As a 19 year old, I had a sabbatical after school and left my small village in Sweden to work as as an au-pair in a German family.
That was a great experience, that shaped how the rest of my life evolved, driven by my love for languages and the urge to live abroad.
One of the other au pair girls in town was knitting sweaters, and that inspired me to use my weekly babysitting evenings to do the same. I bought the necessary: a magazine with patterns, wool, knitting needles and some sewing needles.
My first sweaters are long gone, but I still have this first sewing needle package that I bought in Nuremberg in the early 80’s. It has a sentimental value, reminding me of my young self, who happily kept her hands busy with wool and textile.
In case I’ll ever lose it, I stitch it to the internet right here. Sorry for going nuts with the number of photos, but I think the golden shine and the many years of service are worth some attention.
Do you have any insignificant objects that you still hold on to for sentimental reasons?
galeriaredelius 
Never apologize for posting too many photos – your photos are always worth extra attention. These show the love those needles must have had. And you successfully “stitched them to the internet” – clever! I know I have many small, odd objects that I’ve kept for sentimental value. It would take hours to locate them and describe them – but how about an old silver thimble in its own tiny woven basket? I think it was my grandmother’s. And there’s a small enamel pin with the word “PROGRESS” on it. I don’t know where it came from or why it was made but my father had it pinned to his backpack just for fun, and I have it around here somewhere. 🙂
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A silver thimble in its own tiny basket sounds adorable! And the “progress” pin, it sounds like a good sense of humour in that one, or perhaps just a healthy dosis of optimism. Ah, the small things!
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Yes, yes, yes,. 🙂
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Haha. Don’t get me started on the “useless” things I keep.
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Sounds like we have something in common! 😉
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The start of an era, by the looks of it! 🙂 I used to have a memory box but I’m trying to minimise my “things” now since I move often due to my wandering spirit 🙂 I’m in a quiet period now though and already managed to amass too many things, I keep thinking how hard time I’ll have when I move again! 😮
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The best way to clean up among your things is definitely to move, because then you have to! I think it’s a good thing to be forced to reduce all things, at the same time I’m quite happy that I don’t have to, at this very moment. 😉
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I never traveled to another country in a work capacity, but I did travel after college and it was a great experience. I can well understand why you would treasure your crafting tools from your own travel experience. 🙂
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It’s like some things are so connected to the moment or place we got them. Discovering new places can be an intense experience, with memories that last forever.
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I am a memory keeper at heart so am always holding onto things. I have a shadow box in my office filled with ticket stubs from every concert, movie and event I went to as a young adult. It’s fun to have things that bring back wonderful memories. Weekends In Maine
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I wish I had organised my old tickets like that, I think I’ve kept some but I’m afraid they are spread out here and there. Next time I come across one I’ll put it in a special box, and see if I will eventually have them all gathered in one spot!
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I still have needles I bought 40 years ago at Dress n Drape Fabrics in Ardmore PA, a shop long gone, but having just finished college and on a budget I made lots of my work clothes ( I worked as a commercial lender for a large bank with lots of customer contact and I needed suits and skirts I could not afford to buy at the time). I still remember the lovely Pendleton wool fabrics they had; I would save up to buy the yardage). Those needles cost less than a dollar I guess and they worked hard for me.
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That’s a great gift to be able to make your own clothes! I’ve had phases in my life when I’ve been doing that, most of all for the pleasure of picking fabrics and being able to make so much choices yourself. And yes, it was often much cheaper than buying clothes. Those sounds like some great memories of yours. Just looking at fabrics is special, letting your fingers run over it to see how it feels, imagining what to do with it…
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