If you’ve landed here at Stitched Stories, you’ve got crafty aspirations and we want to support you in your creative goals.

We know that desire to create.

We’re familiar with creating as way to

be productive,
learn new skills, and
simply MAKE something appealing

So now that we’ve cleared up a little bit about why you’re here, let’s talk about how and why we aim to support you in your creative stitching endeavors.

I’m Debbie Hodge, the founder of Stitched Stories,

and I landed here after years of creating in a variety of ways: sewing, embroidery, fiction writing, scrapbooking, website design, and online teaching. I’m the author of a scrapbooking how-to book (Get It Scrapped) and the founder of two online education businesses: GetItScrapped.com and TeachWhatYouDo.com

For over two years (back in 2020), pictures of embroidery were filling my Instagram feed, and I felt the urge to embroider again (after 30 years away)…

but the boxes of counted cross-stitch books in my basement no longer drew me. The cross-stitches felt too orderly for what I wanted to create now.

But what DID I want to create?

I started shopping the web, buying from several wonderful designers I found on Instagram and Etsy.

The kits were lovely. But the patterns weren’t exactly what I wanted to work on.

I wanted designs:

that were more fun than they were complex.
that presented a variety of stitches rather than just a few gorgeous ones,
that offered a design with several areas to stitch, areas I could work in a sitting and that would come together like a collage in the end,
that reminded me of old-time samplers BUT with modern motifs–and even story lines (just let me get lost in thoughts spurred by the imagery and color).

And that’s how the Stitched Stories was born.

Since July 2020, we’ve filled over 20,000 orders for embroidery kits and patterns from our Seacoast New Hampshire base.

We have a committed and creative team.

Isaac Niman helped build our online store and systems.

Isaac Niman was a University of New Hampshire physics student when we founded Stitched Stories in 2020. He set up our online store, shipping processes, and automated email systems. While he’s moved on to other pursuits, Isaac still helps out with shipping and inventory when we’re on vacation. He even keeps an eye on our ideas for new designs–loving hands-on projects himself as an accomplished knitter.

Amy Kingsford developed our branding and supplies know-how on soOooOooo many areas of the business.

Amy is a designer and strategist to course builders who has worked with me for a dozen years on my other businesses. I love the branding work she did for Stitched Stories and we’re excited to have her support with online selling platforms as we build this business.

We are honored that you are here learning more about Stitched Stories and our team.