When my dad was growing up, he lived with his Uncle Burt and Aunt Edith on their farm. After he and Mom married and the three of us kids came along, we spent our holidays with Burt and Edie and loved them as another set of grandparents. Mom and I did a lot of sewing and stitching, and Edie commented to me once that she never was much for sewing. She said she did enough to get by but that she never really liked to do it.

When it came time for her to move to a nursing home, Mom gave me Edie's thimble and told me never to lose it because it was made of silver. I loved how that thimble fit my finger so well, and I cherished it because it was Edie's. I carried that thimble to quilting classes and friends' houses whenever I knew I would be hand sewing and surprised myself that I was able to hang onto it.

I think you know where this story is going. Finally I lost it. I was sure it had fallen into the cold air vent in my sewing room. Last fall I tore the room apart to rearrange the furniture and was shocked that I didn't find the thimble - nowhere. I resigned myself to the fact that it was gone forever. I mean, how would I ever find that small thimble in this house!

Yesterday during a cleaning frenzy, I grabbed an old basket to sort through and decided probably most of the junk in it could be thrown out. And there in the corner was Edie's thimble - all bent up because of all the stuff that had been tossed on top of it and in need of a good cleaning with some silver polish.

And the time is right for it to be put back into service. Yesterday I finished piecing my homespun applique quilt, and it's ready for the frame.