About Us
Annissa Essaibi George is the owner of Stitch House. At age 6 her mom stayed up late teaching her to sew her first project - a Barbie skirt! Since then Annissa made her own prom gown, wedding dress and all her bridesmaid dresses. Annissa is a teacher at East Boston High School and mom to 4 great boys Douglas, Charlie, Kayden and Samir. Annissa and her husband Doug are both life-long residents of Dorchester.
Creative Advisor/On-line Manager: Kerry Gallagher and a group of girlfriends decided to try knitting after work as a new hobby that would let them socialize, relax and be creative. She loved it, and now cosiders herself a gift-knitter who still really enjoys knitting with others. Kerry works in Boston and lives in Dorchester with her husband Bobby and her step-daughters Caity and Erin.

Creative Advisor/Instructor: Jessica Gorham Cronin is a self-taught knitter who failed at the creation of several scarves before she discovered the joy of miniature projects that could be finished and gifted with ease! Jess, a native of Roslindale, is an Italian teacher at East Boston High School, a soccer coach and a wonderful mom to her sin Robert and lives in East Boston with her husband Paul.
Instructor: Peta Bailey is a self-taught knitter who couldn’t figure out why her friends were having so much fun knitting socks. When she finally tried it herself, she learned that once you understand the parts of a sock, it’s a cinch to knit them. Now she’s addicted to self-striping sock yarn. Peta is the owner of Yarn Safaris, which organizes day trips for knitters and other fiber fanatics.
Instructor: Anne Berrigan learned to sew in the 6th grade and has been making clothes ever since. She has constructed practically every article of clothing that exists including winter coats and a wedding dress. She has also learned how to make patterns and even designed her own line of summer clothing one season. Anne loves clothes and believes that everyone can enhance their own personal style by learning how to sew.

Instructor: Casey DiCicco works for Pricilla of Boston as a pattern maker for the Platinum bridal line. She is a graduate of Mount Ida College where she earned Bachelor’s Degree in Fashion Design. Casey wants to share her knowledge of sewing and fashion design to assist young people in their exploration of careers in this industry. Her college choices were limited because she was unable to sew. This class will help teens avoid that roadblock if they chose to pursue a career in fashion design.
Instructor: Julia Leone, a self-taught quilter entered the world of quilting in 2001. She has experimented with many facets of quilting including traditional piecing, foundation piecing, and applique. Julia has created a wide variety of quilted treasures, from baby and bed quilts to flags, table runners, pot holders and aprons!
Instructor: Mary Ann McHugo learned how to knit from her grandmother over 40 years ago and has been knitting and designing ever since. Mary Ann’s second sweater was an Irish Knit cardigan, and the Irish Knit, Fisherman Knit or Aran Knit dominates her knitting preferences. If you are a friend or family member of Mary Ann’s you have received a hand made gift from her for one of your life’s occasions. Her friends know her and her craft so well that one recently traveled to Ireland and brought her back not Waterford, but Irish Knit sweater patterns.
Instructor: John Morrison is a self-taught knitter who tends to have many projects going on at any given time, and always enjoys finding smaller projects that can be finished quickly. He is an I.T. Project Manager by day as well as an avid triathlete. He started knitting 5+ years ago as a cheap, relaxing hobby, but has found his addiction to yarn is not so cheap, but still a great stress reliever.
Instructor: Julie Murphy took her first sewing class at the age of 10 at the Little House in Dorchester. She learned quickly that making clothing was not her passion and began to dabble with window treatment design and fabrication. She recently started her own business “JM Custom Design” which specializes in custom window treatments and accessories.
Instructor: Cathy Payson lives in South Boston and has been knitting for over 25 years. She has worked in the wholesale yarn industry as well as doing yarn development for a woman’s clothing company. She currently does freelance knitwear design in the handknitting industry.
Instructor: Katie Rose has been knitting since childhood, and has a special fondness for fun, quirky projects and folk designs. Katie spent last year in Moscow, Russia, where, despite the long nights and cold weather, knitting is sadly unpopular. To make up for it, she’s been trying to show people she meets that knitting is fun and cool, and finds any excuse to teach the craft to others.
Instructor: Melissa Saggerer learned how to knit one winter, and started teaching her friends soon after. She started working and teaching at a yarn store in San Francisco and became a yarn addict. More than anything she loves how knitting brings people together.
Instructor: Mary Ungerman, a local resident, has been a quiltmaker for more than 30 years and is currently a member of two quilt guilds: Quilters Connection in Watertown, and Northern Comfort Quilters in Dorchester. While her quilting roots are in the traditional hand piecing and quilting, she embraces the current tools and techniques now available to quilters. She also has a growing historical interest in the types of fabric designs/colors used in American quilts.