PFAFF 262 - Stuck to sewing within a week!

Hello, hello, hello!

Hopefully you all are following me over on Instagram, YouTube or even Flickr. Obviously I am still terrible at blogging. But I am pretty hyped about this little project I did.

Recently while out thrifting with John, he spotted this Pfaff 262. (I have him on the lookout for me for older Singers & Pfaffs.) When I put my hands on it at the store, I couldn’t get anything to move. It was seized up and pretty dirty. It looked like it lived in a garage previously. Pfaff machines are my favorite. I have been sewing on one for the last 20+ years. With a price tag of $25 and hope in my pocket, I decided to take a chance on her.

Since I am in the deep rabbit hole of vintage sewing and vintage sewing machines, I decided to document what I did to just get her in a functioning state. Many videos and tutorials are geared to those with a bit more experience. I am a newbie. I need to take hands on baby steps and want to encourage others too.

*I do have small machine repair experience from when my dad was still alive. He ran an auto body shop and a small engine repair shop. Guess who got to tear apart a bazillion chainsaws and lawnmowers before the age of 13 and into high school.

This was a bit beyond a simple cleaning. That glue like varnish from the gasoline and Vaseline mixture was no joke. I did have to use a bit of physical force too. John only assisted me with reinstalling the pressure spring that I popped off when I took out the cam assembly.

I had to take this out to access points to oil to get rotation inside the machine.

Above, aside from the mandarin orange is everything I used to work on this. I stick with using only sewing machine oil to get things clean. I did use some 91% isopropyl alcohol to take off the stuck residue from the maintenance service company sticker on the front. Two soft head toothbrushes, lots of Q-tips, a couple napkins, a couple toothpicks and a rag for cleaning. Long bent nose tweezers, a flat head screwdriver that came with my “modern” Pfaff machine and John’s iFixit kit were the tools I used. The wire cutters and pliers were used for another machine I am working on too.

In the future I want to attempt retrobrighting (John will handle this process) some of the dials and hand wheel that have yellowed with age.

I am taking a brief break from fixing things to sew. But I am going to dive into getting the embroidery stitches working and I will post and update video when I do.

My hands are dirty but my stitches are good.

If you’re feeling handy and run into a situation similar to what I did. Give it a try! I’m feeling really good about bringing this gal back to life. I named her Diane after my sister (now known as The Living Miracle) who recently survived a very serious accident. (She was hit by a car at full speed while on a walk.) I feel naming this machine after her is appropriate.

That’s all for now friends. Be sure to connect with me on the outlets I mentioned above for more consistent updates.

xo-Thea

Halloween 2021

Happy November to you. I hope you all had a very nice Halloween. We had a fun Halloween season. (That I started decorating for in August.)

I unfortunately, didn’t have time to release all of the products I wanted to on our Darkness Drive collection. We’re still adjusting to just one of us being a full time maker. I still plan on releasing those items in the coming months.

I documented my Halloween Week wardrobe. Many of the items you might recognize from previous posts, others were just some casual wear for sitting on my buns for the AdobeMAX conference.

I shared our annual laser engraved pumpkin video on YouTube. It’s just a fun thing that we’ve done every years since the inception of our business.

Trick or Treating was still a little weird this year. We saw a lot of neighbors asking questions and saw suggestions of how to do it safely. I came up with a little self service display pictured above. We always do something away from out front door due our beloved rescue dog who isn’t fond of little children. We had more trick or treaters than we did in 2019 and our little display (which looked much cooler in the dark with the battery operated candles glowing) seemed to work out really well.

Now onto fall projects. I have a stack of thrifted wool that will be skirts and jackets soon. I also have to clean up my Christmas ornament designs. We’ve already sold quite a few over the weekend.

xo-Thea

Vlog: Pumpkin Patch Trip and Small Business Setbacks

Over the weekend my eldest daughter rallied us up to make an annual pumpkin patch trip. It was rainy, muddy and loud. (The patch that we went to has an apple cannon.) Despite all of that, we had a great time. Check out the video below to see what it was like. Tune back in the last week of October for our annual pumpkin carving session.

In this vlog, I also talk about a couple set backs. With life adjustments and not being full time makers any more, we’re simply just not creating/releasing products as fast as we used to. To me, it’s a 100% frustrating and I hope to magically find extra hours in the week. I’ve been sleeping less and doing more - but I still can’t get to things I want to. However, we are creating a bigger network of vendors for our established products which is great. We’re just trying to streamline a balance of everything and the creative in me just wants to create more. Ugh.

I am sad to not be able to release the two clothing items i wanted to. That particular issue came down to cost of materials. I intend to use dead-stock fabrics for my limited releases. I also intend on offering inclusive sizing. The math and materials just haven’t worked out in my favor so far. I am hoping for spring and summer 2022 to do that.

Despite my personal frustration about work, I’m really enjoying my favorite season. We’ve had cozy fires, soups and set plans for family time. Fall is my favorite.

I hope all of you are well and I appreciate you all! - Thea

Adding To My Halloween Wardrobe

While I have been mainly busy with 6 by 6 Arts recently, I have managed to sneak in some quality sewing time.

I follow a few reproduction clothing brands and I love all of their Halloween (holidays in general) designs. Unfortunately despite my daily manifestations attempts, I am not a money rich lady and I have to just admire some great pieces.

Side note - Many of these women owned companies like Pinup Girl Clothing for example, are extremely small companies. Many pieces are small batch made in the USA. Fabric and labor is expensive and when I make purchases from there I consider them investment pieces and understand the work, time and money that goes into them. I know I’m actually getting a deal on some pieces just in fabric alone.

My zipper front princess dress made from Alexander Henry Fabrics 2006 Pumpkin Party Print

With all of that said, this year since I’ve taken a deep dive back into sewing I decided to add Halloween themed pieces to my wardrobe. DIY style.

I show off a few pieces that I’ve made in the linked video below.

In the video, I do touch on the expense of fabric. I thrifted all of the fabric shown in the video. The striped full circle skirt dress, I thrifted 7 yards of that fabric for $4.99. Up close pictured are available on my Instagram. I didn’t thrift them in a short amount of time and I sat on some of these fabric pieces for a long while. But it can be done. We all can have lucky days at the thrift. Or an online fabric shop on a discount day.

I hope you’ll check out my video and welcome to October! I love spooky season!

xo-Thea

Vintage Show & Tell: Nila Sewing Compact

I share a really fun recent vintage find in this video. A Nila Sewing Compact. I’ve been dabbling with sewing stuff for most of my life and I have never happened upon anything like this.

I love it so much. Even though I paid “up” for it at the thrift store.

The logo is quite small and I don’t have the best lens for the job.

I love sharing vintage sewing items with you all. I use most of them myself. Some I still need to figure out how to use. I will definitely have more of this style of video in the future.

I had a couple inquiries about if I am still sewing. But of course and I will have a show & tell video all about that next week.

xo-Thea

No Craft Shows This Year For Me

John and I recently made the tough decision to not vend at any craft shows this upcoming holiday season. I just want to add that when I say “craft show”, I’m not talking about a small day event. I’m talking about multiple days longs with thousands in attendance over 4-6 weeks.

It’s a lot of work and I of course don’t mind it because it has been a huge part of my life for almost 20 years. This year, for me, still doesn’t feel right, ya know?

It will be a financial blow again in theory, because we typically make a large chunk of our annual income at shows. I talked at lengths with fellow makers who feel the same too. A select few is in a tough situation where they NEED to do shows to “eat”. I get that and it’s hard to make the decision on this for some. I can only speak for myself and I really feel like I am making the right decision for me.

John and I made a little video about our decision here:

If you follow me on Instagram and participated in the poll I mentioned in the video, I really appreciate your input. I also appreciate the refrain of any “Covid is a hoax” or “you won’t die from it”, or the like commentary.

In lieu of shows, I will be offering my own online events and will be participating in a few online shows. The first one is Adobe Max with 6 by 6 Arts. I’ll share more information on that as it gets closer.

I will be sad to not see familiar faces in that familiar craft show setting again this year, but maybe next year? Or I might do a livestream event, if I can sort out a good day.

xo-Thea

Spooky Season Is Upon Us

Spooky Season is my favorite time of the year. I love cozy sweaters, hot drinks and cuddling by the fire. I also love watching scary movies and spooky shows. It shows in my house decor.

For many years I, in both of my companies have done something Halloween related. This obviously doesn’t go with the aesthetic of either of my companies. But I keep on doing it. So, I decided to give those things a dedicated home.

Darkness Drive will host all of my spooky themed creations year round. I will still offer a few spooky themed hair flowers and accessories here but if you’re looking for more. Please visit us there and on Instagram.

xo-Thea

Using My Vintage Sewing Patterns

As mentioned a few days ago, i basically went on a sewing rampage. Aside from the Garden Dress I mentioned, I kicked out three bedsheet dresses. All made from vintage patterns and vintage bedsheets.

Technically, the Simplicity Pattern shown here isn’t quite vintage.

I share the information about them in this video.

As with every sewing project, I learn something new. Let me know which one you liked the best!

-Thea

Vintage Show and Tell - Furniture From Forslund Catalog

The Closet Historian is one of my favorite YouTube content creators. I recently found myself binge watching her Cataloging Catalogs playlist. I loved looking through them with her and just seeing all the clothing pieces and accessories that were available. (And that I wish I had now.)

In a recent thrifting trip, I recently found my very first vintage catalog. I thought it would be fun to do a little show and tell about it.

Furniture From Forslund - Carl Forslund Grand Rapids Michigan (United States) Catalog copyright 1959. Paperback 112 pages. Aside from Carl Forslund's furniture, also featured are Owl Hollow Pressed Glass, Westmoreland Milk Glass, Mason's Ironstone Vista and more! I know it would be better and clearer to offer a viewable online catalog. Perhaps in the near future I could do that. But until then enjoy browsing along with me. - Thea

New Stock and My Sister In Law's YouTube Channel

I’m continuing to add new casual pieces to my shop. I only have a few more to share here and then it’s on to making new pieces.

I have to admit, with damaging my main lens on vacation earlier this month I am having a little learning curve with my replacement lens. I’m not 100% happy with these photos. But I am an artist, are artists ever 100% happy? (Hahahaha)

Speaking of my vacation and happy - my sister in law Laura is a vintage seller and YouTuber. This is temporary until Survivor chooses her as a contestant or until Rick Steves takes her on as a side kick.

She pops into antique malls and thrift stores and shares what she finds. She is into the bohemian and MCM aesthetic a bit different from my taste, but like how she is in real life she’s fun human and entertaining to watch. Also, she’s my sister in law, so if you have a connection to our beloved Rick Steves let us know if not, give her a follow.

In her latest episode she shared a little bit of our family vacation and some Oregon Coast antique/thrift finds.

During her hunt she came up on some vintage kimono. They were all in good condition, nothing I would use for my work. She mentions my work in the video too.

While I have new items soon to be in the works for my shop here, I am also cranking out new prototypes for 6 by 6. I’m pretty excited about what I am doing over there so I’ll be bouncing back and forth between here and there with posts. Follow me on Instagram for daily updates if you’re interested in following along.

xo-Thea

Vlog Update - July 2021

What started as a weekly update for friends and family during the pandemic last year has continued into random videos of my life. Collections, projects and family.

As things have “opened” back up after vaccinations, I slowed down with the weekly videos. Because we’ve actually been able to see friends and family. There are still some that we haven’t or will not be able to see for awhile, so I’ll keep this going for a bit longer.

It has become a fun way to show what we’re making and finding for our collections. Not to mention my sewing adventure. I plan on showing more of that in a similar style that I used to on my old YouTube channel. Honestly, it’s been fun using Premiere Pro. (6 by 6 Arts is an affiliate, but not I.)

In this video, not only do I share our new plant stand design but I also give a little recap of our family vacation to the Oregon Coast. Also a brief discussion about the aftermath of my sons’ move.

Next week’s video will be about a vintage item and that should be a fun one.

xo-Thea

On Our Menu - Vegetable Pancit Bihon

This is an accompanying post to a video on my channel linked below. (Available May 19, 2020 12pm Pacific.)

I loathe big stories before the ingredients list when I am looking up a recipe. So, I’m going to give you the details right up front.

Basic recipe ingredients:

• 1 8ounce package of Excellent Brand Rice Stick (We used 2 packages in this video.)

• 2 carrots julienned

• 1 medium yellow onion sliced

• 4 cloves of garlic (at minimum) chopped (We used 8 cloves.)

• 2 stalks of celery sliced

• 1 cup of snow peas sliced

• 2-3 cups of cabbage or bok choy sliced (We used bok choy.)

• 2+ tablespoons of soy sauce (to taste)

• 1 tablespoon of Filipino fish sauce (optional)

• 1 small lemon sliced and seeded

• Ground black pepper to taste

• A neutral oil like canola for the pan.

• Water if needed. (Traditionally, chicken stock is used.)

• Optional but traditional (chicken, pork and shrimp) small bite sized pieces cooked after the onions and garlic. Or as Jina says in the video use leftover meat.

Basically follow the steps in the video and you’re good. This a very tasty easy side dish or meal to make.

Substitutions:

• If you cannot find the Excellent Brand of Noodles at the store or on Amazon like I can. Maifun rice stick noodles also can work.

• Tamari. I get asked this a lot from my gluten free friends. Yes, you can substitute tamari for soy sauce.

• Also, as stated in the video I cannot confirm whether or not if the noodles I used are gluten free or not so I will leave that up to you to discover.

“A person I know makes it differently.”

Ahh yes, that is one of the greatest joys in life isn’t it? We all add our own personal touches to dishes that make it ours. I personally have never tasted to lasagnas that are the same.

This is a tried and true version for us that I learned to make from my mom and stepmothers. (All of my stepmothers were Filipino too.)

Are you sure you’re Filipino? You don’t look like it. Also, should you be making a Filipino dish if you’re only “half”.

I have laughed in someone’s face when I was asked am I sure that I am Filipino. If you knew my mom, you’d know she’s undoubtedly my mother. I just happen to look like the other parent that created me.

I am proudly Filipino with a sprinkling of another Asian heritage. My children (who are a quarter Filipino with darker skin than I have) and I are white passing. Genetics are wild like that. However, as many biracial people will attest, we are whole people with blended heritages. This is my cultural experience and I get to claim it. Just like I get to claim my German heritage from my dad.

Left - Thea’s Mom. Right - Thea’s Lola (Grandma) 1970s.

I did not have the “typical” white American childhood. My mom suffered from culture shock when she came to America and I witnessed a lot of that. I also went to school with “smelly” lunches and other “typical” “my mom is from another country and speaks another language” stuff.

My children have a Lola (tagalog for grandma) and got to experience very Filipino things too.

Like with many cultures, I, and now my adult children get to express their appreciation for our heritage through the dishes we make. Sharing a meal with your people, friends or family is the best way to show fellowship for a lack of a better term. If you’ve ever met a Filipino, you’d know there’s nothing more that we like to do. Share a meal, sing, dance and have togetherness. I am proud to share this little of togetherness with you.

Mabuhay.

Thea

Some favorite thrift finds and my first button down blouse.

John and I had a vintage hard to find Legoland Castle set(s) to share this week on my channel. So, I thought it would be fun to share a couple of our favorite thrift finds too.

In other news, I made my first successful button down blouse. I’ll be dedicating a post to this in the future as I am currently making more. I am genuinely surprised that I got the fit right in the bust, but boy howdy - I am stoked about it.

In other sewing news, a neighbor in my local Buy Nothing Group offered up a big box of vintage sewing patterns. I was on it and was lucky to be selected.

There are so many goodies in there, I can’t wait to try a few of them.

Sorry to those of you who follow me for my kanzashi work. I just haven’t had any new projects that are completed to share. I still do make them. Also, I am indulging this sewing bug that I have. I really do appreciate the support and encouragement on my sewing projects.

Tomorrow’s blog post will be a long awaited one and it’s a recipe. So come back tomorrow for that.

xo-Thea

Vintage 1970's Nishijin Pachinko Machine + Mother's Day 2021

I took a hint and a few nudges and very recently started sharing some vintage things I’ve happened upon or acquired. First was my 1940’s Vanity. That was on my wishlist for so long, I felt it warranted a dedicated vlog/blog post.

Just a few days after acquiring my vanity another long wished for item was checked off of my list.

A vintage Pachinko Machine!

After some Mother’s Day shenanigans, John and I share a bit about the machine in my video this week. John did have to do some light repair with more to do in the near future. It is fully functional and super fun. it is everything I hoped it would be. As mentioned in the video, we do intend to mount it on a wall of our family room and do an entire photoshoot around it. Because, it’s us.

Admittedly, the entire reason I’ve wanted one is due to the movie Kamikaze Girls. That movie influenced so many aspects of my life when it came out. I often say that my aesthetic is a cross between Kamikaze Girls and Morticia Addams. At least I aspire it to be that.

My bebes doing pictures right.

My Mother’s Day was a good one. One of my long standing gifts for Mother’s Day is a group photo. As you can see, we get creative with that too. I love my brood, they are a fun bunch. I am extremely lucky.

Not sure where Trevor is for this picture but this is one of my favorite pictures from this weekend.

For those of you who follow me for fabric, you are in luck. This week I am adding some new vintage fabric yardage (That’s right yardage!) to my Etsy shop. I have some incredible mid century deadstock fabric that I plan to take an obscene amount of photos of.

Stay tuned for that.

xo-Thea

I made a dress out of a bedsheet.

If you’ve been with me for awhile, you know i am all about repurposing vintage fabrics. I reuse all that I possibly can reuse from a damaged vintage kimono. A few years ago while thirsting I started to notice some really pretty patterns on some vintage bedsheets. I had the intention to use them to make curtains and decorative hold things with them. But it dawned on me that I could use them to make dresses.

There’s tons of fabric to use! It’s more affordable than heading into JoAnn’s for a some fabric.

In my video this week, I talk a bit about it.

xo-Thea

My 1940's Vanity

In the hub-bub of last week on a supply run to the fabric store I popped in to Goodwill that was on the way. The thrift gods directed me there to present me with a find that has been on my want list for a very long time.

A 1940’s vanity set.

Obviously this warranted a full vlog post about it. I explain why I wanted one so badly as well as some recent failed attempts on getting one.

xo-Thea

Spring Organizing Without The OCD

I’ve been a little MIA this week from textiles. I’ve let the spring season posses me and drive me to do things like organize and plant stuff. While I m passionate about planting stuff, I have to say that I’m not a strict organizer these days. In the era of organizing themed shows and media, I feel like I owe a little explanation.

The bounty of shoes and coats from our front closet.

80 pairs of shoes organized.

In the very beginning of when I became a mother at 18, I was insanely organized. I owe a lot of that to the Asian cultural upbringing. We even had those hard plastic carpet runners in my childhood home to protect the carpet. If you know, you know. I’m American too, but we didn’t wear shoes in our house like my friends did. There’s a few other cultural things along those lines that I took into into my own adult life. It was the way of life for me. It was comforting and something I always could control.

When I was younger I have to admit, I was way more intense with things. Things were o-r-g-a-n-i-z-e-d always. Closets were colored coordinated. Cans were facing all the same way in the pantry. Towels were clean and fresh and hanging properly. (Ever see the movie Sleeping with the Enemy?) I would even comb the fringe of the carpet to make it lay correctly. Writing that all out now a decade+ later is humbling and introspective for me.

At that time, I didn’t know that I was actually processing things like someone who has obsessive compulsive disorder. In life, I think we often go about things and think nothing of it until someone points it out to you. My ah-ha moment was when I had a friend over for dinner and during the dinner prep/cooking she calmly said to me “I just watched you wash your hands 10 times in under 5 minutes.” I was surprised and defensive as one would be and did nothing about it for years. But that comment stuck with me and weighed on me for awhile.

Flash forward a few years from that comment, my dad fell ill and ultimately passed on. It was a mentally and physically straining time for me as you would guess. Flash forward a bit more, I was getting a divorce now too. That season of my life was a tough one. Good things did come from it though. A roller derby league and a positive turn in my mental health. I won’t share my TEDTalk of my journey, I am just like you and I ride life’s roller coaster of changes, ups and downs and trie to navigate it the best I could.

But in that time I was able to release whatever possessed me or weighed me down to do things the way I did. I am conscious of my habits and rituals. I giggle at the idea of combing the carpet tassels straight now. The cans aren’t all facing outwards anymore. Unless it’s a joke, because that seems to be a serial killer trait in movies. We do still take off our shoes before coming into our house and my closet is still color coordinated because (aesthetics). I do really appreciate a well organized utensil drawer and a shoe closet (see above) too. I just don’t freak out about it looking perfect daily.

I still revel in finding easy ways to organize like using this photo storage box for my seeds.

Up until earlier this week I had rubber banded stacks of seeds stored in a beat, old, sad, cardboard box stored in my garage fridge. “Seeds” scribbled in Sharpie marker noting was it was. It wasn’t the best system for storing. Seeds would slide out and I’d sort though them looking for which stack had the thing I was looking for. This has been a easy gratifying solution for me.

The writing is still in Sharpie marker but things are easier to find with a quick glance.

Aside from the season spurring this topic, I know a handful of young people trying to sort adult life out. Its hard to not reflect on my own life during that time. It honestly doesn’t feel that long ago because I started so young. My words of wisdom to those young folks starting out and even to those of us who have an opportunity to start again, remember don’t be hard on yourselves. Being organized is awesome and feels good, but it should not be stressful. I promise you, there will be something else in life for you to stress out over.

And since I forgot to share this earlier this week - here’s my most recent vlog video. It features the majority of the young people in my life.

Hve an excellent weekend friends - Thea

My first linen dress and John's birthday. (Vlog)

Yesterday was John’s birthday. There’s still not a whole lot one can do to celebrate a birthday. But we made the most of it and had an excellent day. I give a little run down in my vlog below.

No about that dress. You can see me wearing it in the vlog video too.

I got the fabric from a thrift store for $3.99. It was just a smidgen over 2 yards of fabric. It’s a warm burnt orange shade that I don’t think I’d choose for myself. But the thrift store gods provided and the pricing was on my side.

I had never sewn linen before and I learned quickly that you can’t make too many mistakes with it due to the nature of the weave. It’s some squirrelly stuff. But I love my linen store bought clothing so much I’m willing to try to make my own.

Vintage coordinating floral cotton fabric for the pockets.

I didn’t have quite enough fabric that the pattern called for. I made some length adjustments (the pattern was for a midi length dress) and I opted to use a vintage cotton floral fabric for the pockets.

I ran out of vintage buttons! I only needed one more to be able to have enough to make it fully functional (and modest) dress. Until then, I’m wearing it as a tunic with leggings which is pretty awesome in my book.

I’m definitely ready to take on my next linen project now that I know what to expect with it. Being the fabric nerd that I am, I’ve read up on the history of linen. Truly amazing. Even the wikipedia page for linen is an interesting read.

I hope you’ll enjoy the video and I hope your Monday has been a good one. xo-Thea

Vlog and Spooky Skeleton Kanzashi

First up, yesterday’s vlog:

Admittedly, it was a bit rushed as time kind of got away from me yesterday. I’m also still acclimating to using Premier Pro rather than iMovie. But we wanted to mention the little information that we have about Adobe Max/Marketplace that 6 by 6 will be a part of. Reminder that Max is free this year!!! SIGN UP!!! John and I have attended the past two years and each time we left filled to the brim with inspiration. As well as new insights on how to use Adobe’s products for our creative endeavors. I know that sounds a bit like a sales pitch, but we use a ton of their applications for many aspects for both companies. And who doesn’t like Free?

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you might have caught this little teaser yesterday. I whipped up a few Skeleton Kanzashi clips for spooky season. They are available in my shop. Sadly, there won’t be a cotton alternative for these. Perhaps in the future though. I get random requests for these throughout the year.

I’m glued to my computer, sewing machine and kanzashi table this week. I have some fun videos, projects and photoshoots on my list week. Whatever I can do to power through to election day. :)

xo-Thea

Bah! I keep forgetting to update here!

Hello! I’m not sure why I can never remember paste links for my vlogs and other videos on YouTube. Is this why my daughter says I’m already senile?

Here’s last week’s vlog:

In the video above, I basically talk about the sewing adventure that I am on. I’m in deep guys. The fabric hoarder in me is raging and I’m swooping up all sorts of fabrics right now.
I’m also knocking off standing projects off of my to do list. One that both John and I were super excited about was this Custom Kitchen Nook Decor. I know that sounds a little weird and it kinda is, but also cool.

Lastly, for today the whole reason I logged on was to fix a color issue on my site. Thankfully one of my friend’s pointed it out to me when she placed an order. She’s totally getting extra swag as a thank you. Apologies to anyone who might have experienced that issue. I’m a fabric folder/hoarder not a web designer. :D

I hope all of you are safe. Here on the West Coast of the US, we’re basically on fire. The smoke is in the air and its rough. Man, this year is just - wow. Lots of virtual hugs and love my friends. - Thea