A little story for the day.
When we were in Ethiopia I had six No 24 tapestry needles with me. I did have a number of other needles, but that was the size I was using for the project I was working on. I was terrified that I was going to break or lose them.
One day I was undoing some stitching, using the needle to ease up the stitches to undo, and I slipped and it flung across the room. I looked everywhere for it. The next day I was sorting out papers on the coffee table and there it was. Relief!
Makes you realise just how precious the single needle a stitcher was fortunate to own must have been in times past.
White Threads is the blog of Yvette Stanton, the author, designer, publisher behind Vetty Creations' quality needlework books and embroidery products.
Yvette
A friend went to Vietnam and found that the embroiderers sometimes had one needle for years, they just kept sharpening them and they got shorter and shorter. So next time she went there she took loads of needlework supplies and handed them out. They were over the moon.
I hate losing them too, but mainly because I hope no-one in the house stands on them and gets hurt. As a lacemaker where you work with brass pins, some always seem to drop on the floor…….
regards
Julie in Australia
Julie, thanks for sharing the Vietnam story. When we can just duck down to the shops and relatively cheaply pick up a packet of needles, its easy to forget that not everyone has the same easy access to needlework supplies.