From Wheat to Wild: The Fox & Chicken Quilt Coat

How a master quilter’s work, a restless night, and an unexpected dream became one of Cherie’s most meaningful creations.

With the Day of the Dead coat behind her, and the Butter Churn block coat lovingly gifted to her friend, Cherie found herself at a familiar crossroads—

She was out of quilts.

Two coats down, and not a single scrap large enough for a new project. And by now, the creative spark was stronger than ever. She needed another quilt. Something with personality. Something she could transform.

So she set out—again—to find one.

The Quilt That Chose Her

While browsing online, Cherie stumbled upon a quilted table cloth unlike anything she had ever seen. It was clearly old, clearly loved, but unmistakably special. The moment she saw it, she could see the skill behind it. In her mind the table cloth had been hand stitched by an elderly woman whose craftsmanship was undeniable—every stitch was tight, even, flawless. Perfect in the way only decades of practiced hands can achieve.

But beyond the craftsmanship, the table cloth itself was eccentric in the most wonderful way:

A fox,

a chicken,

scattered eggs, and legs

a whimsical little story told entirely through fabric and thread.

Cherie didn’t know what she was going to make from it.

She only knew it spoke to her — loudly.

And so she bought it.

The Anguish of Not Knowing

When she got home, excitement quickly turned into worry. This fabric was too special to cut blindly. Too intricate to guess. Too meaningful to risk ruining. For the first time since she began quilting coat work, Cherie felt stuck. Truly stuck.

That night, she turned the piece over, studying it, trying to see what it wanted to become. Nothing felt right. Nothing made sense. The pieces wouldn’t fit in her mind.

She went to bed that night feeling defeated, anxious that she had purchased something extraordinary… yet might never figure out how to bring it back to life. Then she did something she often does when feeling stuck. She turned to the Lord and asked her Heavenly Father for guidance and help accomplishing the task she felt so strongly about but knew she could never accomplish on her own.

And that’s when the extraordinary happened.

The Dream

Cherie is not a dreamer. She rarely remembers her dreams at all. But that night, she had the most vivid dream of her life. She dreamed the entire coat—every outline, every placement, every detail. She saw exactly how and where the fox and chicken should be placed… Exactly which worn pieces to avoid and which precious pieces to preserve. When she woke, she remembered all of it—every stitch—and knew exactly what to do.

The Overnight Creation

Fueled by the dream, and not wanting even a glimpse to fade, she gathered her tools that very hour and didn’t stop. She stitched through the quiet hours of the night and into the early hours of the morning, letting her still vivid dream guide her. Piece by piece, the old quilted table cloth transformed.

The original maker’s skill—a lifetime of practiced hands—revealed itself as Cherie worked. Every tight, perfect stitch told a story, and Cherie honored it by using nearly every salvageable scrap of the quilt.

By morning, it was done.

A fox.

A chicken.

Eggs and chicken Legs 

Color. Texture. History.

A dream made real.

A Coat That Will Never Be Sold

This coat isn’t for sale—not now, not ever. It represents something bigger than fabric.

It’s a reminder to Cherie that no matter what the subject, if it’s important to her, it’s important to the Lord and through her faith and prayer, her desires were answered and her hands were guided. 

It’s a tribute to the woman who stitched the original quilt—someone Cherie never met but whose craftsmanship lives on through her work.

The fox and chicken quilt coat hangs in Cherie’s studio now, and when not hanging, it is proudly worn as a token of faith and a reminder of her Heavenly Father’s love for her.

And that’s the heart of Cherry Jack Works.