Mind your needles

I understand the meaning of is "sitting on pins and needles". I mean I have on more then one occasion sat and stepped on a number of pins and needles. The secret all sewers and crafters know though is tools disappear, and usually at the most inconvenient moments. Sometimes we never find the tool again. I have lost Lord knows how many knitting needles, (and only ever just one), then there are the scissors, rulers and whatever was just in my hands. Yea half the time whatever we just lost was literally just being used. It is almost like a disease. Yet when we lose pins and needles it actually hurts when we find them.

This is not such a big deal today when needles and pins go missing they are relatively cheep to replace. Yet small and very thin in nature they were once very hard to make and the materials rare, and that made them very expensive. This means you held on to and took care of the ones you had.  There were/are of course pin cushions,  but they really are that, pin cushions. Even sewing pillows were awkward for holding pins.  Two things happen when you put needles in,  the first they fall out, the second they go in. If it is the first then you may have lost the needle forever. If the second you pray it doesn't come out the other side. I have gotten myself on more than one occasion with the reappearing needle.  (This is why you stay up to date on your tetanus shots.) To avoid this you can leave thread in the eye of the needle,  but it might fall out, or get snagged and you end up dragging it across the house. You can weave it in and out of your cushion and hope you don't accidentally stab yourself when you reach for a pin. The best solution I have found though is a needle case.

My personal needle cases. The wooden one for historic demonstrations and the other one for my own personal use. 

Needle cases have been in use for centuries. The earliest versions found appear among st Viking digs. Use to protect the small tool, they tend to be small hollow tubs with a lid. During the Victorian Era they took on a decorative quality often hanging from the housewife's waist ready for when she needed it. Though housewives had been hanging things from their waist for centuries the Victorians made an art of it.

So whether you stick your needles with your pins, keep them in the book they came in, put them in a bit of cloth or use a needle case, mind your pins and needles,  or at least be thankful they are cheaper now and stay up to date on your shots.