The Needle's Eye

Part 1

The seaside town of Big Quilt, located in the quaint backwoods near the city of Sewme, was a bustling, yet quaint and picturesque locale. The residents, mostly gifted artisans, made their living sewing their homemade, intricate art and quilts. They came together to present their wares at the town's weekly Yarn Festival.

Maria Pin, like the other residents of the town, knew that her destiny was to be a seamstress like every other lady there. In her home was a modest, sewing workshop belonging to her grandmother. The older lady had filled the little room with fabrics, old sewing machines, and an enormous wooden table.

By all accounts, Maria was a bona fide seamstress, but she had a secret - she struggled with threading needles and detested the ones with small eyes. That, as anyone can imagine, was an onerous hurdle for an otherwise gifted and passionate craftsperson. 

The Yarn Festival was far off. 

Part 2

On a trip to the town square with her grandmother, Maria's eye caught sight of the most enchanting, ornately sewn quilt she had ever seen in a shop window. Its delicate threads came together to form an eagle scaling blue horizons. Yellow threads combined to form a sharp, pointed beak that touched beautifully defined white clouds.

The young seamstress bit her bottom lip and drew a little blood. Vision loss in one eye, brought on by an accident she had unfortunately suffered as a toddler, obviously made a menial, yet detailed task like threading a needle an onerous one. It had been her dream since she was a child to embroider a quilt like the one in the shop window, but it was beyond her to craft one of that size.

Tears welled in her eyes as she gazed at the quilt. Her grandmother, Mavis Pin, handed her a pocket-sized, equally well-embroidered handkerchief with a pair of egrets in their nest. 

"I was once a young seamstress myself. I couldn't thread a needle to save my life when I started to sew," she chuckled. 

"Really!" Maria looked up in astonishment, despite her tears. "But you make the most beautiful..." She gazed at the handkerchief and sighed. 

Mavis grabbed her shoulder and looked her in the eye. "Look, you can do this too," She held up the handkerchief. "Start by threading a needle every day. You'll find a way to get past your poor eyesight."

Maria nodded through her persistent sobs. It wouldn't be easy.

Part 3

Maria's grandmother's words rang resoundingly in her ears. She spent her days putting together simple pillows for sale at her grandmother's shop and her nights trying vainly to bring strings of thread through the needle's eye. 

Threading a needle required a steady hand and a calm mind, qualities that Maria found difficult to embrace. To keep her hands from moving too much, she turned to what she often forgot in all her busyness - prayer. 

The Universe did answer her, though threading a needle still required practice on her part. 

Part 4

Maria's attempt to thread a needle met with limited success. She slowly put together beautiful little cushions that blended well with any furniture.

but the turning point in all her attempts came one evening in the tranquility of her grandmother's workshop. 

Maria found herself in a state of flow. She took a deep breath, and focused on the eye of the needle, steadying her hand and bringing a string of yellow thread through its eye. 

She didn't use fancy techniques; the needle went through because she knew it would. 

Part 5

Maria's newly honed skills brought her a little closer to her dream. She started her quilt, pouring her heart and soul into each stitch. 

Her community, noting her dedication, was more than supportive. "Here," one would say, handing her spools of red thread. "Use it for your quilt. I don't need these at the moment." 

"Take these," another neighbor would hand her packets of needles. Use these and sew for us the best quilt you can." 

"I will," Maria promised, eyes tearing as they handed her the necessities. "I won't let you down,"

She pursed her lips, squared her shoulders, and carried the threads to the stand where she was to lay out the quilt.

The threaded needles slowly formed a quilt in her mind. The monthly Yarn Festival awaited. 

Part 6

The day of the Festival arrived. Maria drew a deep breath, bit her lip, and opened the windows through which everyone could see the huge quilt she had put together.

The work was a fine tapestry of multicolored threads. Blue and white ones blended to form a sky with fluffy, yet resilient white clouds. Green and brown ones joined and built a jungle of possibilities.

In the foreground, black and orange spools entwined to create the king of that jungle - a majestic tiger. 

All on a gigantic, fine, yet resilient cloth.

To Maria's disappointment, there was not much reaction to the quilt -one that had taken days and many a swollen eye to craft. 

She sighed. It was the response she expected. 

She was about to close the doors to her grandmother's workshop when the older lady came into the room, carrying with her a thick wad of receipts. 

"Good work, Grandma," she mumbled, starting to close the doors. "You must've sold many cushions,"

"No, don't close the doors just yet," Her grandma placed a hand on her shoulder. 

"Why? It's late and there won't be anyone coming around to see the quilt," She looked at it wistfully, feeling a lump in her throat.

Mavis held up the wad of receipts. "These aren't for my cushions. They're orders for quilts like the ones you made,"

She smiled. Maria's joy came through waterfalls of tears. 

Part 7

Maria, with her newfound ability to thread needles and craft picturesque tapestries, became a leading seamstress in Big Quilt.

Young ladies sought her expertise, and she held workshops for their making. 

The Tiger Quilt, as it came to be known, remained on the stand where she had first left it. The tiger's eyes stared, resolute, determined to seek out new paths through the sewn jungle.