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We're Rick and Ruth Grihalva. We returned to Bluffton from Scotts Valley,
California in April 2003. Although Rick was born and raised in San Diego and lived the majority of his adult life in the San
Francisco area, I grew up on a farm approximately 3 miles west of Jenera. I graduated from Cory-Rawson High School in 1981.
We have a 16-year old son, Peter, who is a Junior at Bluffton High School. And, of course, there is our dog, "Velvet", so named for the softness of her ears, yet turns out to be
a perfect name with our running a "fabric" business.
Why A Quilt Shop?I've sewn most of my clothes during my teenage years, and even sewed my wedding dress.
Although my grandmother introduced me to quilting, I didn't get "hooked" until our son was born 11 years ago.
Even though cross-stitching and doll making were passions of mine, I got hooked on quilting when I made him a quilt. Later, when we bought a Coleman tent camper, we traveled all over the West from California to Canada and Wisconsin
to New Mexico for "camping" vacations. My wonderful hubby never begrudged my finding quilt shops to explore.
For those of you that are familiar with it, "The Quilter's Travel Companion" was our tour guide. You're all familiar with your children's "Are we there yet!" We got used to Peter exclaiming "Not
another quilt shop!!!" along the way. Many times I'd be browsing the fabrics while Rick
and Peter went behind the scenes to see and use the long-arm quilting machines of all different makes. When we decided to
start this shop, we had tried enough machines to know that the only brand we wanted was a Gammillä. We have two machines,
both of which have been upgraded to Statler Stitcher automation. One is 12' and the other is 14'. As
a result of our travels and experiences, we wanted to have a shop with the following characteristics: - Clean
- Well lit
- Well decorated
- Well laid out
- Well stocked
- Well trained
- Places to sit
- Places to quilt
- Places to peruse
- Friendly to our customers, their friends, and their family
- Meeting
place
- Full Service
- Fabric
- Notions
- Long-Arm
- Books
- Patterns
- Classes
- Gifts
- Quality Everywhere
- Store
- People
- Stock
- In
assisting our customers
More than a few people inquired about the prior professions of Ruth
& Rick Grihalva. Prior to opening Forever In Stitches, LLC, which had been planned for more
than a decade, we were co-owners of Executive Insights, Inc. EI was a consulting firm that specialized in international project
accounting using software that we designed and developed to work with Microsoft's Solomon Edition, based in Findlay, Ohio. In our final year, our client APCO won Microsoft's Pinnacle Award for Innovation. Wouldn't you know, we can't get away from computers! . . . Our automated long-arm Statler Stitcher uses Microsoft
Windows xp. At least we don't have to worry about currency exchange rates and Intercompany billings!
What's In Our Shop?Fabric - First, and most importantly, FABRIC: 100% cotton quilting
fabric. I tried not to let my own personal likes and dislikes taint my bolt selections in order to provide a wide variety
of choices. We have over 1,500 bolts on order and by our grand opening we will have over 1,000 on hand. We've mainly stocked the shop from four major fabric companies, RJR Fabrics [Thimbleberries, Jinny Beyer,
...], Moda/United Notions [Moda Marbles, Kathy Schmitz, Quilt Country, ...], Hoffman Fabrics [Batiks, Kaleidoscope,
...] and Benartex [Meadowbrook, Happy Holidays, ...]. Through our notions distributors
we also obtained Marcus Brothers [Aunt Grace's Scrapbag, ...], Andover Fabrics, Timeless Treasures, South
Seas Imports [Debbie Mumm, ...], Indo-USA [Homespun,...] and others. Thread
- Guttermann, Mettler and Signature. Notions - Quilting specific. Batting - Cotton and polyester and blended. Books,
Patterns & Magazines - Many. Come browse, relax, have a cup of coffee while you peruse them. Gifts - Wood quilts, candles, clocks, coasters, note cards, puzzles, etc. Gift
Certificates - Make a friend happy with a gift certificate of any value, or drop a hint to someone that you'd appreciate
one. Gammill & Statler Stitcher
Long-Arm Quilting Machines - We have both machines available so that we can offer superb long-arm quilting services
to our clients. To explain these services we have published a tri-fold brochure which is available
in the shop or on our web-site. Please feel free to come and watch the machines in use. However,
we request that you don't interrupt or talk to the operators while the machines are operating. Training
Area - We've equipped our classroom with 6 work areas each having it's own Pfaff sewing machine and cutting area.
Classes - We're starting with basic and introductory classes (e.g.
Rotary Cutting, Strip Quilting, Foundation / Paper Piecing). April's calendar, with a complete listing of class dates
and times, is available in the shop or on our web-site. Please give us suggestions for classes
you'd like to have. Also, quilting has many different facets, please let us know
if you are interested in teaching any particular type of quilting! SewSewNEWSä
- Our monthly newsletter to keep you up-to-date on class schedules and new fabric/notions arrivals.
Stop by and add your name to our mailing list to receive your copy either via mail or e-mail. Quilt with a friend - Any time that we are open and a class is not scheduled, use our training room
and equipment to allow you to bring your own project(s) and a friend or five to spend the day quilting together at no charge.
How Did They Meet? After getting her degree she worked on technical
support, database repair, and "dealer/consultant training" for [Microsoft Business Solutions] Solomon Software in
Findlay, OH. She met Rick on the 800 hotline where he would call to report problems and get answers. Rick, at the time, as
President of Grihalva Associates, a California corporation, that was a consulting firm supporting Solomon. She left Solomon in 1989 and joined Grihalva Associates. Six months later they formed
Executive Insights, a California corporation that was a Solomon dealer. He was head of consulting and she was head of development.
They had a son, Peter [her maiden name was Peter] in 1994. They spent their summers camping in the western states and Canada,
visiting quilt shops and gathering ideas for the ideal quilt shop. In
early 2000 they focused on international project accounting and developed a Solomon add-on to facilitate that business and
joined forces with Resource Corporation, Ltd., London, UK. In 2003,
they moved to Ohio and in 2004 opened their quilt shop at the main intersection of "downtown" Bluffton OH.
Which is located 1.1 miles from I-75 and 5 miles from US30.
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