Medieval Norse Nalbinding Needle

Here's another new addition to our Grizzly Mountain Arts Etsy shop!

Dave has carved this 3 1/2 inch nalbinding needle from fossil mammoth ivory and has hand polished it to a high gloss. These are truly little gems and feel so nice in your hand.

Blue Mammoth Ivory Nalbinding Knitting Needle

This is a beautiful 2 1/2 inch nalbinding needle that Dave carved from rare Blue Mammoth Ivory. It is the little sister to the last blue needle that recently sold on Ebay at auction. One side shows a mix of blue and brown colors. The other side is a solid deep blue, almost black, color. The ivory is at least 10,000 years old. It is initialed by Dave, the maker. Perfect for SCA Ren-Faire!

A Gift of Apples

Made with love on Grizzly Mountain!

We made this "A Gift of Apples" cameo needle minder from a gorgeous vintage inspired resin cameo. We inlayed a rare earth magnet with clear resin on the back. Dave encased another rare earth magnet into a piece of faux ivory (resin) that he turned on the lathe. Together, these beauties will "mind" your needle conveniently on your project! Separated, the cameo needle minder and faux ivory back would also make two handy refrigerator magnets!

This and five more new cameo needle minders have been added to the Fiber Art Tool section of our Etsy shop!

Fossil Ivory Nalbinding Needles

Made with love on Grizzly Mountain!

Jo has just added 8 new fossil ivory nalbinding needles to our Grizzly Mountain Arts Etsy Shop! You'll find a variety of sizes and materials, including fossil walrus and mammoth ivory and deer antler.

Dave has carved the 4 inch, 102mm nalbinding needle above, from fossil mammoth ivory and has hand polished it to a high gloss. We have photographed both sides of this needle to show the uniqueness of the ancient ivory. Each nalbinding needle has been initialed by Dave and comes in it's own velour drawstring bag.

Blue Mammoth Ivory Nalbinding Knitting Needle

This is a beautiful 3 1/2 inch nalbinding needle that Dave carved from rare Blue Mammoth Ivory. One side shows a mix of blue and brown colors. The other side is a solid deep blue, almost black, color. The ivory is at least 10,000 years old. It is initialed by Dave, the maker. Perfect for SCA Ren-Faire!

Girl with Pearls Needle Minder

We made this "Girl with Pearls" cameo needle minder from a gorgeous vintage inspired resin cameo. We inlayed a rare earth magnet with clear resin on the back. We set the cameo in a gold toned setting to give this needle minder a finished look. Dave inlayed another rare earth magnet into a beautiful piece of pau ferro that he turned on the lathe. Together, these beauties will "mind" your needle conveniently on your project!

You can find this little beauty in the "Fiber Art Tool" section of our Etsy shop.

Girl with Flowers Cameo Needle Minder

I finally got Dave to make a couple of new cameo needle minders! I have one listed in our Etsy shop and will try to get the other one listed tomorrow.

Dave made this "Girl with Flowers" cameo needle minder from a gorgeous vintage inspired resin cameo. He then inlayed a rare earth magnet with clear resin on the back. The cameo was then set in a gold toned setting to give this needle minder a finished look. Dave inlayed another rare earth magnet into a beautiful piece of pau ferro that he turned on the lathe. Together, these beauties will "mind" your needle conveniently on your project!

Ancient Ivory Nalbinding Needle

This nalbinding needle has been hand carved from ancient ivory and has been hand polished to a high gloss. Each of our nalbinding needles has been initialed by Dave and comes in its own velour drawstring bag. This nalbinding needle has been photographed on a ruler so you can see the precise measurement, so be sure and click the link above to view the additional photos.

Blue Mammoth Ivory Nalbinding Knitting Needle

Rare BLUE Mammoth ivory nalbinding needle with inlaced brass rune. This Rune symbol is EIHWAZ , a very powerful rune of banishing and protection. The ivory is at least 10,000 years old. It is initialed by Dave, the maker. Perfect for SCA Ren-Faire!

What is Nalbinding? According to Wikipedia , Nålebinding (Danish: literally "binding with a needle" or "needle-binding", also naalbinding or naalebinding) is a fabric creation technique predating both knitting and crochet. Also known in English as "knotless netting," "knotless knitting," [1] or "single needle knitting," the technique is distinct from crochet in that it involves passing the full length of the working thread through each loop, unlike crochet where the work is formed only of loops, never involving the free end. Archaeological specimens of fabric made by nålebinding can be difficult to distinguish from knitted fabric.

Acorn Pattern Pricker

Dave turned this 2 ¼ inch Acorn needle vise/pattern pricker from maple burl and lacewood. The burl wood had some voids in it that he filled with brass inlace, making a very unique and attractive accent.

Fossil Ivory Nalbinding Needles

Rings aren't the only thing Dave has been making lately! Three new Nalbinding Needles have been added to the Fiber Art Tool section of our Etsy shop.

Copper and Turquoise Sewing Needle Case

Dave hand crafted this copper etched needle case and accented it with True Stone turquoise and Cocobolo wood. This needle case is 3 ½ inches in length and initialed and dated by Dave. You can find this beautiful one-of-a-kind piece up for auction on Ebay.

Mammoth Ivory Bodkin Nalbinding Needle with Case

This larger ivory nalbinding needle is 4 inches long and comes with a Rosewood case. Larger needles are used for projects using heavier materials such as for nalbinding rugs. Dave hand carved this out of a shard of ancient woolly mammoth ivory from Siberia Russia. He used a new pen case he had on hand and fashioned a engraved brass needle to mount on the top of the case, making it a neat presentation gift or treat for yourself. The ivory is at least 10,000 years old. It is initialed by Dave, the maker.

You can find this Mammoth Ivory Nalbinding Needle currently up for auction on Ebay.

Vegetable Ivory Acorn Needle Minder

Dave carved this 2 piece acorn needle minder from a Tagua Nut (South American Palm), which is commonly called “vegetable ivory” because it can be carved and scrimshawed like regular ivory. With time and use it will develop a patina like regular ivory and the relief carvings will become even more pronounced. Each piece has a strong rare earth magnet inset into it. The acorn goes on the front of your work and the small finger pull goes on the back side holding the magnets tightly together on your or needlework. You could also use each piece as a frig magnet.

This acorn needle minder is currently up for auction on Ebay.

Oregon Ponderosa Pine Needle Button Basket

Oregon Ponderosa Pine Needle Button Basket

We hand make our baskets with Oregon Ponderosa Pine needles tightly stitched with waxed artificial flat sinew. The needles for this little basket have been dyed bright red and a vintage brass rose button has been mounted for the lids centerpiece. The basket measures 2 ¾ inches across by 2 inches high and features a fancy Wheat Stitch binding. The Wheat stitch requires 2 -3 times longer in making a basket than the standard plain straight stitch binding.


The buttons are for display purposes only and are not included with the basket.

Ponderosa Pine Needle Button Basket

A unique hand crafted basket for your sewing collection!

We hand make our baskets with Oregon Ponderosa Pine needles tightly stitched with waxed artificial flat sinew. The needles for this little basket have been dyed navy blue and two vintage buttons have been mounted together for the centerpiece.

Sorry, buttons not included!

The basket measures 2 ¾ inches across by 2 inches high and features a fancy Wheat Stitch binding. The Wheat stitch requires 2 -3 times longer in making a basket than the standard plain straight stitch binding.

This medieval Norse inspired nalbinding needle was carved from a piece of "blue" fossil mammoth ivory. The arrow design has been inlaced (also called inlay) with brass.

What is "blue" ivory?

Blue mammoth ivory is usually the outer bark ivory of the tusk and gets its color from leaching elements in the soil and ice where it has beed buried for thousands of years. The different patterns makes each needle a one-of-a- kind. Blue mammoth ivory is the most prized in jewelry making and for making expensive knife handles and pistol grips.

New Nalbinding Needles!

Somebody's been making up for lost time in the studio!

These three newest nalbinding needles were just added to our Etsy shop. All of our nalbinding needles are hand carved from ancient ivory and have been hand polished to a high gloss. Each nalbinding needle has been initialed by Dave and comes in it's own velour drawstring bag.

Dave's Button Baskets

This is Dave’s latest little creation! A basket for your buttons featuring a vintage button lid center piece.

Most people think that all our baskets are my art pieces but alas…Dave stitches also and has much more patience and a longer attention span than I. Dave says “give an ole sailor a needle and he can mend a sail, splice a rope, scrimshaw a whales tooth or make you a basket”.

We hand make our baskets with Oregon Ponderosa Pine needles tightly stitched with waxed artificial flat sinew. The needles for this little basket have been dyed and a vintage copper button is used for the lids focal centerpiece. The basket measures 2 ¾ inches across by 2 ¼ inches high and features a fancy Wheat Stitch binding. The Wheat stitch requires 2 -3 times longer in making a basket than the standard plain straight stitch binding.

Oh, and for the record, when something goes wrong…. Dave can also cuss like a sailor!

New Needle Minders

It's been a few days since we've had anything to post about, but we've recently listed some new vintage inspired cameo needle minders. Dave is returning to his workshop in short spells, and these needle minders are just the right project for that!

On Ebay, we have listed a gorgeous Ebony Needle Minder that Dave has inlayed with Mother of Pearl in a diamond shape. This needle minder has a turned piece of Ebony as it's back piece.

In our Fiber Art Tools section of our Etsy shop, we have added some more of the beautiful vintage inspired resin cameo needle minders. Three of these are a really pretty peach color!

Don't forget, these nifty little needle minders can be separated and used as two independent magnets on your refrigerator too, as each piece has been inlayed with a very powerful rare earth magnet!