I learned a lot from my grandparents as I worked with them in their Lundgren Rya, Inc. office back in the day..  My grandfather in particular was always making things.  He was a true inventor. Rumor has it he had 125 patents to his name, but truth be told, he held many jobs working for mills and factories who actually put the patents in the company’s name.  But in any case, he didn’t feel productive if he wasn’t inventing something.

Here are a couple of the needle organizers he made for the business and probably made some for customers, too.  I was just a kid back then.

But now that I have chosen to pick up the rya ball and run with it, I am reviving the needle organizer. I’ve been selling them on Etsy for a couple of years with very high acclaims from people who buy them.  As I was getting low on my tulip poplar blocks, I asked my husband if he would be willing to prepare 50 more for me.  He loves working with wood and chose to buy some gorgeous cherry wood for this edition of the needle organizers.  So every evening for the past week or two he’s been cutting, planing, sanding, drilling, and apply multiple coats of finish to the cherry block.  They are ready to go, and I am thankful.

The tulip poplar wood is on top and the cherry below. Both are very beautiful wood. The cherry weighs about 3 oz. more than the poplar.

We branded them with the wood branding tool I used back in one of my past lives as a sign carver.  I say if you have a wood brander, use it whenever possible.

So who needs a needle organizer?  Well if you use lots of needle in your work–rya or whatever–you would always have your needles at hand safely and in full view at all times. I can’t tell you have many needles I find between the cushions of my couches on the rare days when I lift the cushions. 

But you can make your own.  There is nothing magical about my wood blocks.  One woman, Arlene Desmarais, (in the class I just finished teaching at Integrace/Fairhaven this month) asked her husband to use the facility’s woodshop to make a block for all the students in my class, and he did!  Everyone received a free block.

Click on image to see current listing on Etsy to learn more or to buy a block.