Mysterious Ways

Who doesn’t love a good whodunnit? I am all for a good mystery, which hearkens back to childhood weekends spent with my maternal grandparents. On Saturdays, we made our first stop at the library to pick up a week’s worth of books and then onward to the thrift store to dig for eight tracks. I started reading mysteries at a young age and the books/films I gravitate to are more cerebral and witty, not gruesome thrillers. Also like my grandparents, I am a sucker for a good puzzle. So when I found out that the greatest quilt shop in the universe (Stitch, in Durango Colorado) was hosting a 14-week mystery quilt, well you betcha I signed right up.

This is my first mystery quilt and wow is it fun! At the beginning of the project you receive instructions for fabric requirements (such as contrast, pattern and size), yet you do not know the final design until the very end, hence the name mystery quilt. Although the quilt is made to a pattern, it is composed of weekly clues which you then puzzle together for the final design. By week 13 I felt pretty confident that I had solved the puzzle, but boy was I wrong. I am so pleased with my color choices and the final design that I decided to forgo a border. What I enjoyed most about this mystery quilt is the true final surprise. Doesn’t it feel like good surprises are few and far between these days? Say, you should try a mystery quilt!

Every Wednesday as I impatiently awaited noon for my email clue and lunch hour sewing, the U2 song Mysterious Ways got lodged in my cranium. No need to psychoanalyze that one! While sewing I listened to a lot of my old U2 albums and I’m going to be controversial here and just state that Boy is still my favorite. U2 is known for their grand stadium rock albums — which are mega popular for a reason — but the raw garage band sounds of Boy just do it for me. I truly respect U2 because they have always used their platform and stardom for good. Their lyrics, and actions, consistently speak out for human rights and the environment. One of their most recent shows was playing for Ukrainians sheltering underground — a pure badass rock star move.

All makers like to credit their craft with being a form of therapy. Personally I find an immeasurable amount of therapeutic value in quilting; the greatest benefit of which is the escape. Sometimes though I need to utilize the curative tonic of quilting in a different way, so let me introduce you to rage stitching (which is not to be confused with a Tom Morello side project). Quilting is, in its most crude distillation, really nothing more than stabbing a needle into fabric repeatedly to create a pattern. I know that rage stitching sounds barbaric and so not like the calming activity I normally espouse, but it really is useful to let the anger out. As the popular quilt meme says, “Warning, I have the patience to stab things thousands of times!”. Mysterious Ways was all rage stitched (hand quilted with large, rustic stitches) and it helped me process the difficult emotions of being an American woman in 2022. I can only describe my current emotions as grief. Never did I think I’d live in a country where an AR-15 (built solely for the purpose of mass murder) has more rights than human beings. Nor did I think I would ever witness our democracy so close to the brink. And don’t even get me started on the revolting hypocrisy of the folks at the forefront of these decisions. I am saddened, disgusted, worried and mad as HELL about a devastating week’s worth of hearings and rulings.

Remember how I said I was going to move my hand quilting outside for the summer? Well that idea was quickly squashed thanks to the above critter. Meet Frankie (also colloquially known on the block as Simon and Best Kitty), the neighborhood feral cat. For a year he has been a frequent visitor, but about a month ago he took up full time residence in our backyard. His timing is unusual because I don’t even feed him half-and-half anymore! Anyhoo the one night I tried to stitch outside, the quilt was way too exciting for the cat, so now I’m back on the couch. His saving grace is that he is an entertaining little creature and quite the innovative problem solver. One of his skills is that he has devised a way to give himself pets by going back and forth under my foot when I’m sitting cross-legged. Even though he is quite a pill when hungry (well, so am I), I do enjoy his antics enough to sacrifice my backyard stitching.

A minute after I finished the last stitches on Mysterious Ways, I placed the completed quilt over my resting husband. His wry sense of humor sends me into stitches, therefore he should be covered in mine. Although these stitches were part of my anger management plan, there is still love in each one. We may be rage stitching, or rage baking, etc., but this anger comes from a place of love because these obscene decisions will only further disadvantage people who need and deserve only compassion, assistance and bodily autonomy. When I look at this quilt on my beloved, I do not think about the recent news, instead I see a beautiful blanket that will keep him cozy.

So if you have the same feelings, all we can do is just keep doing all the good stuff. I am no Pollyanna, but doing good is one thousand percent necessary right now. You can be simultaneously irate and promote kindness. Keep playing all the awesome music. Keep thanking the folks working at the grocery store and gas station. Keep making awesome stuff. Keep taking walks and admiring flowers. Keep donating to charity. Keep picking up trash. Keep buying lemonade from the neighborhood kiddos. Keep voting to change this regime.

Albums listened to: U2 Boy, War, The Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby, Rattle and Hum, The Unforgettable Fire; Singles soundtrack (happy 30th birthday!); Jimbo Mathus Blue Healer, National Antiseptic (recorded under James Mathus & His Knockdown Society), Dark Night of the Soul, Jimmy the Kid and White Buffalo; Erika Lewis A Walk Around the Sun; Cedric Burnside I Be Trying; Chris Cornell No One Sings Like You Anymore – Vol. 1.