One Needle.

I met a wonderful elderly quilter yesterday while visiting my friend at her yarn store. I was reminded of that innate goodness of hand crafts and their ability to bridge generations.

This woman spoke of her grandmother who had created a beautiful quilt in the 1800s. This quilt was made up of basic fabrics in only a few colors: that's all they had back then. Each little piece of fabric was significant and treasured. They probably were cut from clothing or household items such as feed-sacks. She saved up these bits until she had enough fabric to make this quilt.

She pieced her quilt together with the ONE NEEDLE she owned. ONE NEEDLE. This part of the story struck me as I thought of my multiple pincushions at home with needles of various sizes poking out every which way. Each one of those needles is just a means to an end for me. If one becomes dull, or maybe I don't even like the way it feels in my hand, I toss it out without much thought. The same goes for thread. This woman in the 1800s saved her thread. She had thread that she used for basting and when she was through, she wound it back up onto the spool for next time.

I thought about all of this, how I take stuff for granted. There's always more stuff to replace stuff. I'm just as guilty as anyone else who has grown up in the era of disposable this and that. However, I have always bought the very best I could afford so that it would last. But still, that concept of ONE NEEDLE is novel for me, a place for me to understand how far we've come from our simple and frugal roots.

I heard that in the past money was the limiting factor for people----we lived so simply that we were not outgrowing our resources. But it's different now; even little old me, truly without much money at all, can still make a negative impact on the resources in the world. It's scary.

But it doesn't have to be that way for me. That story made an impact. I think about my evolving interest in living more simply and creating comfort and love within my family through the basics: simple good food, comforting crafts, encouraging stories, enjoying nature. I think about the quiet and peace that comes from hand crafts and the stories we all shared yesterday through our common interest in something that has faded away in our society. Perhaps these things will return, much as knitting has gained such widespread popularity.

When I returned home, I read Meg's beautiful birthday post on her blog, Montessori by Hand. I had not watched the clip she recommended: The Story of Stuff. It was a fitting cap to my day. My children watched it, too, and we had a wonderful discussion. My son said something so simple yet profound. He said, "I know why families aren't as happy now. It's because we have all of this stuff to occupy our minds." He said this in reference to our family, too. We're just as guilty of distracting ourselves from the real beauty of life.

Lots to think about for me. It's a process but I feel it's a good one. A journey to becoming more real on the planet and engaged with one another.

Comments

[Dana]

In The Crucible, one character tries to frame another character as a witch by placing a needle in a doll. Whenever I teach this play, I talk about how no woman of the 1620s would have left a needle ANYWHERE unpredictable, and how that's a detail that shows the accusation is false.

I don't know if Arthur Miller had a frugal pre-STUFF grandmother, but I hope he was thinking about her, or women like her, when he wrote that part of the play!

[Cami]

Great post, Amber. I love the confluence of the story of One Needle with the video Story of Stuff. So much to think about. I saw the video a few weeks ago and can't get it out of my head. I can't say I've made any big changes (except a better effort with recycling), but I guess awareness is the first step.

[sabine]

This story made me all silent...When I look around in my house, I see piles of fabric, and boxes full of yarn, and I'm still craving for more!
But I didn't buy new crafting stuff in 2008, I want to finish what I have before I buy new things.
And yes, I agree: the more you have, the more you have to worry about!

[Tracey]

I think a lot about this. I look around my house and think we are so spoiled. I am constantly fascinated by people who really made their life beautiful and happy with exactly what they have. (No need to rush to the store to buy the latest gizmo). I am trying harder and harder to get my family to a more balanced point.

[Julie Alvarez]

Oh! You are absolutely right about the amounts of things we have, and not always need. I have a friend who is a very good singer and composer, who wrote a song about this, which is called "Dejálo correr" (that means something like "let it run"), that goes about things we don't need anymore, and how you can let them "run" for someone else to repurpose them and use them for something else. So, that way we don't need to create many more things but to find them maybe...

[waterrose]

I love your blog. I'm a quilter, taught by my grandmother and love to read stories like this. Thank you!

[carrie]

Your post reminds me of my favorite children's book right now called "The Ox-Cart Man" by Donald Hall. It is a great story of a family that makes items all year to sell in town. Each person has their own job to do and, just so it isn't all work, they each get a peppermint candy at the end of the day.

[Steph]

ONE NEEDLE!! And reusing her basting thread! No way could we do things like that now. So much resourcefulness is being lost.

[Nicole]

Thank you for sharing this lovely post with us Amber. The one needle story reminds me of my grandmother, who could make so much beauty out of so little, and never let anything go to waste. Being mindful and appreciative of what we have, and putting more emphasis on non-material values is not always easy in this crazy world. But it's good to pause and give it some thought.

[Brandy]

This is a wonderful post! What a profound comment by your son. Your children are truly lucky to be raised by you and to learn about the realities of the world at such a young age. You set such a good example for them.

Thank you for the link to the Story of Stuff, too.

[Yarrow]

What a lovely post. Very thought provoking. I am going to go outside right now and enjoy the simple things like this beautiful, sunny spring day. Thank you for sharing.