disaster averted

i sat down to work on handbinding "citrus season" this morning and got a nasty shock - there was no needle on my thread. clearly, the thread had snapped and the needle fallen off. uh, oh. big uh, oh!

i quickly thought back over when i last knew the needle was there and where it might have gone. when i was last stitching on it in the car, i had some thread problems and for a second i thought maybe it had broken again as i was finishing up and i'd simply put the needle away. but, no, that wasn't it. so where could the needle be? where should i look?

thinking back, i remembered that when we got home in the evening, i spread the quilt out in an open space in my bedroom to get a look at how much binding was complete. i attempted this a couple of times because my girls (18 & 13) were in a silly sister mood and were bumbling all over my small bedroom, shrieking with laughter, as i tried to spread the quilt out. then i'd folded it up and put it away.

i have a habit of always tucking the needle into the binding or wherever i'm stitching so it doesn't get lost. usually with the binding i also cover it up with a few binding clips so it stays put and so the sharp end is covered, to avoid getting poked. obviously, i hadn't covered it with the clips. as for tucking it in, either i failed to do that this time or it came loose when i was flapping the quilt around and the girls were banging in to me. (in future, i will always cover with clips.)

well, i was in a right panic to know where that needle had gone! i could think of all kinds of bad scenarios with one of us sitting or stepping on it, embedding it fully and deeply in a body part. i had flashbacks to my childhood when my mom would lose her sewing needles or pins in our deep shag carpet all.the.time and we'd end up with one in our foot. (the story of my baby sister getting a needle in her shoe - yikes!) this is one reason i'm always extra cautious with my pins and needles. in 15 years, i've never lost one like this before. my husband always seems to be the one who picks up any missed sharp objects in his feet (like broken glass), so i was especially worried about him. 

i went to the bedroom to begin the search where i'd stored the folded quilt, then got down on my hands and knees and began sweeping the carpet with my hands and eyes for the needle. fortunately, i found it rather quickly without even poking myself. i was sooooo relieved! i was already on my knees and, i kid you not, i just sat there and prayed out loud in gratitude for finding that needle.

this could have been a quilting horror story - blood, a trip to the doctors, who knows what. but thanks to a benevolent providence, i guess it's just a home ec moment and a reason to make the PSA to all of us to remember to securely tuck in your needles when you're not stitching.

needle found (thank you, Lord!), i got on with my handbinding work. my husband happened to be surfing out in front of our house, so i got a show with my view. see those two specks out in the water? that's him and another fellow trying to catch waves. i know heather ross's malibu fabrics have cute kids in swimsuits surfing, but the only surfers i've seen here yet are adults in full black wetsuits. that water is cold! 

we've had another spell of cold-ish days and overcast skies. i'm ready for a little sun again. on the cold days it's hard to get myself out of my cozy clothes and into something else. i'm starting to look like an old sea salt.

speaking of "citrus season," i've recently discovered a new citrus love. having a small orchard of my own citrus at home, i hardly ever buy citrus. but i kept seeing these weird, wrinkly, knobby sumo citrus at the grocery store. i finally broke down and bought some. they're originally from japan, but these are grown here. 

they're amazing! easy to peel, nice size, sweet, and delicious. i haven't had a bad one yet and i'm eating them every day now.