It is time to gather your tired needles

Hari Kuyo is coming…

Will your weary pins and needles find rest?

Feb. 8 is the day for this traditional Japanese ceremony of giving thanks to our smallest tools for their service throughout the year. Wishes are made for a year of bettering our sewing, while old pins and needles are given rest in a soft sponge cake or tofu.

This day gives me the chance to ponder my previous year of stitching and look at what I hope to achieve in the next. What new direction do I wish to follow? What new skill do I want to learn and how will I improve upon what I am doing?

I could lose myself in consideration of the secret life of my sewing needles and get caught up in my own Shinto-Christian turmoil, but I am content to honour the animas of these tiny tools which make my career and art possible. This day of thanks-giving is beautiful in its simplicity.

How will you celebrate?

My 2010 needle thanks-giving