Behind the Finish: Annie Spradley of Mason House

Needlepoint as therapy, feeling colors, and moving forward intuitively

Today, we’re featuring one of the biggest, brightest lights in needlepoint, Annie Spradley. I have always admired how her personal style resonates through her Instagram feed and she has absolutely stunning finishes. Today, we go Behind the Finish to learn more about Annie, her company Mason House Needlepoint, and more.

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When Annie Spradley walked into Stitch Boutique in Boston the day before her daughter Amelia’s surgery, she had no idea that needlepoint would become a cornerstone of her creative and emotional life.

The shop visit, accompanied by her mother-in-law, was a spur-of-the-moment decision—an anxious walk turned meaningful detour. What began as a small therapeutic project during a five-day hospital stay transformed into a sustaining creative practice that has guided Annie through uncertainty, healing, and connection.

Stitching As Therapy

Amelia’s medical journey demanded the kind of quiet presence that modern life rarely makes space for. As Annie sat by her daughter’s side, stitching became not just a distraction but a lifeline—one that allowed her to be physically present, emotionally regulated, and creatively nourished.

“I couldn’t go to sleep unless I had done some needlepoint,” Annie says. “So that was kind of how it locked in as such a helpful therapeutic tool.”

Later returning home to Dallas, Annie steeled herself to enter a needlepoint shop alone for the first time. Despite everything she’d already endured, that moment felt intimidating. “Yeah, unfortunately, that's the reality at a lot of shops, you know, and I hope that the tide is changing. It feels like it is.” she explains.

Her experience wasn’t isolated—many stitchers carry stories of alienation or intimidation from their early days walking into a shop without the right vocabulary, supplies, or perceived credibility. Annie knew she wanted to help change that.

Aesthetic Intuition

What sets Annie apart—and what radiates from everything she does at Mason House—is a strong emotional connection to color, texture, and design. She credits her upbringing for her instinctual style, recalling how her grandmother Phyllis Mason, the namesake of Mason House, and other women in her family shaped their homes with joy and boldness.

“My mom always had said, ‘Choose what you love and it’ll all make sense,’” Annie explains. “Trying to coordinate has never been a thing. It’s always been about the emotion that it brings about.”

Color, to Annie, isn’t simply a visual decision, it’s a felt experience.

“I feel colors. Like they have an energy about them,” she says. “Not in a ‘crystals in my pocket’ kind of way—but in a deeply intuitive sense.”

This intuition guides her finishing process, too. “It’s almost like I need the piece to tell me what it wants to be,” she explains. “Sometimes that happens instantly, sometimes it takes a long time.”

Annie frequently sources unique trims and fabrics from eBay, gravitating toward remnants that speak to her interior design sensibilities. Her creative eye is paired with a slow, thoughtful finishing pace—and she’s unapologetic about it.

“I’m not a linear person. I don’t stitch one thing, send it off, and get it back. That’s just not how my brain works.”

Creating Safe Spaces

Mason House was built with intention. Inspired by her grandmother’s warmth and a desire to create a welcoming space for others, Annie envisioned Mason House not just as a creative outlet but as a place of safety and story.

“I named it ‘House’ because I wanted it to feel like you’re coming over and we’re just going to have coffee and chat,” she says. “I find so much value in other people’s stories. Needlepoint represents that in us.”

This commitment to story and space eventually gave rise to “Witnessing Wednesdays,” a series Annie hosts to spotlight voices across the needlepoint community. In a world where snarky Reddit threads and intimidating shop culture still persist, Annie’s desire to hold space feels like a gentle act of resistance.

“People are really starved for connection, and it can come out sideways,” she says. “But if you invite people into something meaningful, the good can come out too.”

What’s Next

Annie’s next chapter focuses on continued creativity—but on her own terms. She and her husband Julius are working on a monthly alphabet subscription, combining his digital skills with her love for personalization and empowerment in stitching. “There’s something really powerful about signing your work,” she says. “Like saying, ‘I was here.’”

She’s also considering collecting Witnessing Wednesdays into a printed volume—another way to hold space, this time in a tangible, beautiful form.

Above all, Annie is embracing slow growth and self-permission. “If it doesn’t feel genuine, I’m not going to do it,” she says. “That’s the rhythm I’m learning to honor.”

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Learn more about Annie and Mason House on her website masonhouseneedlepoint.com or on Instagram at @MasonHouseNeedlepoint.

Thank you to Annie for sharing your story with us. To view other Behind the Finish features, visit here.