Exercise Your Brain. According to the Alzheimer’s Association “Mental decline as you age appears to be largely due to altered connections among brain cells. But research has found that keeping the brain active seems to increase its vitality and may build its reserves of brain cells and connections.” So it’s very important that even long after your schooling ends you continue to flex your brain muscle.
Keeps your brain active and focused—At Any Age. Grandmas are not the only ones who have brains!!! Young, stressed professionals are now taking up needlepoint as a way to relax and enjoy the benefits of their labor. Needlepointing and other stitching techniques, are effective ways to improve creativity and mindfulness. Look at needlepointing as logic relaxation. Forming and following patterns requires a certain type of logic. Commuting to/from work? Leave those ear buds in and exercise your mind. It’s a self-induced state of focusing. Focusing on a task for a long period of time has been shown to improve concentration levels and hand-to-eye coordination. (bodyandsoul.com.au)
Invest In Yourself—you’ll flaunt your latest exercise clothes at the gym while you tone those muscles. Why not spend money equally on the tools you need to exercise your brain? It will probably cost you a lot less in the long run to buy a needlepoint canvas and threads than it will on sneakers and a gym bag.
What’s Stitching Among Friends? What’s better than gathering with some friends over coffee, wine, book clubs? Gathering with friends to Needlepoint!!! Needlepointing allows you to be present in the moment with whatever is happening in the room. Yes, you need to concentrate on your canvas, but you can still hold a conversation, visit with friends and be social. Stitching with friends is the embodiment of multi-tasking !!
Provides the Opportunity to Create—creating your own masterpiece is so rewarding. Seeing a project from start to finish gives us a healthy sense of accomplishment. It is so rewarding to struggle through color choices and techniques as you work on a canvas.
Set Your Own Boundaries—only you will decide what piece to work on. Fall in love with a scene? Like to work on small projects? Like a picture but want to change the coloring? Pick it and Stitch it!!
Needlepoints Make the Best Gifts—Stitching is a labor of love…what better way to feel loved than to receive a hand-made needlepointed project.
Express Your Love—what better way to show how much you love somebody than to needlepoint them a gift. Remember: needlepoints don’t only have to be hung on the wall. They can be made into pillows, tote bags, ornaments. Think creatively!!!
Time to ReGroup—use this time to think, regroup, reassess. Your canvases keep all your secrets. Remember Madame DeFarge in Tale of Two Cities?
Keeps You Out of The Kitchen Cabinets—if you hands are busy needlepointing they can’t be touching food now can they?
