Needle in a Haystack

A friend of mine recently became a grandmother for the first time. It’s definitely a major milestone for her and she is ecstatic. I decided to mark the occasion by making a simple cross-stitch project that I found on the internet. It’s a sign to be hung on a doorknob with a design that says: “Shhh … (insert name) is sleeping.” No specific colors are given, so I figured I’d do it in various shades of pink, in honor of the new granddaughter.

It’s been a while since I’ve done any cross-stitching. I found the fabric and embroidery floss easily enough, but for some reason I couldn’t find a needle. There are dozens of needles in this house, every size and type needed for my sewing machine and serger, curved and straight, metal and plastic, pointed and blunt – but no cross-stitch needle. I dug through every drawer and under almost every piece of furniture. No needle. If I were a logical person, I would have run to a craft store and bought one, but a) I was short on cash, b) I was really busy, and c) why would I spend money on something I know I already have? So I put the project on hold and went to work on something else. After all, the baby will be taking naps for a while – unlike my own children, who grew up overnight.

So I gave up looking for the needle, and I started packing for a weekend trip. I unearthed a suitcase I had used for a trip in April. When I opened it up, I found an old cross-stitch project – with two needles in it! Fortunately, my friend’s granddaughter is still a baby – and I still have the fabric and floss. Wish all my “lost” objects could be found so quickly!

It seems the things I can’t find always turn up when I stop looking for them. Is it a conspiracy? Perhaps. Maybe all the items in my house like to take turns driving me crazy by hiding when they know they’re wanted, and then appearing when I’m no longer looking. I’m sure my husband wouldn’t appreciate being compared to a “lost item”, but he did turn up when I stopped worrying about finding my soul mate. I wonder if the strategy works for finding things like my youthful figure, and oh yeah - my memory?