About Me

 

 

Welcome to the original Pig Tales and Quilts and now home to Stitch and Quilt! 

I am Thearica (pronounced as Theresa).  I reside in Henderson, NC where I live with my husband William, who is a tobacco farmer.  I have 2 daughters by a previous marriage and 3 wonderful grandchildren.  They all live in Alabama, my home state.  I hope to relocate back nearer to them in the next 5 - 10 years when my husband can retire from farming.  Our plans are to open a quilting retreat center.  We are looking at the great state of Tennessee near the Alabama border.

I began my quilting career at the sweet age of 8 when my granny Ella taught me to hand piece (30) 9-patch blocks that summer.  She would not allow me anywhere near her machine.  Those are the only quilt blocks I have ever hand pieced....I had much rather use my sewing machine.  After I made those first blocks, they lay in a drawer, hidden away until I was 19.  Granny called and asked if I still had them and when I told her that I did, she was very pleased.  I took them to her house one day and she sashed them together for me.  We then put the quilt top on the frames and quilted it.  My granny, granddaddy, aunt, and my sister all helped me quilt that day.  I was beaming with pride when I left for home at the end of the day with my quilt all finished.  It isn't the most beautiful of quilts but with my grandparents stitching, my aunts, my sisters, and my very first hand quilting, it is full of beautiful memories.

I hand quilted for the next 38 years when I had to retire the frames due to carpal tunnel.  I invested in a Gammill Longarm and have been machine quilting ever since.  Several of the quilts I have finished for customers have won ribbons at various shows, ranging from 3rd place, 2nd place, 1st place, Viewer's Favorite, and a couple of Best Of Shows!  I am happiest when working my magic on a quilt!

I opened a website in 2011 geared toward offering crazy quilting supplies as well as a few traditional quilting supplies.  My main focus for the traditional quilting supplies will be wide quilt backings, but you will find 44" wide fabrics too as well as a few unique notions and patterns.  If you are a crazy quilter, you will be in hog's heaven because the shop is bulging at the seams with supplies for you!  Please visit the shop at www.crazyquiltingsupplies.com

I teach machine quilting in my studio here in Henderson, NC.  Please visit the Contact Me page and send me an email if you are interested in taking classes to help you become a better longarm quilter.  I do not claim to know everything there is to know but I will share with you some of the tips and tricks that have made me a better quilter.

I also hire out to do longarm quilting for the public.  My main focus is on show quilts but I will take basic quilting jobs as well.  I have several pantographs to choose from and have an arsenal of books, DVD's, and other literature to draw inspiration from when I work on customer quilts.  Just send me an email if you wish to discuss my services.

I hope you will enjoy the blog and what I bring to you from week to week!