Margot Sands works on her cross stitch piece at Grandma’s House brewery. [Photo: Madison Lauterbach]
Grandma’s House hosts a weekly Foul-Mouthed Cross-Stitch gathering, where people of all ages and genders can enjoy one of their craft brews and cross-stitch playful designs. Among the works of art were charms that said things like “Nope” and “Nasty Woman,” among varying levels of profanity. Recently, activities typically thought of as “elderly activities,” like cross-stitching and bingo have been adopted by younger generations.
The profanity is an odd matchup with the ages old craft, but the juxtaposition has become popular in the last few years. Ashley Nelson, a regular of the event, worked away at a piece that will say, “Eat S**t and Die.” “We’re not our grandmothers obviously, and I don’t know, I’ve got a bad mouth,” she said.
Veteran cross stitcher Shy Yant picks out a design for her piece at Grandma’s House brewery. [Madison Lauterbach]
Matthew Fuerst, owner of Grandma’s said, “I wanted it to be a relaxed, homey, comfortable vibe.” Patrons can order one of the many local craft beers and stitch away, without feeling self-conscious about their crafting skills.
“It’s a chill atmosphere,” Nelson said. “It’s just kind of a place to do what you do, hang out with friends and catch up.”
Grandma’s House has been open for two and a half years, and hosting the cross-stitch events since the beginning of football season. “Football on Sundays has never been particularly good for breweries in general, and it certainly wasn’t for us,” Fuerst said. “I spent a year promoting it as a place to watch football and it didn’t work. I decided to scrap that entirely and to give this a shot and it took off beyond what I could have expected.”
Bartender Kelly Peterson pour a draft beer at Grandma’s House during the Foul-Mouth Cross Stitch Sunday event. [Photo: Madison Lauterbach]
Many women can feel intimidated at bars and breweries, as craft beer drinking has typically been a male dominated activity. Despite that, Grandma’s has grown to be a favorite of the local brew drinking ladies.
“Our vibe is more friendly to female craft beer drinkers, we have significantly more female followers than men followers, which is pretty abnormal in the beer industry,” Fuerst said. The brewery is also welcoming to those who don’t drink, said Shy Yant, who’s been attending the weekly gatherings for three months, “I don’t drink, and I don’t feel like I need to fit in at all. The staff here are really friendly and everybody is just nice. It’s just calm here.”
6. April 2017 at 11:37 AM
Great story! I really appreciate your photographs. The angles are interesting and I really get the vibe of the place. Perhaps, listing their upcoming events or gathering would be an extra touch to get them some patrons. Really appreciate the images.
6. April 2017 at 11:37 AM
This is a very interesting place and is a cool idea. You did a great job of letting us know what the brewery is all about. The way you worded a lot of your sentences made it fun to read. You did a great job on this!
6. April 2017 at 11:46 AM
I enjoyed reading your article! Your sentences flowed and I had no idea this was a thing, you gave readers an invitation and vivid imagery of what it was all about. Great job!
6. April 2017 at 11:50 AM
What a cool, obscure event! Love the photo of the taps wrapped up in the crochet covers. And great choice using the quote you did to end your story. Really wraps up the overall vibe of the event.
6. April 2017 at 11:53 AM
very interesting event to find out about. interesting to see a mix of an old hobby with a new activity coming together and being a successful weekly event
6. April 2017 at 1:22 PM
The article is very well written! The last quote wraps up the story nicely and makes me want to go there even more!
6. April 2017 at 1:30 PM
I love hearing about the cool, weird things breweries/businesses do in order to carve out a niche. The article was a great read too.
6. April 2017 at 1:33 PM
Such a cool article! I had no idea this place existed. This piece makes this place sound like so much fun, the pictures and quotes added lots of personality.
6. April 2017 at 1:34 PM
This is an amazing piece. I was sold from the very start. I had no idea this place was even in Denver. Way to go for finding and creating a story around this. My only suggestion would be if they offered classes on how to cross-stitch.
6. April 2017 at 1:35 PM
Super Creative! An unknown brewery made the headlines! The quotes are enticing and informative. Drinking beer is boring by itself, breweries have games but none to do alone…this is a great story offering a loner beer drinker a way to amplify the craft.
6. April 2017 at 1:36 PM
Fantastic story! I loved that you used many quotes from various people at the brewery. The way you described the place and atmosphere made me feel like I was there. I had never heard of this brewery before reading your article. It was so very well written that I really want to check this place out soon!
6. April 2017 at 2:15 PM
Wow! great story, I definitely want to go. Photos are great!