Hester and her needlework

"It is probable that there was an idea of penance in this mode of occupation...Like all other joys, she rejected it as a sin." (75-76) In this passage it talks about the essence of Hester Prynne being her needlework. She, being a simplistic woman she allows pleasure through her handiwork but, at the same time rejects it as being a sin. Now why i wonder when you have such a great gift to give would you think of it as a sin? This makes no sense to me. I think that before she was seen as only an adulteress she very much enjoyed her craft and the pleasure she obtained while creating it. However after being subjected to what her passions could actually create she sees it as another way for her to be known as a sinner.