More Than A Student: Sophia Jones

Sophia Jones is currently working on her degree in Public Health at Texas State and spends her time learning about COVID-19 and how to combat it. Between studying for classes and working towards her art history minor, she spends her free time doing Huck and Brazilian embroidery that she learned from her grandmother.

“Huck embroidery is traditional Swedish or Scandinavian embroidery seen in movies like Midsommar,” Sophia said. “It involves a lot of weaving, and usually consists of animals or flowers.”

Her hobby didn’t truly take off until March of this year when she went into quarantine in her hometown Houston, Texas. With lots of free time on her hands, she decided to pick up the embroidery hoop after watching her grandma.

“My grandmother had all her old hoops and she used to embroider all kinds of stuff, so I thought I’d try it,” Sophia said.

Mastering the skills needed to embroider proved to be challenging for Sophia at first, and she often spent hours or days to complete a piece. But after a couple of months of learning the ropes from her grandma, Sophia started to get better and better with each stitch.

“For someone who is just starting, practice makes perfect,” Sophia said. “I haven't been embroidering very long myself and I see a strong improvement in every piece I make.”

Sophia is feeling more confident than ever in her art and feels as if she finally has an artistic outlet that she enjoys.

“My favorite part is when I finally finish a piece and I get to show my friends and family,” Sophia said. “Everyone is always really kind and loves to give me fun ideas for my next piece.”

Sophia attributes Tik Tok to embroidery’s rise to fame. The thousands of videos on the social media platform show in depth tutorials that Sophia uses to work on her next piece. She gets inspiration and often shares those with others to inspire creativity in those around her.

“As a beginner, you just have to start with simple pieces and work your way up,” Sophia said. “Something that really helps is to sketch your design out beforehand!”

While still only a beginner, it's clear Sophia's time practicing Huck and Brazilian embroidery has weaved itself into a full-fledged passion. Don’t hesitate to dive into hobbies that you’re interested in like Sophia, you never know what skill you will pick up that makes you #MoreThanAStudent. To be featured on our social media, use our hashtag, or tag us @LBJSC to showcase what makes you unique.