When Mabel Coyle was going through a stressful time in her life about 10 years ago, someone suggested she take up needlepoint.
She did, and she found it was enormously helpful, she said, not only in itself, but because she could do it with others.
"It saved my life, and continues to," she said.
Almost 10 years ago, Coyle began working at House of Needlepoint in Darien, which has a table and sofas where people who knit are encouraged to sit down, knit and enjoy each others company.
"It's better than therapy," Coyle says, and not as expensive, she adds.
Coyle wasn't unfamiliar with stress -- previously she had been a vice president for Chemical Bank, in charge of operations in Spain, Portugal and Italy, overseeing loan portfolios. She had given up that job to take care of her three boys, now aged 27, 26 and 19.
"I like the colors, I like the different stitches," she said. Plenty of her creations are on display in the store, along with Coyle's sparkling smile and warm greetings for visitors.
Does she miss her old banking job, which took her to Spain for three years?
"I miss the money," the Greenwich resident said.
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