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Nimble Needle

Delaware Valley's most loved Needlepoint Shop!

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in Harikuyo

Harikuyo – Festival of Broken Needles

Imagine this in our throw away culture, an annual ceremony for sewing needles.

The Festival of Broken Needles, harikuyo, has taken place in Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples all over Japan on February 8th for hundreds of years. While memorial services are more usually held for the spirits of the dead, there is an old Shinto belief that inanimate objects, as well as living beings, have a soul and spirit. The animists believe that to simply discard a tool that has served you well is disrespectful would anger the object’s soul.

Tailors, embroiderers and other needleworkers gather their worn and broken needles from the previous year and take them to the temple. Prayers of respect and thanks giving are offered. The needles are pushed into slabs of tofu or other soft substances to keep them safe and to prevent their sharp points doing any harm before they are taken to their final resting place. By showing respect and offering prayers it is hoped that the power and energy of the needle will pass to the owner and make them a better stitcher.

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Filed Under: Harikuyo

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Nimble Needle
45 South Centre Street
Merchantville, NJ 08109
856 354 8100

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Nimble Needle Shop

• Brick & Mortar open by appointment.  email request to [email protected]

• Curbside pick-up available send request to [email protected]

•Email orders are welcome!  Will send you an invoice payable online with any credit card.  Email product requests to [email protected]  Email orders are preferred over calling, items are in writing and makes resolving questions and/or a having a dialog if necessary 24/7.

• Why by appointment? Its my way of trying to be fair and responsive to walk-in customers as well as all other customers from webstore, online, email and social media.  While impossible to be perfect everyone deserves the best service I can provide with no one being forced to the “back of the line”.  Thank you for understanding, while not everyone can physically be in the store its a good thing because not everyone would fit!  On most days I serve anywhere from 10 -20 customers a day in one form or another.

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