase, filled with fragrant herbs to promote restful sleep and peaceful dreams.

For filling the pillows, I dried and saved some hop flowers from our friends’ herb farm that were left over from making garlands for the house. Hops are known for their relaxing properties and as an aid for sleep, plus they smell delightful.

I had a blend of dried lavender and mugwort saved in a jar from the last time I made dream pillows. Lavender is a helpful herb for relaxation and is useful in treating insomnia. Mugwort is also a relaxing herb that promotes more vivid dreaming.

This is a good way to use up scraps of fabric left over from other projects, and in my case this is usually wool, which lends itself nicely to embroidering designs. I had some funky blue yarn that I used to make moons, stars, shooting stars and a moonlit mountain scene. Everyone’s dreams are unique, after all, and so should be their dream pillows.

Dream on!