Guys & Needlepointing : An Interview
Where are all the guy needlepointers at? 🙋♂️
Search for “guys that needlepoint” and you’ll find the name “Rosey Grier” shows up frequently on results. Rosey wrote a book called Rosey Grier’s Needlepoint For Men, aimed to help men with the art of needlepoint. I wrote a bit about Rosey in the history of needlepoint blog, and he has one of the loveliest stories about falling for needlepoint after his football career. That said, his book was published in 1973… Why is his story still one of the only ones we hear about? Where are all the male needlepointers and what is their experience stitching like?
In my quest for male needlepoint-inspired work, I came across a company called Smathers & Branson, which sells needlepoint products and targets a male audience. Apparently, the two guys who started the company were inspired by needlepointed belts that their girlfriends had given them. They wanted to create something similar that could be made quickly and less expensively. They became known for their belts at first and now have a much broader product line.
Ok, so there’s a male owned company that sort of does needlepoint, but really they’re selling products made in Vietnam - which doesn’t quite get into the love for the stitching process. A process that Rosey highlighted in saying, “it’s turned into one of the most enjoyable and satisfying things I've ever done...if you try it once, you'll keep on coming back for more.” Perhaps, I thought, there are more guy needlepointers out there and they’re voices haven’t been heard yet. Perhaps they haven’t had the platform to express their appreciation for the basketweave or the continental.
I decided to take my thoughts straight to the source - to interview a male needlepointer… who also happens to be my fiancé.
James started needlepointing in the past year, while we were traveling, and he really got hooked after we moved to Colorado. Since we’ve been spending much more time at home, the two of us often while away our evening by stitching silently on the couch, allowing each completed row to clear our busy brains. It’s been a delight to see James grow in his affection for the canvas and to gain great pride for the hard work he puts in - I think we all know how good it feels when you complete a big color block!
Hi James!
Hi! 🙋♂️
You’re new to the needlepoint world! Welcome!
Thanks, I feel right at home.
What canvas are you working on?
“Buffalo” has been the first piece that I hope to start and finish!
Did you have any prior experience before starting the Buffalo?
Well, you taught me how to needlepoint while we were on our bus transfer from Venice to Ljubljana last year. I definitely didn’t know what I was doing, and at one point you fell asleep, so back then I think I was more just trying to not mess up your canvas too much.
WOW blast from the past, I actually forgot about that time… perhaps because I was in and out of sleep. Ok, so you had stitched before but this is the first project of your own?
Yup. And I’m having a lot of fun.
What do you do when you’re not stitching?
I guess like most people, a lot of random things. I write code for a living, I bake sourdough bread, I run, I climb ... I also love both reading and writing (having both published a book and written about the rather dry topic of programming).
So varied! Do you find any similarities between needlepoint and coding?
There are aspects of needlepointing that I think would be valuable to anybody in their professional careers. I find parallels between things, and needlepointing and programming is no exception. With both pursuits, you are oftentimes starting from the beginning with a clear idea of what the ending will be. With both, no matter how hard you work, you can’t just rush to the finish - you get there through your efforts and through spending the time to do things right.
I’ve heard you mention that you liked the hard work aspect of needlepoint, how does it compare to working hard with technology/on a screen?
An old game I played had a character that used to say “hard work is its own reward.” I wasn’t even a teenager when I first heard that phrase, but it stuck with me - for many years, without any kind of understanding as to what those words might mean, even. I’ve gained an appreciation for them (if not an understanding) over time. With needlepointing, I think the “gain” that you get from your time and effort is satisfying at a tangible level; you’re bringing art to life. With programming, or any kind of hard work on a screen for that matter, the gain is much more abstract. Oftentimes, the most satisfying things in programming can’t be explained very well, though I would hazard to guess that’s true of any specialty; by the time you’ve reached the point of being able to do something fun, the pool of people you can talk excitedly with about it has shrunk appreciably. On the other hand, with needlepointing, you don’t necessarily need people to be interested in how you’ve done something, or how much fun you had along the way - at the end of it, you have art, and whether you’re going to frame your work or incorporate it into a pillow, or whatever ... you’ve made something real, and that’s very powerful.
What is your experience with needlepoint & stress relief?
The same as my experience with any kind of activity that features stimulating repetition - there’s something very soothing in working on a canvas, even if you’re “just” doing one color block. I think the act of focusing on something like stitching actually frees your mind up to work on the stuff you wish you had the answer to, but couldn’t figure out. Sometimes we just need to take a walk out of the mental room we’re working in and pick up a canvas to figure things out. There’s a certain rhythm to stitching that makes me really happy.
What do you think about as you stitch? Have you noticed any differences in the topics you think about when you’re stitching versus not stitching?
I’m definitely still thinking about what I’m stitching, because I don’t want to mess up. I guess I’m not thinking about anything in particular, but I also like to let my mind wander. So often our attention has to be solely focused on one thing ... so when I’m not thinking about where the needle needs to go next, I like to just examine thoughts as they occur to me. Some end up being productive. Some don’t.
What was getting started with needlepoint like for you?
Fun. I like to work with my hands, and there’s something really gratifying about starting something new. It’s easy to be afraid of being bad at things - being a beginner at something again - but I find needlepointing very approachable.
What would you say to other aspiring male needlepointers?
I think needlepointing is a great activity and there’s nothing stopping anybody from taking part in it!
How do you think you’ll finish that buffalo? Have a next project in mind?
I really want to frame it! Our walls are pretty bare at the moment and I’d love it if one day we had the Buffalo and your Eleanor the Elephant for us to see and be able to show to people. I’d be proud to do an RBG canvas, that’s for sure.
Yes! I look forward to that day. I gotta put some more work in first! Thanks for joining me, James!
Thank you!
Are you a guy that likes to stitch? Do you have any fellas in your life that needlepoint or embroider? We’d love to hear from you! Please email any stories or photos to sheila@thornalexander.com 💙. Check out the awesome collection of stitchers below!
