Broken Needle Day

That sounds kind of a strange thing to celebrate, but translations from Japanese can get that way. February 8 is the festival of broken needles. Japanese women celebrate the significance of needles and pins in daily life and the vital role they have played in keeping the family clothed and warm. Broken and bent ones are laid to rest in a bed of soft tofu and basically given a memorial service. They are indispensable tools and do deserve an honorable send off.

I like the idea of honoring the little things that are important to us as stitchers. Thankfulness and gratitude are very positive and this is a simple way to take a small moment to add a bit more of these to our lives. A fresh sharp needle can make a big difference in how the project goes, the old one gave you good service, say a quick thank you. Every time I begin a new large project I open a new pack of hand quilting needles and discard the rest this way. When the sewing machine misbehaves, I re thread the whole thing and change to a new needle. If you can't remember the last time you changed the needle, may I suggest you do it today.

Disposing of worn out points can be a real hazard to those who empty the trash, and even more to the garbage man. To eliminate the dangers, I use an empty pill/ vitamin bottle that is clearly labelled as "old sewing needles". Keep it near your machine and when you need to discard bent/ broken needles carefully put them there. Once a year ( on February 8 ) I throw out the entire bottle and get a new one for the purpose. I keep one in the classroom of the shoppe too. If you feel inspired, why not decorate the old needle container yo make it beautiful and honor the points who gave everything to make your project. Send me a photo if you do and I'll post it.

What is an Art Quilt?

This definition gets bigger by the minute. SAQA has revised it's version,and it bears mention. You can find more about it on their very good website, google SAQA. I am not totally sure I agree with this yet, but here is the new way they define art quilt. " The art quilt is a creative visual work that is layered and stitched, or that references this form of stitched layered structure." I will have to think about this and I promise to share my thoughts once I formulate them. It has been a busy day.

groundhog day

Like in the movie, if you had today to do over, what would you change? Which person would you be nicer to, what small kindness would you do that might have big reverberations? Why not do them the first time around? The little things that we don't often think about can make a big difference. An extra smile, holding the door for someone, letting that other driver in, there are a million little things, that cost nothing.

The little thing that has made me smile is the return of Audrey, one of my Amaryllis flowers that has come back to life. It is growing at it's usual astonishing rate, almost an inch a day. I know that soon this will mean a stunning and dramatic blossom on my kitchen window. When it dies back, Spring will be close. So here is a photo. I wonder which color this one is ( I have several, and never have had two blooming in the same year ) Have a beautiful day!