I learned to embroider when I was a kid – around 10 years old – when my aunt and older sisters were really into cross stitch (remember the ’80’s?). Eventually, I migrated to surface embroidery, teaching myself with whatever I could get my hands on.

When I finished college, I got into serious embroidery as a result of a growing interest in historical and ecclesiastical embroidery. I began reading a lot, collecting books, pieces of embroidery, and other resources, taking pictures and looking at pieces up close. I launched into trying this technique and that technique, until I figured out the one question that always pops into my mind when I see a beautiful piece of embroidery: “How did they do that?” As far as stitching goes, I’m pretty much self-taught.

For my “real job,” I’m a teacher. I’ve been teaching English for 17 years and I also teach teachers how to teach. (By the way, if you find grammar errors on my website, feel free to slap me!)

During the summer when I’m not traveling, I teach embroidery to children. In fact, that’s how Needle ‘n Thread was born. It was an off-shoot of teaching embroidery to others. I just decided to expand the audience a bit. Hence, the How To embroidery videos.