As I have shared on my blog I made a little needlebook. I purchased the supply kit and e-course from Susan of PlaysWithNeedles blog. I was reluctant to begin my little book as I wanted it to be perfect. I am learning there is no perfect so I began. With Susan's excellent videos and instructions I completed my book and I am in love with it. Thank you Susan! Please visit Susan for the story of Hari-Kuyo and the Festival of needles. In short it is a ceremony in Japan to honor the broken and bent stitching needles that have served the ladies so well through the year.
Now that I have my little needlebook I am learning about needles. Oh of course I have used all types of needles through the years but never really knew much about the types or quality of them. Here are my latest acquisitions. I wanted also to have something worthy to put into my little pages. Spiral eye are very new to me and I am anxious to try them. The old easy threading needles never really worked very well so I will give these new ones a try.
I have three of my best beading needles I use all the time on this page along with one new Spiral eye to try.
Here are my favorite butterfly pins...mostly for decoration...but they are also excellent for pinning.
These little quilting needles are brand new and have not been used...yet. So far I do not quilt so I have never used any quilting needles. I see that they are very short...extremely short. I am wondering what one does with these. Because I wanted really good quality I bought "Black Gold Needles" which "pierce smoothly" and are "specially polished with Black plating for enhanced rust resistance". They also tout that they do not bend easily and have the ultimate balance between hardiness and flexibility. Whew! That is a lot for such a tiny short needle. I hope some of my followers will have comments on all of this.
Fortunately I do not really break my needles. I do tend to bend them. I also know they get dull and rusty after so many years. I do have a really bad habit when hand stitching. If I can't get the needle to go through all the layers easily I push the eye end on the counter or my scissors to help it along. Yes, I have broken the eye of the needle doing this. My bad!
This year I am not actually burying any of my needles as I did not realize how and purchase some tofu. You really want to read Susan's post today. She also has Linky so others like myself can share their posts.
This has been a fun project and I am learning so much. It has refueled my desire to do more needlework. I am in no rush however as I have other projects already in the queue.
So let the Hari-Kuyo Festival proceed...
May Winter Sunshine Warm You and may you have lots of creative time and happiness.
I do so love your book and isn't it wonderful to give those broken needles a great send off.
ReplyDeleteSmiles, Angela.x
Your needle book is very beautiful. I must say I have purchased only 1 package of needles for my whole lifetime, I may have broken one or two, (only from using them improperly) but they really don't get any wear and tear at my house, lol. ~Diane
ReplyDeleteGood for you, Sherry. The case is lovely and your honouring of the needles old and new is terrific! All I know is one size does not fit all and what you learn with is often what you will always use so try the really short and if it doesn't work try a different size. I like long applique needles but some use a quilting needle for everything.
ReplyDeleteHow funny is this...you and Jillayne have posted about the very same thing, today. Did you girls call each other up? :-) Your needle case is lovely - I would have the broken (mine would have to say "BENT...REALLY BAD") section filled. Happy weekend, Sherry - Tanya
ReplyDeleteIt's a beautiful post Sherry. I will send you a link to a post on the class blog regarding different needle types and how I use them. I also did a little video titled "In Defense of the Sashiko needle" When I was cleaning up the blog today, I realized that I may not have published it for the last class. I will have to send out a rectification of that...
ReplyDeleteThanks for playing today and Happy Harikuyo. May your year be full of blessings and beautiful stitches, Susan
I love your needle case. I have to fess up that I have never made myself one just used an old piece of felt to stab my needels into. All is not lost though as I received a lovely hand crafted one from my christmas Advent swap partner. Hugs Mrs A.
ReplyDeleteYour needle case is perfection! You did a beautiful job of it Sherry and it will be a treasure for you always.
ReplyDeleteAs for the little quilting needles, let me just say - you can't make tiny stitches with a dagger! When you are hand stitching the general rule is the smaller the needle, the smaller your stitches. Start with a larger needle to learn with and gradually work your way to a smaller size as you become more proficient. (The higher the number, the smaller the needle)
Beautiful post my dear friend and I wishing you many happy years with your little needle book in hand!
You created a lovely little needlebook, Sherry! One of these days I'm going to have to organize my needles, and store them properly. Happy stitching!
ReplyDeleteOooh, now I even learned about needles! Your needle book is awesome! I LOVE it!
ReplyDeletethat is a very pretty needle case, in such good order, i try and keep the needles on the right pages but every so often had to take them all out and rearrange!! The short needles are the best for quilting, as said in another comment.
ReplyDeleteSuch a lovely needlebook. Half the time we can't find needles around here. And it was only in the past couple of years that I realized there were so many different types. Of course, I knew a regular sewing needle and cross-stitch needle -- but seems to be so many out there for so many different projects. Wishing you a creative day. Tammy
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous idea, The needle book is gorgeous. Its so good to visit again and catch up with your gorgeous work. I love the sweet delicate pink scarf too.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for following me again on the new blog. Its been crazy but i am thrilled to be back in blogland, at least a little
Hugs June x
Your book is beautiful. I love the colors that you've chosen. So pretty.
ReplyDeletehugs
Sissie
Oh My!Now I want to make one of those books.I'm going to jump on over to get to know your friend.It all sounds so exciting to me.Denise
ReplyDeleteA needle with a spiral eye? Sounds interesting!
ReplyDeleteI have used quilting needles. It seems that they are so short in order to make your quilting stitches short. After you have used a quilting needle, a "normal" needle seems like a treetrunk.
What a lovely needle book you did!!! Workmanship was/is beautiful!!!
ReplyDeleteI have to admit I felt like I was listening to myself talk about needles!! I too ordered and just rec'd the Spiral eye needle. I have to admit I had a bit of trouble threading them!!! I bought different sizes but darn I still couldn't get my embroidery threads through it. I gave up and used my old, bent needle!!
Super cute idea. You have really been busy creating. I am still not in any creative mood. But I am hoping I can find it somewhere. Happy crafting to you. Ana
ReplyDeleteYour needle book looks absolutely terrific! What a great job you did and your needles are certainly happy in their lovely new home :)
ReplyDeleteHow beautiful!! Yes, you are very right..."Creative Hearts are Happy Hearts!"
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting my blog. I'm happy to say I'm one of your new followers. :-)
Warmly,
Cheryl