Needlework has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. My grandmother was a talented crocheter who sold her work in local craft shops nestled in the North Carolina mountains. She never learned to read patterns and, being left-handed, had to find her own way through new techniques. I’ll never forget sitting across from her, showing her how to work a stitch I’d just learned. She mirrored my movements, stitch for stitch, and picked it up without ever needing a pattern.

My mom kept that creative thread going with blankets, baby gifts, and the kind of needlepoint that filled a room with character. She introduced me to cross stitch and needlepoint, and those became part of my own creative path, along with knitting, Tunisian crochet, and more recently, filet crochet with a steel hook.

Genealogy came later. I wasn’t raised with a big extended family, so it didn’t hold much interest early on. But as I got older, a few family mysteries came up, and my dad asked if I could help work through them. Once I started digging, I realized I loved the process. Researching family history felt a lot like working on a needlework project. You start with scattered pieces—some clear, some frustrating—and bit by bit, you put them together. And just like when your yarn knots up mid-stitch, you hit moments where things don’t quite make sense. But you pause, work through the tangle, and keep going. Eventually, it comes together into something meaningful.

Branches and Stitches is where all of that comes together. It’s where craft and curiosity meet. I'm here to share the tools, ideas, and stories I’ve picked up along the way—and hopefully help you craft something lasting of your own, one stitch and one story at a time.