The Grandys

Grandmother of Invention

Seasoned seamstresses and everyday crafters both know how clumsy and irritating it can be to get a thin piece of thread through the minuscule eye of a needle. To that end, Pam Turner, 55, created the Spiral Eye needle, an easy-to-thread, side-loading sewing tool. She hopes her invention "change the world" by making it possible for anyone to "mend their own clothes without help," whether they be an injured veteran or a stroke victim. Turner, a grandmother of one, hopes to teach future inventors that "little inventions are just as important as big, complicated ones."