Two evenings ago I decided to work on a little needlework while sitting in the living room with Handsome. You know how I hate to sit with idle hands or at least something to do. I haven't done an autumn color-themed strawberry yet, so I thought, "Why not?". I set up my hoop and sat down to stitch for a bit.
After dinner, I put my hoop into my basket, placing my two large embellishing needles on my pinkeep. I put my needlework basket on our coffee table, and went into the kitchen so Handsome and I could do our usual post-meal cleanup.
We didn't take long. Tag sat in the kitchen with us the entire time, hoping for a bit of "dropped" leftovers; Bella went upstairs and hopped on the bed, hoping to sleep upstairs overnight; and Carly was in and out of the kitchen. It was nearly midnight by the time we finished up and turned off the kitchen lights.
I went back into the living room to take my needlework basket upstairs, and these two needles were nowhere to be found. I panicked. What if Carly ate them? How could they just disappear? Handsome was sure that if anything, Carly might have knocked them on the floor with her tail as she passed the table. I wasn't convinced.
Out came the flashlights to try to spot the sharp, metallic needles. On our hands and knees, looking under furniture. (I know. Not smart for me.) Finally we pulled out the vacuum and hoovered the entire room (actually the entire downstairs!). Still no needles, and this is definitely not my idea of needle dancing!
After searching for an hour and checking Carly's mouth to make sure she hadn't punctured herself (no blood found), we went to bed, sure she was okay but still uneasy that they were lost.
It wasn't until yesterday afternoon that Handsome came up to me and told me to close my eyes so he could place something in my hand. That's always an iffy proposition around here, but I did as asked and he placed one of the needles in my hand. I asked where he found it and was told it was on the middle of one side of our sectional in the living room. When he showed me where, we picked up the back cushion for that section, and there it was...the second needle!
Understand that I knew full-well that I'd most deliberately placed those needles safely in my basket. How they came to rest on the sofa is beyond me. All I do know is that they're safely tucked in my needle book now, and I'll be even more careful in the future. I'm so relieved that they're not just floating around. I pride myself on never dropping a needle that I didn't find, but it's never taken more than a few minutes. I'll be even more vigilant going forward.
I'm nearly finished with the Michelle Palmer projects I'm working on. I'll be back to share them with you tomorrow.
