18-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Tuesday, June 3, 1913: Had the luck to prick two of my fingers. They hurt some for awhile.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Hmm—any ideas how Grandma might have pricked two fingers? She could have easily pricked one while doing embroidery, mending dress or her father’s torn bib overalls, or doing other hand sewing—but two?
A Hundred Years Ago 
Rose thorns?
Maybe–thorns can hurt!
Darning socks or stockings probably had to be done quite regularly. It’s easy enough to prick one’s finger with a darning needle. Wonder if she had a thimble?
She must not have been using a thimble :-). I have a few old family ones around. They are neat to have.
mmm… sure have pricked my finger, even whilst using a thimble 😦 Maybe Miss Muffly was also a bit clumsy … The thimbles handed down from my great grannies are SO small that it amazes me and they certainly are a joy to have 🙂
The only time a use a thimble when I sew is when I’m trying to push a needle through extremely thick cloth. Sometimes I think that I don’t even know how to properly use a thimble.
There are some lovely old thimbles. They are so much nicer than the cheap plastic ones that come in sewing kits today.
I love the decorative ones you can find in souvenir (think I got that right) shops, haha.
I’ve done it before. Pushing a needle through a heavy twill, the thimble went flying and the needle I managed to jab the sharp end into the side of my forefinger and the eye-end stabbed deep into the tip of my thumb. I can’t repeat the what curses leapt out of me when I did that, but I will never forget it. Two thimbles for heavy hand work now. Always.
I agree. I have also pricked two fingers!
Ouch! It sounds awful.
Aw….I’m sure Grandma stayed busy most of the time. Could have been a needle or a rose thorn!
Yes, it probably was one or the other. We’ll never know for sure. 🙂
sounds like she just had one of those days…
Some days are like that. 🙂
Sounds like a rough day sewing. Ouch!
I don’t generally think of sewing as a dangerous task. 🙂
Barbwire? Picking thistle from the garden (I hate those things)? But you’re probably right, more likely sewing gone wrong.
Barbed wire is an interesting thought. It seems like those cows were constantly escaping from fields–and I never can figure why they didn’t have barbed wire fences that kept the cows in the pasture. Maybe Grandma was trying to repair a fence. 🙂
LUV that embroidery Sheryl… I can see cross stitch, stem stitch and can’t remember the name of the stitch used for the leaves but sure remember using it 🙂
A beautiful crochet edge which looks like a type of “shell pattern” which is not familiar to me. SO beautiful… thanks 🙂
I also remember using the stitch used to make leaves. When I was a child I used to think it was really hard to do–and then I did a little embroidery a few years ago and was surprised how easy it was.
Why not two? I assume she had ten of them and if she was using needles or pins the odds are pretty good.
True. . . I guess it would depend upon how careful she was. 🙂
Beautiful handwork. Sometimes, it’s easy to daydream while stitching, and a needle sometimes has a mind of its own 🙂
I can picture Grandma daydreaming while stitching. 🙂
That is sooo pretty. Maybe she did it while cooking or gathering eggs, I assume she does that!
She was a hard worker and farms are so full of dangers! 😉
Yes, there are myriad ways that she could have hurt her fingers while working on the farm.