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Have you ever made a quilt? i have. it's one of the most therapeutic and calming things i've ever done. and i had a huge sense of accomplishment when i finished.

Both of my grandmothers made quilts, my mama did, and my aunt jeannie did. i loved to open that big box at christmastime knowing it was a quilt that one of them had made. i was so flattered that after all the time and energy they had spent on that quilt, they had selected me to receive it. even as a young girl, i knew a quilt was a gift i would cherish always.

Back when i was living at home, i remember during the winter months mama would set up her sewing machine in the living room over by the window. at night when we'd all be in there watching tv after supper, mama would be over at her sewing machine, making another quilt from the scraps left over
From a dress or blouse she had made for one of us earlier.

Then, when she had sewn all the squares sewn together, she'd lay the batting on the living room floor, lay the quilted piece on top of that, and then start tacking it down. when that was completed, she'd sew the border around it. then it was finished. all that remained was for mama to decide who would be the proud recipient of her precious handiwork which represented so many hours of love.

I feel very blessed to have received one of mama's quilts. i sleep under it every night i'm home. it doesn't match the fancy comforter we bought in los angelos, but it feels better than anything you can imagine. just because i know my mama made it just for me.

When daddy's mother died in 1950, one year before my sister alice was born, mama got the trunk that held all of the quilts, china, crystal, silverware, and knickknacks that grandma had collected during her lifetime. mama discovered that grandma's trunk also included a few quilt pieces that she had started but had never finished. my sister susie eventually wound up with those quilt pieces and we all figured she would finish them out and keep them for herself.

But as only susie would do, she cut the makings of the quilt into four squares, had them quilted, put a picture of grandma mcentire and a descripion of the quilt ogether, and had them framed for alice's, my brother pake's, and my christmas present.

That's how thoughtful susie is. she could have kept the quilt for herself, but, instead, she shared with her brother and sisters something so special, which had belonged to a woman none of us had ever met. that's part of susie's charm.

That's also the charm of a quilt. like a mother, it wraps its arms around you-sosoft, yet so sturdy, and so comforting. in my grandma's time the sewing of a quilt would bring friends and neighbors together, and in quilting circles today that lovely tradition continues. now we live in a time when so many women do not even have a sewing machine in their home and when country quilts hang in the fanciest boutiques and galleries selling as "decorative art." that would sure give my grandma and her circle a good laugh and more than a few shakes of the head.

Can you just imagine the visiting, the stories, and the fellowship that have gone on during the making of all the wonderful quilts through the years? and can you imagine all the children who have been tucked in securely underneath them in their beds night after night? and us adults too?

That's what you call "comfort from a country quilt." i hope this book is as comforting to you as my mama's quilt has always been to me. like a quilt, this book is made up of small pieces of material-some of my favorite stories, memorable experiences, and more than a few opinions-written, rather than sewn, from the stuff of my life. i have stitched these pieces together with my sincere hope that you will find the "quilt" of a book friendly, warm, and enjoyable, something you can turn to for comfort and entertainment and for sharing with friends and family.

So grab your favorite quilt, wra up, get comfortable, and enjoy.
From me to you.
Love,
Reba

I left oklahoma driving in a pontiac
Just about to lose my mind
I was going to arizona maybe on to california
Where the people all live so fine

My baby said i was crazy
My moma called me lazy
I was gonna show'em all this time

Cause you know i ain't no fooling
I don't need no more school'in
I was born to just walk the line

Chorus:
Livin on tulsa time, livin on tulsa time
Well you know i've been through it
When i set my watch back to it
Livin on tulsa time

Where there i was in hollywood
Wishing i was doing good
Talking on telephone line
But they don't need me in the movies
And nobody sings my songs
Guess i'm just wasting time

Well then i got to thinking
Man i'm really sinking
And i really had a flash this time
I had no business leaving
And nobody would be grieving
If i went on back to tulsa time

Repeat chorus

(what's in parantheses is background vocals)
(r.j. lange)

Movin up where you want to be
Talking tough, that won't work with me
It's my heart, it ain't hollywood
You want it baby
Oh you got to be good

(heyya) mm
(heyya) heyyy
(heyya) ooo
(hey hey ya)

Take you up where you never been
Tie your seat belt, oh strap yourself in
Start a rumor, nothing to it
Oh it's you and me baby are just the ones to do it

I don't want to be the lonely game in town
I just want to be the only girl around
Yeah i'm gonna take you straight to the top
Never gonna stop
Show you what i got

Chorus:
I'll take your heart (i'll take your heart)
Before you know it's gone
Leave you standing but you won't be alone
Take your rhythm and leave you out of time
I'll take everything and give you all of mine
(i'll take your heart) i'll take your heart
And you ain't gonna feel it
Can't do nothing babe
You know i'm gonna steal it

And i'll take your heart
Before you know it's gone
(heyya, heyya, heyya, hey hey heyya)

Lady luck just be good to me
Send me love special delivery
Ain't in a movie, i ain't on tv
I'm a living, loving breathing leading kind of lady
I don't want to be alone at the end of the phone
I just want to be the one that turns you on

Yeah i'm gonna take you straight to the top
Never gonna stop
Show you what i got

Repeat chorus

Some girls will cut you like a knife
Some girls will even stay the night
But this girl is gonna stay for life
Ya know it's right

(heyya) mm
(heyya) heyy
(heyya) oo
(hey hey ya)

Repeat chorus twice as song fades

(gary burr, sunny russ)

This desert lies
It's so unfair
I think there's water everywhere
I'm always fooled
Just when i think i'm saved

But i don't have the strength
To do again
What always comes undone
Deliver me
Please be the one

I've thought i wasted all those prayers
Till i looked up and you were there
Oh in your eyes
I see there's hope for me

I need your love
To finish off
What others have begun
Deliver me
Please be the one

Be the one who makes me see
Be wonderful a reason
Be the one who rescues me
With a love i can believe in

Let it be true
That you can do
What no one else has done
Deliver me
Please be the one

Oh deliver me
Please be the one