When she was attending Reach Community Church in January 2015, Cheri Lewis listened to a sermon from Pastor Chris Meyer that helped inspire her to open a quilt shop in Montgomery County.

“Pastor Chris’ first sermon of the year was talking about the desires that you have in your heart are the desires that the Lord has given you,” Lewis said. “It’s time to act on it. Do something.”

A year later, Lewis opened the All N Stitches Fabric and Quilt Shop at 352 Booneslick Road in New Florence, right next to Interstate 70. After seven years, the store is still a popular spot in not only Montgomery County, but also other states such as West Virginia, Colorado, Georgia, Utah, Texas, Illinois, Arkansas, North Carolina and South Carolina.

“Quilters will stop,” Lewis said. “Quilters will travel to quilt shops and they will stop. So being right here along the interstate was the best thing we could have done.”

Lewis worked as a pharmacy technician for more than 30 years before she retired to concentrate on her business. All N Stitches’ current building used to house an automotive shop.

“I was a district trainer for my career job all of my life,” Lewis said. “I was trained as a pharmacy tech and I trained other technicians. I’ve been doing that for years. Now, I taught people to quilt.”

Lewis also enjoyed success in quilting contests.

“I got blue ribbons at least on everything I’ve entered except one,” Lewis said. “One of my quilts was up for best of show. It didn’t get chosen, but it was one of the two that they were trying to decide for best of show. Then, my husband took it down to Gainesville, Missouri, since we have property down there. He entered it in the show there and it did get the best of show down there. We gave that to the best man who was at our wedding. It was a California King.”

Growing up in Florissant, Lewis would take her mother, Nevel Abernathy – who is now deceased – to Branson every summer to see quilts. That’s when Lewis’ love of quilting first got started.

“My mom did sewing, crocheting and embroidery all of my life,” Lewis said.

Later, Lewis visited her in-laws to see her sister-in-law, Dana Lewis. During the visit, she went to the basement and saw people making quilts. So she wanted to learn how to make a quilt.

“They picked out a pattern that they said was going to be really easy for me,” Lewis said. “My mother-in-law was going to teach me how to do it. My sister in law went home to Alaska. My in-laws’ house caught on fire and burned to the ground shortly after that. My mother-in-law wasn’t able to teach me, so I held on to my fabrics for a year or so.”

After a trip to Alaska, Lewis returned home to start making quilts on her mother’s old sewing machine. But there was a problem.

“I took it to my mother-in-law and she said, ‘Oh, Cheri, your tension is horrible. I was like, ‘What tension and how do I fix that?’ So I tried working on the sewing machine and I couldn’t get it to work,” Lewis said.

Lewis then bought a $1,000 sewing machine her father-in-law found at a quilt shop that was going out of business.

“I didn’t know the first thing about sewing,” Lewis said. “When I got it together, they all said, ‘That wasn’t an easy quilt, wasn’t it?’ Let’s just say I was addicted. I would wake up at 3 in the morning. If I could go downstairs now and start sewing, I could sew for an hour before I get in the shower and get ready for work. I got it finished. That’s when my love for quilting began.”

Lewis taught a quilting class at Reach Church before she decided to open her business on Feb. 3, 2016.

“I started telling my husband I think I really want to open a quilt shop,” Lewis said. “He was like, ‘No, Cheri, not in this area. It would never work.’ I had that dream for a couple of years.”

This year, Lewis is celebrating her 20th anniversary as a quilter. Before she went on a mini vacation in early July, Lewis finished a quilt top.
“I love it,” Lewis said. “I enjoy quilting very much. There is a lot of excitement when you finish a quilt top.”