What do we do with needlepoint?

A friend posted this extract from The Nearest Exit May Be Behind You (which is a great book that I'd encourage everyone to read):

It's a lovely passage, and it got me thinking about approaches to gendered activities. (Obviously, I'm thinking of needlepoint as gendered in the sense that our culture tends to associate this activity with women, not for a moment as if there's any inherent or essential link between women and needlepoint.)