On Friday I got together with my friends Candy and Jody to stitch. It wasn’t completely selfish, we are all three in CyberPointers and we are also all three working on the piece the chapter is doing for ANG’s 40th anniversary in 2012.
Jody and Candy live in Sacramento and I live in Vallejo. We picked the town of Dixon as being halfway between and figured no one would bother us at Starbucks if we bought some drinks.
We came prepared with canvases, threads, tools, and stitch books. We had bought drinks. But what surprised and delighted me was the number of people who stopped by and asked about what we were doing.
I stitch in public alot, but I’ve never had so many people come by. This got me thinking about how you can make the most of your stitching in public.
1. Stitch in a small group if possible. People will be less likely to stop and talk to you if you are by yourself and absorbed. This doesn’t hold true in stressful places like waiting rooms or airports.
2, Don’t stitch in cafes with empty plates from food. It looks messy and businesses like that depend on turning over tables. Pick places and times where people linger. If it’s a place where students study or people ring laptops, it a great place to linger and stitch.
3. If the business sells drinks, each person should buy at least one. They are supporting you by giving you a place to stitch. Support them back.
4. Pick your place to sit carefully. We were between the pick up place and the door; everyone passed us. If we had been on the other side of the store no one would have stopped.
5. Bring something small if you can to hand to people who ask about it. We didn’t and we should have. Got to do that for next time.
It was so much fun, we are planning to do it again soon.
About Janet M Perry
Janet Perry is the Internet's leading authority on needlepoint. She designs, teaches and writes, getting raves from her fans for her innovative techniques, extensive knowledge and generous teaching style. A leading writer of stitch guides, she blogs here and lives on an island in the northeast corner of the SF Bay with her family
Danny says
Hand a stranger a piece you’re working on?!?!?! I would never EVER do that — I don’t know if those hands are grubby or not! I would, of course, hold the piece in such a way that the person could admire it …