Bleeding Beading Needles

Whatever happened to beading needles? When a friend brought me some back from England last Spring, this is what she was sold...


...these are not needles but lengths of fine wire, twisted, with a loop at the end. They are impossible to use, and look like this after you have tried...

They have no rigidity and are almost impossible to hold, and there is no chance of getting more than one bead on at a time, and only then after a herculean struggle, chasing the bead around for ages.

Now THIS is a beading needle...

...and you can see by its curve that I have used it a lot! Yes, it has a pointy end...yes, you could stick it in your finger, yes, that could hurt.... but crikey!... how much more Nanny can the Nanny State get? How come we're not all eating with rubber knives and forks - golly - those are some really dangerous sharp things! And we use them every day!

At least with this old beading needle I can pick up more than one bead at a time and I don't have to chase it around the dish... OK, I know I have to thread a loop of cotton onto it, and put my yarn through the cotton, but it doesn't really take that long...

How many more bird legs could I bead with this needle than using the wire? Oooh zillions, I think, and without all the swearing....