PAGE 16 KITCHEN-KLATTER MAGAZINE, FEBRUARY, 1970

FREDERICK'S LETTER - Concluded lievably exciting. I don't think that any History in Your other adventurer and world traveller has written more articles' for the Na­ tional Geographic than Captain John­ Sewing Basket son. We are hoping to have the privi­ lege of sailing with him again in an­ by other year or so. He is very fond of Erma Reynolds Midwesterners and he said that one of nicest times of the year for him is the late winter when he is lecturing in Midwestern states. When you look at your sewing basket the fineness of this fiber, and wondered You will find below the poem so many filled with tangled spools of thread, why it could not be made into a smooth of you requested after I read it on the pincushion, needles, thimble, do you thread. She described her idea to her radio. I don't know who wrote it, but if ever wonder what was used for sewing manufacturer husband, and he set to you do, please write and tell me. equipment in ancient days? work to experiment with this new Sincerely, Frederick The needle has the distinction of media, the end result being cotton SLOW ME DOWN, LORD being the oldest of sewing tools, for thread on spools. back in prehistoric times primitives Historical records show that the Slow me down, Lord! were using bone needles to sew thetr Chinese were using thimbles at a very Ease the pounding of my heart animal skins. Then came advancement early period. And when the ancient By the quieting of my mind. in the Stone Age with the invention of Italian city of Herculaneum, which was Steady my hurried pace the stone needle. By the time the buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuv­ With a vision of the eternal reach of ancient Romans and Egyptians had ap­ ius in 79 A.D., w.as partially exca­ time. peared on the scene, needles were vated, crude thimbles were found Give me, being made from bronze and iron. Some among its relics. Amidst the confusion of my day, of these, without an eye, were used The name "thimble" originated with The calmness of the everlasting hills. like an awl. Others had an eye at the the early English who wore this sew­ Break the tensions of my nerves point, or placed halfway between the ing gadget on their thumbs and called With the soothing music of the singing head and point. it a "thumb bell". Early-day Germans streams The Chinese were the first to make dubbed their thimble, "finger hat". That live in my memory. steel needles. Their innovation gradu­ Man learned to use a form of scis­ Help me to know ally found its way westward, with the '3ors more than 20 centuries ago. These The magical restoring power of sleep needles being introduced to Europeans first shears were a V-like springy ar­ Teach me the art by the Moors sometime around 1200 rangement of two-honed blades. The Of taking minute vacations of slowing A.D. first crossed-bladed shears, with a down Some of the more imaginative Jap­ center pivot, did not come into use to look at a flower; anese regarded the sewing needle with until the First Century A.D. The de­ to chat with an old friend or great reverence, and held an annual signers of these early scissors knew make a new one; memorial service to comfort the spirits their business, because through the to pat a stray dog; of needles that had bee n broken passing centuries scissor blades have to watch a spider build a web; during the year. Considered a living retained most of their original features. to smile at a child; thing, the needle's broken body was It is the handles that have displayed or to read a few lines from a believed to have been sacrificed in the variation, with their shape and design good book. line of duty. featuring human figures, hearts, flow­ Remind me each day By 1370 needle making had become ers, storks, to name a few. That the race is not always to the one of Nuremberg's outstanding indus­ Thorns or small bones of animals and swift; tries. Needle making continued to in­ fish were the first pins. During the That there is more to life than increas- crease, and by 1650 was a thriving 14th and 15th centuries, pins in Eng­ ing its speed. business in other German and English land were so scarce and expensive Let me look upward cities. they could be purchased on only two Into the branches of the towering oak Thread was another sewing accessory days of the year set aside especially And know that it grew great and strong known to primitive man, though his for this sale. A wedding gift of money Because it grew slowly and well. variety, made from leather thongs, would often specify that it was to be Slow me down, Lord, grasses, and reeds, was a far cry from used exclusively to purchase pins for And inspire me to send my roots deep the fine threads found in today's sew­ the newlywed's home. A will would Into the soil of life's enduring values ing baskets. sometimes include a special bequest That I may grow toward the stars During the Stone Age folks discovered for the express purpose of buying pins. Of my greater destiny. the possibility of using flax and animal The pin business began to pick up in hair to make a more pliable thread. 1626 with English manufacturers turn­ TABLE GRACE Short lengths of these fibers were ing out pins in greater quantities. twisted together to make the thread, a These early pins were crude gadgets, Our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee system that has remained fundamental­ made of wire with a top added sepa­ for the many blessings Thou hast be­ ly unchanged for thousands of years. rately to form the head. The first all­ stowed upon us, for the help and care We have a woman to thank for spools in-one pin was invented by an Ameri­ Thou hast given us and for this food of cotton thread. Until 1794, thread can, Lemuel Wellman Wright, in 1824. that is before us. We pray Thy blessing was a hand-twisted linen fiber sold in Pin manufacture lagged after that, and may rest upon us now and forever, keep hanks. One day as Mrs. Samuel Salter, it took 15 years longer before pins, us and guide us in the way we should of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, was spin­ similar to those used today, appeared go. This we ask in Jesus• name. Amen ning cotton, she took a second look at on the market in adequate quantity. -Olive Stokes Jones