Every spring for 21 years writers and readers have gathered in the Washington, D.C., area to talk about mysteries, particularly (but not exclusively) traditional mysteries written by women. Members of Sisters in Crime started Malice Domestic, which takes place May 1-3 this year.
I’m moderating a panel on a popular subgenre, mysteries in which an amateur sleuth is devoted to a craft or hobby. The panel is called Killer Hobbies: Crafty Authors Discuss the Hobbies That Drive Them to Murder. The panelists are Monica Ferris (needlepoint), Margaret Grace (miniatures), Betty Hechtman (crocheting), and Terri Thayer (quilting). For the last three, the hobbies were a passion before they put them into mysteries.
For centuries all of these crafts were necessities rather than hobbies. All gave women an outlet for their creativity, but they also took hours of labor, often by candlelight. The old saying about women’s work never being done stated a fact. Today most quilters create works of art, but years ago women made desperately needed coverings for the family beds from any scraps of cloth available, usually clothing that no longer held together and, of course, feedsacks. The feedsack quilt that I inherited from my great-aunt is definitely not a work of art, but it’s warm, and the bright scraps sewn together by hand remind me of our heritage.
I, for one, am delighted that I don’t have to piece quilts or crochet doilies or do anything with a needle more demanding than sewing on a button. I’d much rather read books where wannabe detectives do such work as they figure out who committed murder.
—Carolyn Mulford
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