Threads that Bind Us to
Tiny Stitches Quilt Shop

We all have a story about how we got started with sewing, quilting, cross-stitch, and embroidery...and we want to know how you're "bound to Tiny Stitches!" 
A new person will be featured each week; read their stories below! 

Karen Holloman

Tiny Stitches Customer

"As a little girl I remember my grandmother coming to visit and making a quilt for our family. I was so intrigued and I always enjoyed sewing or most crafts. While in high school I purchased my first quilt book and all my needed supplies and made my first wall hanging quilt by hand. This was also my first experience of making templates. Many years went by and while living in Hampton Virginia my church one Sunday the women were showing quilts made and I was so excited. In 2016 I joined the group and that was the restart of my quilting passion."

Mary Tily

Tiny Stitches staff member

Quilting has been a part of my life for 75 years. Unlike most people, I learned to quilt before learning to sew, from my grandmother. After many years being away from quilting, a friend asked me to take a class with her at a new shop called Tiny Stitches - that was 30 years ago! One day I walked in and Karen Williams asked if I had met the new owner, and she introduced me to Maetha. One week later I came back and Maetha remembered my name and asked if I needed anything; that had not happened before, and that is one of the reasons I kept coming back. One day while at the dentist, I got a call from Maetha asking if I could talk to her. lI went in, I thought she was going to ask me to help with a class or event. Instead, she asked me if I would like to work at Tiny Stitches! Of course I said yes, and have not regretted it one day in the 9 years I have worked! You, our customers, are a big reason that bind me to Tiny Stitches. I have made some wonderful friends and seen some great friendships made. When our customers come in and see us, and say they had to come to their “happy place”, that makes me feel like I’m doing my job. Last but not least, are the wonderful people I work with. Everyone is always willing to lend a helping hand.

Susan Bungenstock

Tiny Stitches staff member

I started hand quilting in 1990. I started machine quilting when I supported a friend when she lost her husband. In 2017 I started Saturday Sampler. I also began taking classes with Linda Wirtz where I learned how to use the Tucker Tools. While I haven’t finished any of my Saturday Sampler quilts, I did recently finish a baby quilt for a good friend’s grandson (pictured).

In July of 2020, I startedI’ve cross-stitched for years and made clothes for myself since high school. I also paint with acrylic paints. working at Tiny Stitches. Over the last few years I have made a few samples for the shop too! I have made a lot of friends and I enjoy helping customers.

Becky Gaines

Tiny Stitches Customer

I started quilting about a month before the Covid quarantine lockdown. I am 62 years old and knew nothing about sewing. A friend of mine showed me her quilt and I was intrigued. I have never been very crafty and spent too many years being intimidated by those who were. So I set about borrowing a sewing machine and watching YouTube videos. Finally technology could benefit me. With the ability to rewind a video and start over I was able to learn at my own pace. Slow. I fell in love. I even found the courage to sign up for a beginners quilting class at Tiny Stitches. Lo and behold, there were others like me who were just learning. Granted they were much younger but I enjoy younger people. God has show me so many things about myself as I tackle new skills and techniques in quilting. Mistakes are just an opportunity to learn how to rip out seams lol. Nobody notices my quilting mistakes unless I pointing them out. The truth is said about myself. So thankful for the kind women at Tiny Stitches. You have always treated me with such respect, even when I am not sure how or what to ask for. I try to be loyal and purchase my fabric through you as I know how important it is for your business to continue to flourish. Thanks for all you do and God bless! 

LaRue Puglisi

Tiny Stitches staff member

"When I was in high school (oh so many years ago) I took up sewing and made a lot of my clothes. Nothing extravagant but I enjoyed it. After high school I went on to college and life happened and sewing became a thing of the past for me. When the kids grew up and moved on I decided I wanted to try making a quilt. My first ever quilt was from a JoAnn’s kit for beginners and completed in 2016 (ish). And from there things took off. I moved from Va to Ga in 2019. I had heard awesome things about Tiny Stitches so I decided to check it out. This is where I learned that cotton is NOT created equal. The fabric here was so nice and really felt different than the fabric I had been working with. I found out about their Saturday Sampler program and joined in. Then Covid hit. If I remember correctly the program was stalled for a bit and we were all confined to our homes. Being fairly new to the area with few friends at this point I quickly got bored and stir crazy (as did we all). When the shop reopened and Saturday Sampler started again Maetha mentioned in one of the infomercials that they were looking for help in the shop. It took me a couple of weeks to decide if I really wanted to go back to work, but I did decide to give it a shot. I came in and talked to Maetha and started working at Tiny Stitches in November of 2020! BEST DECISION EVER!!! I’ve developed some wonderful friendships and have learned so much from my co-workers. They are great, very encouraging and supportive. I have found my people, my happy place and my dream job! Thank you Maetha and Henry for this wonderful shop and the opportunity to be a part of it!"

Michele Bautsch

Tiny Stitches Staff Member

My quilting story begins with a Little Dutch Girl quilt that has been around my family as long as I can remember. I don’t know who made it or when - perhaps one of my grandmother’s sisters. When Granny died in 1969 I inherited a beautiful 30’s style butterfly quilt top. I could sew and make clothes but knew nothing about quilting so the quilt top was stored in a box in my closet. My sister who doesn’t sew got the Little Dutch Girl quilt. Sometime in the late 1970’s I decided to quilt that top and I did. Not well, but it got quilted and bound. The first quilt I actually made was when my younger son was born in 1982. After that I made a few small quilts along with doing cross stitch and crochet. Not a lot as I had a teen age son, a toddler, a husband, several large dogs and a full time job. We moved from New Orleans to Marietta in 1991 and as luck would have it we bought a house five minutes from where Tiny Stitches would open before long. From Tiny Stitches I learned about East Cobb Quilters Guild and was one of the original members of the evening group. I took some classes at the Guild and Tiny Stitches, learned a lot and discovered traditional, scrappy quilts are what I like. I taught foundation paper piecing at Little Quilts and later worked at Red Hen Quilt Shop. My friend Melinda Fulkerson worked at Tiny Stitches and told me they were hiring. Knowing how much I liked the store I came to Tiny Stitches when we were still in the strip shopping center. I’ve taught classes but these days you will mostly see me as the “lunch relief” or at special events or really busy days. I make sample quilts for the shop and all those Advent calendars you see at the holidays. That Little Dutch Girl quilt (AKA Sunbonnet Sue) now resides with me. My sister sent it to me to repair the hole her dog ate in it. I love making quilts from old, antique or just “elderly” groups of blocks or unfinished tops as well as all new quilts. Since my husband and I and our entire family have more quilts than they will ever use most of my quilts are now given away. Recipients include Quilts for Cops, Quilts of Valor, the Shepherd Center, Guild community service projects and various charity fund raisers. I love to sew and make quilts and am blessed with an understanding husband, a nice sewing room, an inquisitive feline assistant and lovely co-worker/friends at Tiny Stitches.

Maetha Elliott

Tiny Stitches Quilt Shop Owner

Henry and I moved to South Florida after he graduated from GA Tech, and having my weekends and summers free, I decided to visit a small quilt shop to take a class. I made my first quilt by hand, and it even included appliqué!

I taught elementary school for 27 years, and frequented Tiny Stitches Quilt Shop during my summers off. During one of my visits, Cindy, the owner, mentioned she was planning to sell and asked if I would be interested…I knew I was ready for a new adventure!

Our first weekend of owning the shop included Saturday Sampler (with 7 color ways!) and SuperBolt Sunday! We have learned so much over the last 17 years, and I truly enjoy seeing what our customers purchase, as well as experiencing their joy as they share their projects with us.
Our customers are truly the Threads that Bind me to our wonderful shop!

Susan Westbury

Tiny Stitches Staff Member

I began quilting in 2019 right before the Pandemic by watching YouTube. I used to cross stitch as a young girl, so sewing had been in my brain for a long time. I was looking for something to do that brought me joy and kept my hands busy, and maybe make some money doing it. Crazy dream? I stumbled into quilting, and I believe things do happen for a reason! My first quilt was with Walmart fabrics, and the Fat Quarter Shop’s Beginner Quilt pattern. I had been to Tiny Stitches a few times before as I got more involved and excited about sewing. I remember thinking this place has everything you need! And so many fabrics! My first purchased bundle was Tilda’s, Woodland Creatures. Maetha helped me find a coordinating fabric to sew with it. I love the quilt I made! One particular day in February of 2020 I headed to the store to buy some supplies, and when I walked in it I realized that I was the only person in the store that morning. I didn’t see any workers either. I then saw one of the owners, Henry, come up the stairs and say “I’m sorry we’re closed.” Tiny Stitches had just closed the store that day due to Covid and so many employees being sick. Henry had hung a sign on the door saying so, which I didn’t see, and I came in anyway. I apologized saying I didn’t see the sign on the door and said I would leave, but with the nature of quilters, feeling completely welcomed then and Henry telling me I should go ahead and stay and shop since I was already there, I settled in and picked out a few things. Then Maetha came upstairs, and I had the whole store and both owners to myself, things quickly turned into an informational, gossiping, complaining, and educational visit with soon to be new friends. We totally hit it off and commiserated about all things in life during the height of Pandemic. By the end of my fabric haul and conversation, Maetha and I decided that I needed a job there and should come in soon for an interview. That was two years ago! I love my Tiny Stitches family for all the quilty things I’ve learned, and the friends I have made!