There are oodles of good reasons to pick up needlepoint as a hobby. Of course, I may be a little biased. 😉
My “whys” for stitching are pretty simple, though…
- It provides me with a creative outlet.
- It helps me to relax.
- It’s something that I can do just about anywhere at any time.
And with this wackadoodle world we’re living in right now, I couldn’t be more grateful for my beloved hobby.
Have you ever thought about how needlepoint provides you with a creative outlet, too? I hear – all the time – from my students – that they aren’t creative enough to choose their own stitches and threads for projects. But you know what? They’re wrong. EVERYONE is creative!
The definition of creative is “to have the quality or power of creating”. So, if needlepoint is already your hobby, then you’re creative. Because when you’re stitching, you’re creating. And if needlepoint isn’t your hobby yet – well, my friend, you’re in the right place. I can help you learn. 😉
Needlepoint gives you a creative outlet, even if you’re stitching a canvas entirely in basketweave.
How so? Because when you choose a canvas, you’re expressing your personal taste or style. For example, I L-O-V-E just about anything French – and many of the canvases in my stash reflect that. In contrast, my friend Dot loves all things Asian, so she has oodles of finished projects depicting Japanese fans, kimonos, geishas, and the like. You can get a sense of who each of us is by looking at the canvases we choose to stitch, so that makes it a form of creative expression.
And when you actually stitch your canvases…
well – that’s when you can really let your imagination run wild. Think about how your thread and stitch choices reflect your personality. Whether you opt to stitch a canvas in basketweave with wool thread or pull out all the stops and add oodles of texture and dimension by using canvas embroidery stitches and novelty threads, your selections channel your unique “you-ness”.
How you opt to finish your canvases also gives us a peek into what sets you apart from everyone else on the planet.
Do you like knife-edge pillows with twisted cording – or do you prefer pillows with oodles of ruffles or fancy fringe and tassels? Still think you’re not a creative person? Well, you are! Anytime you make a decision – any decision – about a project, you’re expressing your extraordinary self. And that, my friend, is creativity in spades!
Another reason I love to do needlepoint is that it helps me to relax.
I especially find basketweave projects meditative. The rhythmic back and forth motions of stitching are soothing to me. And stitching keeps my mind occupied with pleasant thoughts, like which color I get to work with next. I think everyone should have at least one basketweave project to work on all the time. And that’s reason enough for ANYBODY to pick up needlepoint as a hobby right now.
With the wonders of technology, needlepoint doesn’t have to be such a solitary hobby anymore, either. In fact, just last week, I started a really fun virtual stitching circle where we can gather together online. It’s called Stitching with Ellen. It’s absolutely free and I’d love to have you join me. Click here to sign up now.
(And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention The Stitcher’s Club, my online resource center for all things needlepoint.)
Needlepoint is the kind of hobby that you can take with you everywhere you go.
Right now, we’re not venturing outside of our homes too much, but that’ll change soon. I just know, in my heart of hearts, that we’re gonna flatten that curve sooner rather than later. 😉
Of course, you can’t take every kind of project with you, but you can certainly pop small portable projects in your bag. My all-time favorite “on-the-go” needlepoint projects are Christmas ornaments and belts. Heck, I sometimes spend more time planning and packing my travel projects than I do packing my clothes. (Please tell me I’m not the only one who does that!)
So, now that I’ve made my case for why needlepoint is my favorite hobby, I’d love to hear from you! Why is it your favorite hobby?
Tell me in the comments below and I’ll add your name to my fishbowl for this month’s drawing (Tuesday, March 31) for some needlepoint goodies. 🙂
Alrighty – that’s all for now, my friend.
Have a terrific rest of your day and, until next time,
Happy Stitching…
XOXO!!
Love needlework because it takes my mind off the problems that are rushing around in my head. Relaxing thing before Bed time
Hi Shirley!
Thank you so much for sharing why you love to stitch. I’m with you… there’s nothing like putting a few stitches in before bedtime to help me get a good night’s sleep.
XOXO!
Ellen
I see all the beautiful canvas and I want to do them all but there is no way I could. I have cross stitch patterns that I want to convert to needlepoint. I love the threads and the colors. Went and found a website today for the Straw Silk threads. Oh my there are some beautiful colors there. The color Ellen uses in her fun sheets I love. She gave me the name but now I do not what it is. When I find the name again believe me when I say I will buy it in bulk. I am not an artist but I can visualize something and do then want to recreate it. Will I get all of what I want to done no way but I can try to do some. Ordered two canvases this week and another stitch diagram book. As we all know we have a fortune tied up in our hobby but that is all right
Hi Laraine!
How nice to hear from you. The color I use in my videos is called Turquoise and it’s a Silk and Ivory thread. It’s my all-time favorite color! I’m glad you like it, too. 😉
And I agree – the colors are what speak to me, too! Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me here. Have a happy day and I’ll see you soon!
XOXO!
Ellen 🙂
I love needlepoint for:
1. it is relaxing.
2. I love the fiber colors.
3. It something I can do.
4. I love seeing the gorgeous canvases.
Ooooh – me, too, Barb! Those are all terrific reasons for loving needlepoint. Thank you for sharing them with me here.
XOXO!
Ellen 🙂
I love to be able to make gifts for others that are unique and unavailable anywhere else! You can make a needlepoint project for any and all occassions!
You’re speaking to my heart, Jane! What a wonderful way to approach your needlepoint hobby. That’s one of the main reasons I love to give handmade gifts, too. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me here.
XOXO!
Ellen 🙂
I’m so glad you started the virtual stitching circle. I am really enjoying it. I came back to needlework after more than thirty years away from it and I am really enjoying the challenge of the varied stitches.
Hi Anne!
I’m glad I started our virtual stitching circle, too! It’s been oodles of fun for me and I’m so glad to know that you’re enjoying it, too! Thank you for sharing that with me. Can’t wait to see you again soon… please feel free to bring a “show and tell”, if you’d like. We’d love to see what you’re working on.
XOXO!
Ellen 🙂
Ellen, I will be signing up for the virtual stitching circle, what a great idea. Needlepoint has been a craft I learned from my Grandmother and Mother, put down and picked back up, seen many changes in styles and techniques and still love. It calms me during these stressful times. I encourage anyone to try it. Thank you for your posts. Sherry B
Hi Sherry!
I’m delighted to hear that you’re joining us for Stitching with Ellen. I’m having soooo much fun with these virtual stitching circles that I can hardly stand it! It’s great to have you on board with me. 😉
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me here… and I’ll see you soon.
XOXO!
Ellen 🙂
I do so enjoy you sharing your personal experiences in a pleasant way. Needlepoint is fun until the old fingers start hurting. Can’t do what I once did, but glad I’ve kept a few items to give the grandchildren. I’m also trying something new these days—painting with the grands! Messy but fun.
Keep it up! Your sharing and all the Facebook sharing always brighten the day.
Hi there, Barbara!
Well, you just made my day, sweet friend! Thank you so much for your kind words. It’s a joy to be able to share what I love and having the opportunity to do that online just makes me over-the-moon happy!
Your grands are so lucky to have you as their grandmother! I look forward to the day I have little people around again. 🙂
Please share pics of your painting adventures with us – I’d love to see.
XOXO!
Ellen 🙂
Needlepoint is a fun fascinating way for me to create. I love learning new stitches and I’m adventuring out of my comfort zone to try new threads. I’m working with over dye threads right now. They are beautiful and loving the way my piece is working up. . I’m anxious to learn about silk on my next project.
Love stitching,
Linda
Hi Linda!
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with me here. You’re so right – needlepoint is a fun way to express your own unique creativity. I love your open-minded approach to learning, too. Please be sure and share a picture of your latest project with us. I’d love to see it!
Have a happy rest of your day and happy stitching!
XOXO!
Ellen 🙂
I just started needlepointing in the fall, and have been trying to learn by watching on line videos and books. (Probably would not pass if it was being graded). I was inspired when my sister took me to her friend’s house to see her flamingo tree and it was full of ornaments that she had needlepointed. Since then, I have stitched seven ornaments and currently working on number 8. I do so wish we still had a shop in Tuscaloosa to be able to learn first hand. I thank you for all you are doing.
Hi Julie!
Welcome to the wonderful world of needlepoint! It’s soooo much fun, isn’t it?! I can just picture that flamingo tree in my mind’s eye. My friend, Sally, collects flamingos and she has oodles of flamingo needlepoint ornaments. Wondering if that’s the tree you saw?
Don’t be too hard on yourself as you’re learning to stitch. The way to master something is through practice. And you’ll make mistakes as you learn, but that’s all part of the process. So give yourself some grace. 🙂
Please share pictures of some of your ornaments over in the Serendipity Needleworks Facebook group. I’d love to see them!
Have a terrific rest of your day and thank you for sharing your thoughts with me here.
XOXO!
Ellen 🙂
I have loved stitching since I was a Camp Fire girl, in 6th grade, beginning with embroidery. I moved onto the kits found in big box stores and found I wasn’t satisfied with those. I took a ‘sampler’ class at a LNS and I was hooked. I love the sewing motion, looking for beautiful threads and stitches that work well together to create a ‘picture’ of color of thread. It is meditative at times, frustrating at others 🙂 but ultimately the satisfaction I feel having assembled the components and stitched them into their whole is what makes this hobby enjoyable for me! I am constantly in awe of what other, more creative stitcher’s create and it has helped me learn so much!
Hi Leslie!
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with me here. Embroidery is the first thing I learned to do, too. And boy, oh boy, can I ever relate to getting hooked upon learning about “fancy” stitches. When I first saw projects stitched entirely in decorative stitches, my mind was B L O W N!
I agree that needlepoint – especially when choosing/working with specialty threads and stitches – is a process and I love that you have such an open mind about the big picture. The only way to learn is through doing and you’ve done some marvelous pieces.
Have a terrific rest of your day and I’ll see you soon…
XOXO!
Ellen 🙂
I am just starting needlepoint. I am so excited. I almost died 3 years ago. God made a miracle for me. My liver was dead and when that happens it draws on your kidneys. My kidneys were 80 percent gone. Praise the Lord, I got a liver transplant. I don’t have a memory for 2 years. I am doing great now. Glory to God ! Well, I found Herrschners on the computer. Then I found the picture ” Guardian Angel ” in needlepoint. I just had to have it. My husband said, ” If there is anything that you want to do, you had better do it. Time is running out. I am 70 years old. So I was told to do something, not to just lay around. I clean house and cook. Now I also do needlepoint. I got on the computer and found Ellen Johnson with lots about needlepoint. I enrolled in Needlepoint Made Easy. YAY !!! I have had to relearn the computer. I want you to know that I believe Got has blessed you and that He has blessed me with needlepoint. If I hadn’t found you I don’t know if I could have figured it out. I just love needlework !!!
Dearest Allene,
Thank you so much for being brave and sharing your story with us here. I can’t even begin to imagine how hard these last 3 years must have been for you. And you’re right – God is so very, very good! I’m grateful that our paths have crossed and I’m tickled pink that you’ve picked up needlepoint. Thank you so much for your kind words. You just made my day. 🙂
I love needlework, too – and I know we’re going to have oodles of fun together for many years to come!
XOXO!
Ellen