Meet Your Quilter: Althea Gyde, CCO (Chief Creative Officer) at Blue Heron Quilting
I have been creative my whole life. I circled back to quilting a few years ago when I was in graduate school. I needed a creative outlet and quilting was the perfect fit! Quilting is a permanent artistic expression of my life's passions about nature, science, family, friends, teaching, and learning. I am at my best when I'm creating. Quilting helps me to unearth my deepest expression and serve my creative community in the best possible way.
I create, preferably with fabric and sewing machine, every day! When I'm not quilting you will find me spending time, generally outside, with my family and friends. I love to swim, bike, run, triathlon, yoga, paddleboard, hike, ski, and snowshoe! I find both dark chocolate and street tacos irresistible!
I've been operating Blue Heron Quilting from my home studio since 2019. I longarm 8 - 12 quilts per week. Find out more about my longarming services or visit the FAQ page for more information. If you are local, text me to schedule an appointment in my studio. If you are outside our area, please text or email me to make arrangements to mail your quilt to me.
Meet Darth: A Gammill Statler Stitcher Ascend with 14-foot table
I am proud to have a Gammill Statler Stitcher with new Ascend upgrade in my studio. Gammill makes the best longarm quilting machine on the market.
Darth came to me in 2019 with many fabulous features including perfect, computerized stitches and a 14-foot table to handle your largest quilt projects. The Ascend updgrade (added in 2023) allows a 30% increase in our efficiency.
Meet Black Widow: A Gammill Statler Stitcher with 14-foot table
In 2024 when I was working on Darth 7 days per week until the wee hours I decided it was time for a hardware expansion. I ventured to Wisconsin to add Black Widow, another Gammill Statler Stitcher, to my shop. Two computerized longarm machines allow fast turnaround time for my customers and work/life balance for me!
You will notice in this a photo a third machine in the background. More to come on that one in 2026!
