The Tale of the Bead Loomer

Once upon a time there was a bead loomer. She lived in her small cottage with three cats who were as crazy as they come.
The bead loomer had lots of tiny glass beads, fine needles and thread. Whenever she felt like it, she sat down on her bed, put down the bead tray with the little measuring cups that she filled with the tiny beads she wanted to use, put thread on her loom and then reached for her needle. For some strange reason she kept losing that needle, however. She was not the youngest anymore and it had probably not been good for her head that her biggest cat liked to sleep on her face.

Every time she couldn't find the needle, the bead loomer freaked out. Needles are not good around nosy cats and the wise lady that knew how to heal cats did not live around the corner.
The more the bead loomer panicked, the nosier the cats became, the big black one in particular. Nothing could happen in the house without him knowing it. And the closer he came, the more the bead loomer panicked again. The neighbors were already used to her yelling. "Don't! Don't! There's a needle here somewhere! Stay out of the thread! Why are you doing that? I'm going to throw you out of the room! You will be sorry if you have a needle sticking in you and we have to visit the wise lady! I just want you to be safe!"

The big black cat couldn't have cared less, though. He danced around in the thread and if things were really bad, he and his also black sister managed to step on the little measuring cups which made the bead loomer get even more upset.
It always worked out, no one was ever tangled in thread or stabbed by a mean needle, maybe that's why the bead loomer, too set in her ways, didn't learn and still kept losing the needle (she was also a crocheter and the same way with her hook, by the way, but crochet hooks don't stab anyone).

One time, however, things were different. The little old lady found the needle almost right away and there was no need to panic. She held the thread up to the needle, but she couldn't get it through. Actually she didn't even find the eye of the needle.
Now, my children, I have a little riddle for you. Can you tell me why the thread wouldn't go through the needle?

P.S. Do you think I need better lighting?
P.P.S. This is a true story even if some details are artistic freedom.