Mally the Maker and the Queen in the Quilt

by Leah Day

  The cat quirked up one eyebrow as if to say, “Or so you thought.”

  Ms. Bunny brought her attention back to stitching by patting her on the cheek with a soft paw. “Here Mally, let me teach you something different for fun. I’ll keep working on the path, but I want you to try piecing some triangles.”

  “Triangles?” Mally sighed. She was exhausted from stitching Patch’s back, the wings, and the Nature Path. Triangles sounded hard. Ms. Bunny handed her a rectangle of white fabric and a square of orange. “Where did you find these cut so nicely?”

  “From the leaves in the trees. It’s lucky because there’s no way we could cut these shapes accurately with that pencil sharpener blade,” Ms. Bunny said with a laugh. “Now to make this type of triangle, fold the orange fabric in half corner to corner like this,” she demonstrated, folding a square of yellow fabric against her dress. “And crease it so you can see a diagonal line on the fabric.”

  Mally did as she was told, walking slowly and keeping one eye on her hands and the other on the stream in front of her.

  “Now put that orange square on top of the rectangle and line it up so it’s in one corner. Start stitching on that diagonal line and make small stitches up to the other corner.”

  Mally followed her instructions and began stitching along the creased line. For some reason this stitching felt easier and she was able to take two careful stitches, then pull the needle through without tangling the thread.

  “Look at that! Ms. Bunny, do you see?” she asked excitedly.

  “Very good! You’re chaining your stitches nicely now. I thought having the line to see might make it easier for you.”

  Mally continued stitching, pausing when she needed to climb over rocks or navigate through narrow spaces in the stream. Soon she’d finished stitching along the line and Ms. Bunny showed her a better way to tie off her thread so it didn’t tangle.

  “Now fold the corner of that orange square over.”

  Mally gasped as a beautiful orange triangle took shape. Her stitches weren’t perfect, but once the fabric was folded over, you couldn’t see them and the triangle on top looked terrific. She recognized the shape now. It was a patch Grandma used a lot in her quilt blocks and borders, but Mally didn’t know what it was called.

  “Here’s another square for the other side. Do that entire step again and don’t rush. I know it’s exciting, but you need to take just as much time for one side as the other.” Ms. Bunny instructed. “Now toss me a handful of that green fabric there, dear.”

  Mally scooped up ten strips of mossy green fabric from the base of a tree and handed them up to Ms. Bunny. The doll was making quick work of the path and paused only long enough to stuff the length of patchwork she’d stitched into the bookbag before resuming her stitching.

  Mally tried to take her time. She carefully folded the yellow fabric square in half to crease it, then placed it along the other side. But she was so excited, knowing she was nearly done and about to make one of the shapes she’d loved seeing in Grandma’s quilts. The fabrics slipped apart, but Mally didn’t correct it and continued to stitch along the creased line.

  “There! What do you think?” she asked.

  “Fold it over and check your work,” Ms. Bunny said from her shoulder. “It looks to me like you need to do it again.”

  Mally folded the yellow square over and found the second triangle a sad imitation of the first. The fabric was distorted across the seam and didn’t even reach the opposite corner, making the yellow triangle strangely lopsided. She tried pushing on the fabrics, forcing it to stretch to the other corner, but this only made matters worse.

  “Had you not rushed, you’d have a properly finished triangle right now.”

  “It’s fine the way it is. It doesn’t have to be perfect,” Mally said, stubbornly trying to make the corners meet.

  “Perfection isn’t the goal, dear. Basic competence and patience is what I’m trying to teach you. Once you master the skill, then you can break the rules and make things intentionally wonky and lopsided. But first you must master the basics. Pick it out and do that side again.”

  Mally did as she was told, cutting the stitches with the little pencil sharpener blade. As she threaded her needle again, Ms. Bunny pressed her paw to her cheek in a gentle reminder to go slow.

  She sat down on a rock in the sunshine so she could focus on taking one small stitch at a time. She pulled on the thread and it tangled instantly into a knot. Mally forced herself to remain calm and gently tugged on the string. Luckily the knot untangled itself and she was able to take another stitch, then another, focusing on each one.

  She held her breath as she pulled the last stitch through the fabrics and tied a knot in the end. “There!” she said in relief. She folded the corner of the square over and it formed a beautiful yellow triangle, identical to the first. Now that it was complete, she saw that her stitching had created three triangles: two smaller shapes on either side of a much larger white triangle.

  “Very well done, dear,” Ms. Bunny said happily. “Ah yes! I was wondering if that would happen.”

  The patchwork twitched in her hands. The orange and yellow fabrics were fluttering back and forth and, gaining momentum, took flight off Mally’s lap. With a little pop, the largest triangle shape expanded into a round white bird with a long neck and an orange wing on one side and a yellow wing on the other.

  “What just happened?” Mally asked in surprise.

  “Flying geese. That was the shape you created just now,” Ms. Bunny said, watching the bright bird flutter around their heads.

  “I made a butterfly that first day I came here,” Mally said, looking at Patch. “It fell apart instantly.”

  “Thank the Great Maker you’re much less terrible at piecing now,” he said.

  “Well, they’re called flying geese for a reason,” Ms. Bunny said. “You can’t make just one. Let’s continue and keep moving. I want to get you home as soon as possible.”

  “Yes, but I want to name this one! Could I add eyes and a mouth and see if she will speak to us?”

  “You really want to let it talk?” Patch asked.

  “Of course! I’d love to make a new friend. Why? Do you think it’s a bad idea?” Mally asked as she pulled out the spool of gold thread from her sewing box.

  “Oh, don’t let me stop you. Just be sure you want to add another voice to the chorus. Once you give it a face, it’s rather cruel to rip it off.”

  “Why would she want to do that?” Ms. Bunny asked. “I think you’re just jealous Mally might have made a new orange friend.”

  Patch rolled his eyes and settled down on a rock nearby to watch.

  Mally caught the little bird and held it gently in her hands. She threaded a needle with the glittery gold thread and stitched two eyes on the animal where she guessed they would look best. Her stitches weren’t quite as neat because the little bird kept fluttering her wings haphazardly. Once both eyes were stitched, she sat very still, staring at Mally as she finished adding a tiny curving mouth.

  Mally was just cutting off the extra thread when the bird shot up into the air. She spun around three times, then let out the most awful, blood curdling shriek.

  “AAAAAAHHHHHH!”

  Mally jumped and Ms. Bunny toppled backward off her shoulder. She scrambled to hide behind her while Patch crouched low, staring as the little bird fell to the ground, screaming at the top of her lungs.

  She landed at Mally’s feet and the screaming stopped abruptly. Their ears rang with the sudden silence as they waited for the bird to move. The little girl, doll, and cat all leaned forward, craning their necks to look closer.

  “BOO!”

  Everyone jumped back and the bird burst out laughing. Then it spoke with a quick, high pitched voice, “Oh my thread tails! You should have seen your faces!”

  The trio stared as the b
right bird fluttered up to hover at eye level. “Sorry, I just couldn’t resist making an entrance. Mally, you did a very good job making me. I love my colorful wings. Wheee!” She went into a fast twirl, blending the colors of her wings together until she became a neon orange blur.

  “What did I say about giving it a mouth?” Patch muttered.

  Mally caught a funny look on Ms. Bunny’s face and had to admit the cat might have been right. The little bird was now darting around like a hummingbird, while a constant stream of high pitched commentary flowed out of her tiny mouth.

  “Look how pretty these leaves are! Ah! That’s what you used to make me, right? And look at the stream! Go, water, go! I wish I could see my reflection because I bet I look fabulous!”

  Mally shook her head, feeling a little dazed. She waved at the bird, trying to get her attention. “Hey! What should we call you?”

  “A name? I get a name? Oh, happy day! I get a name!”

  “Yes, what do you want your name to be?” Mally asked quickly, struggling to get a word in edgewise.

  “Oh, there are so many choices!” The bird seemed to deflate for a second, as if weighed down by all the possibilities. “I could be Sherry or Violet or Pink or Plum! I could be Heather or Purple or Rose or Rachel!”

  “Well, this certainly isn’t going to take all day,” Patch said.

  “Yes, I think you’d better pick for her,” Ms. Bunny said as she rolled up her progress on the Nature Path and stuffed it in the bookbag. She’d added several yards to the patchwork while Mally stopped to stitch her triangles.

  Mally looked back at the bird fluttering around so brightly, the light from the sun flashing off her golden threads. “I know!” Mally snapped her fingers. “Sunshine! Let’s call you Sunshine.”

  “Really? Really? Sunshine? Like sun and shining light all together in one?” The bird thought about it for two full seconds before declaring, “I LOVE IT! I’m SUNSHINE!”

  Mally couldn’t help but applaud, the little bird’s excitement was so infectious. “Hello, Sunshine, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Mally, and this is Ms. Bunny and Patch the cat.” She said pointing to each of them.

  “Yes, yes, I know you all. Hello! Howdy! Hi! Hey!” Sunshine flittered from face to face, vibrating with ferocious energy.

  “You already know us?” Ms. Bunny asked, climbing up Mally’s arm to resume stitching on her shoulder.

  “I was there when you stitched me! Nice job by the way. I love the glitter!” The little bird spun like a disco ball, then sped down to hover in front of Ms. Bunny. “Oh, you’re stitching? Could you add something to me? If it’s not too much trouble? Please, could you give me some legs?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry about that. I guess you can’t really stand still if you don’t have legs,” Mally said. She pulled out another piece of gold thread and Sunshine fluttered down to her hand. As she stitched, Mally asked, “So you know we’re walking to the Open Door and we’re going to stop by the Great Tree to see if my grandma’s there?”

  “Yes! Yes! Yes! I know all about it. And there’s an evil bad guy here, or should I say bad girl? Or just baddy? And you were captured and flew out a window and Patch saved you and you’ve shrunk now,” the bird said, pointing an angular wing at the cat.

  “But how do you know all that? All of it happened before I made you.” Mally clipped off her thread tails and with a little pop two tiny clawed feet shot out from the ends of her skinny golden legs.

  “No idea! I just know I know so that saves time not knowing, right?” Sunshine hopped from foot to foot, then leapt back into the air to buzz around the rock they were sitting on.

  “My head is going to explode. Can you please rip off its mouth now?” Patch asked. “Or better yet, just cut my ears off. That will do it.”

  “Wait. Do you know what happened before I came into the quilt?”

  “Your grandma went missing and your parents are sad.” Sunshine deflated like a balloon and came to hover right in front of Mally’s face. “Everything is broken and only bringing Grandma back will fix it.”

  “How can you know everything about me?” the little girl asked in wonder.

  “It must carry through the stitching,” Ms. Bunny said. “How were you feeling when you were making Sunshine?”

  Mally thought for a second as the bright bird fluttered away once again. “Happy, I think. I was really trying hard with my stitches and feeling good that they looked better than usual. And the bird hadn’t fallen apart yet when I stitched her eyes and mouth on. So I guess I was feeling excited too.”

  “Well you must have passed an extra strength, double dose of it to our new featherbrained friend,” Patch said.

  “I think it’s wonderful!” Ms. Bunny countered. “She’s so cheerful and she can fly above the trees to scout out our path without giving away our location. That’s exactly what we need to help us get home quickly.”

  “Yes, yes, yes! I can help! How can I help? I really want to help, please!” Sunshine dove in front of Mally and fluttered back and forth eagerly.

  “Um…” Mally was unsure about giving orders. She was usually the one being told what to do, not the other way around. “How about you fly ahead to see what is coming next along the stream. Then come right back and tell us? Just make sure to stay out of sight!”

  The little bird immediately flew off up the stream. Patch stood and gave a long, lazy stretch. Ms. Bunny stuffed more fabric scraps in the bookbag, then scrambled inside herself. Mally was just pulling the straps over her shoulders when the world suddenly went dark.

  It wasn’t like the gradual shift from daytime to nighttime. One minute they were standing in bright sunshine and BLINK, they were standing in darkness.

  Mally shrieked and crouched low on her rock. She couldn’t see anything, not even the tree she was sure was right in front of her. Her eyes strained against the dark, but there wasn’t a scrap of light anywhere to be seen. Far off she could hear the rumble of snarls. It wasn’t close enough to shake the ground, but it was out there, looking for them. Something brushed against her cheek and she screamed again.

  “It’s just me. It’s just me,” Ms. Bunny whispered in her ear. “What happened?” She climbed out of the bookbag to sit on Mally’s shoulder, her paws gripping her shirt so tight it pinched.

  “The sun. Something must have happened to the sun,” Mally whispered back. “I think I heard a snarl, but it wasn’t close.”

  She turned her head left and right, but there was absolutely no light anywhere to be seen, not even a flicker off in the distance. Mally pressed her hands to the rock at her feet. She needed to feel the rough texture and solid shape under her hands to remind her she was still inside the quilt and not falling through endless darkness. She felt bereft, as if she’d lost someone or something extremely special she’d never expected to lose.

  “Patch! Where are you, Patch?

  She heard a rustling nearby and a low voice, “I’m here,” Patch whispered, brushing against Mally’s leg. She reached out and ran her fingers along this back. “The witch must have ripped off the sun.”

  “How are we going to fix this?” Mally cried. “How was she able to rip off the sun? What are we going to do?”

  “We should head straight for the Great Tree. It’s closer than the Open Door. Any idea on how to move forward? I can barely see a stitch in front of my face.”

  “I don’t know–” Mally said, but Ms. Bunny interrupted her.

  “There’s a light!”

  “What? Where?” Mally turned her head this way and that. Then she caught a flicker through the trees. “What is that?”

  The light drew closer and closer. It was dazzlingly bright, but moving so erratically, it was impossible to tell what it was.

  Then came a voice through the darkness, shouting on the top of her lungs, “Whoa! Did you see how dark it just got?! I was looking ahead an
d then WHAM! It went all night time. Did you see that? Why do you think that happened?” Sunshine was back and glowing like a beacon, her golden threads reflecting against her orange and yellow fabrics.

  “Sunshine! I don’t know what happened. Come down here and let me see you.”

  The little bird flew low and Mally found the fabric on the insides of her wings and belly were somehow glowing in the darkness. The bird was like a miniature sun and bright enough to illuminate several feet around them. Mally was relieved to see the outline of the trees, the stream at their feet, and the rocks ahead.

  “Sunshine, I think you’ve saved us. We couldn’t see anything without you. Can you fly overhead and light up our path?”

  “Yes! Yes! Yes! Sure, no problem!” She spun in the air, but the action brought her wings in tight and blocked out her light completely.

  Ms. Bunny let out a high-pitched squeak and fell off Mally’s shoulder again. “Stop that! Just fly normal, you silly chick!”

  “Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! I’ll fly better, I promise!” Sunshine opened her wings wide and attempted to hover in place. Her light spread out slightly so Mally could see a few feet of the forest surrounding them.

  “That’s perfect Sunshine. Try to fly low so the light stays on us.” Mally stood and stretched and tried to relax her stiff muscles. “Come and ride on my shoulder, Patch. I don’t want to lose you in the dark.”

  Ms. Bunny scrambled up to her right shoulder as Patch shrank down to the size of a kitten and climbed up her left. Mally appreciated the comforting press of their soft bodies and Patch’s deep purr rumbling in her ear.

  Mally stepped back into the stream and waded up to her knees in the rushing fabric. She regretted stopping for so long to stitch the triangles, though if she hadn’t stopped they’d likely be in an even bigger fix now because they wouldn’t have Sunshine.

  The tiny bird flew close to their heads, chatting cheerfully about the forest, the stream, and how much closer they were to the clearing with the Great Tree.