Photo by Minotte R. Cuenca

With thousands of stock designs and hundreds of thread variations, Jackie Panos, owner of The Blind Stitch, will create any design her customers imagine.

The Blind Stitch is the catchy name of Jackie Panos’ embroidery shop that caters to all your embroidery needs. Panos named her store after the famous hidden stitch used for hems, and also because she is actually legally blind.

The fact that her peripheral vision has been lost to retinitis pigmentosa does not stop Panos from living her life to the fullest.

“(The doctors) have told me that I would lose my sight in five years. It’s been 18 years since the diagnosis,” she said.

Panos hails from a long line of crafters. “It’s been a family affair,” she says. “My grandmother and my father liked to craft. I have been sewing all my life. I saved up money to buy an embroidery machine. Pretty soon, my neighbors and friends would ask me to do things for them.”

Panos was formerly doing bookkeeping and accounting for a company when they downsized, leaving Panos at a crossroad. “When God closes a door, He opens a window,” she said. The window was her embroidery shop and Panos has never been happier.

“I love the creative aspect. I like that we can start something, turn an idea into reality. We have about 60,000 stock designs and hundreds of thread-from colors to glow-in-the-dark to solar-activated you can play around with for your design. We have embroidered on shirts, caps, towels, car mats and boat lounge chairs. Corporate, personal, and sports accounts make up the bulk of our clients,” she added.

Grandmother sweatshirts embroidered with all the grandchildren’s names were big last year because it was such a unique gift. The Blind Stitch also had fun embroidering hearts on thongs for a bachelorette party.

Panos assures that they will try to embroider anything you want as long as the machine will take it. Even photos can be translated to digital format and sewn into clothing or accessories.

“You are only limited by your imagination,” is Panos’ motto. And for someone who will not let even disability limit her, we must take heed.

The Blind Stitch is located at 1625 Main St. in Oakley. The phone number is 625-5411. Visit www.theblindstitch.net for more design details.