In this weekly (or so) segment, I share strange and/or amusing findings from my trash-filled back yard or other parts of my crumbly old house. Won’t you join me as I uncover Bushwick’s sometimes depressing past as told by a single patch of dirt?
This week is nothing depressing — I think. I was slathering cement on a part of the stoop that had cracked, and from the recesses under the doorjamb I pulled out a rusty old knitting needle. What the hell is this doing in a crack in my stoop? How old might it be? Some research on the history of the house brought up a tailor’s shop at this site in 1879 — could this possibly be that old? My overbearing skepticism says I’m not so lucky.
India Street Kali October 14th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
If that needle has an eye, which seems so in your photo, it’s not a knitting needle. A needle that size is used in upholstery. It is needed to jab through the thick layers of padding and fabric when doing tufting, attaching buttons, etc. Could there have been an upholstery shop in your building?
Mer October 14th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Not a knitting needle. Knitting needles don’t have eyes, sewing and darning needles do. It’s difficult to tell scale from your picture. Is it metal? Without knowing the approximate size it’s impossible to tell its specific use.
The tailor shop theory isn’t an impossibility. It’s probably more likely that much more recent occupant had some sewing skills. Most women had some ability to make, repair, and alter textiles until the middle of the last century. Some of us still do.
Jeremy Sapienza October 14th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Hi, sorry, yes it’s metal and about 5 inches long.
Ryan October 14th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
If your backyard is this filthy that you can constantly find shit in it why don’t you just clean all of it one day?
Jeremy Sapienza October 14th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
This is in the course of cleaning the yard. It’s not just some trash here and there — my yard IS trash. It’s long and wide and several feet deep. It’s not a “one day” thing.
pixie October 14th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
I agree, it’s probably an upholstry needle. And it doesn’t need to be out in the elements for 100 years to become rusty – it could be just a few years old. Or 100. What do I know.
Dresden October 14th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
It could be that old. But things like this, that are that old, are literally, a dime a dozen.
MoyJoy October 15th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
um, i actually knit with those.
(ok, i dont. i was just being supportive)
The Vidiot October 16th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
It’s a tapestry needle. I have my grandma’s. Seems they used to rip apart the mattress once a year, wash the outer fabric and replace the stuffing and they’d use a tapestry needle to sew it all up again.
Honestly, I wouldn’t want to be a wife in my grandma’s day. Not only did she have to do stuff like that, but there was no buying sheets. You bought muslin and sewed the edges up, usually with a decorative stitch. She made her own sausage and canned her own vegetables. This was on top of raising four kids during the depression.
Amazing what you can do without the distraction of TV.