Donna Worrell, the new proprietor of Sew Biz in Radford, holds up a cloth panel that boasts a colorful scene and its own reflection. She suggested to a crowd of customers that it would make beautiful tote bags to own or for gifts.
Pat Brown
Contributing Writer
Donna Worrell has been working two jobs for the past 10 years, but now she will be known exclusively as the new owner of Sew Biz in Radford.
She had been planning to retire at the end of October from her job as an engineer and auditor in the Radford Army Ammunition Plant (RAAP) quality assurance department.
A month short of that retirement, Worrell’s scheduled got complicated when Marianne Beeson, owner of Sew Biz for nearly four decades, sold her business to Worrell. Now instead of being a part-time employee of the sewing shop, she was owner.
Sew Biz opened in 1981 with Beeson at the helm at a small downtown store on Norwood St. in Radford. Beeson and a few employees operated the business out of its current Harvey Street location for more than 30 years.
The Victorian style building was once called “Central Depot” and was a hotel for train travelers in the late 1800s.
“The old kitchen is now a classroom,” said Worrell.
She said she and her staff use “every inch of space,” and displayed cloth and sewing needs, plus yarn and sewing machines on both floors of the building.
“My grandmother got me into sewing when I was nine,” Worrell said. “She showed me how to make patterns off of doll clothes.”
As an eighth grader in Christiansburg, she made slacks to wear to school, complete with zippers. She made her own prom dresses and even the bridesmaid’s gowns for her wedding. She has been quilting for over 25 years.
“To me, quilting is just math,” said Worrell, who studied chemistry at Radford University and industrial and systems engineering at Virginia Tech.
At the final stage of each quilt, Worrell uses a machine to create “free motion” quilting designs. The machine finish is popular with modern quilters.
Just like her predecessor, Worrell depends on her staff to help advise customers and teach classes in their areas of expertise. The business maintains connections with customers both on the internet and through paper mailings.
“They are the best,” Worrell said of her staff.
Linda Libey holds the record as a 15-year veteran of the business. She was in charge at a recent Saturday “Breakfast Club” in the kitchen-turned-classroom.
Sew Biz customers show up one Saturday every other month to see the staff run through demonstrations of fabrics and projects the store has acquired.
At the October Breakfast Club, staff members took turns holding up and passing around dozens of new fabrics, printed panels, quilting squares, and finished projects. Aboriginal fabric from Australia got the audience’s attention, as did child-themed fabrics and rayon batiks.
“This is not your mother’s rayon,” said Libey, pointing out that the cloth made today does not have to be as painstakingly laundered as in the past.
The staff got applause when they announced they had donated about 60 bolts to the Linus Project, an organization that makes blankets for children in need.
Alison Willey of Radford showed off her colorful slouch hat and an ultra-soft Alpaca wool neck cowl she had knitted for winter and decorated with big wooden buttons.
“If you don’t know how to knit, this class (Willey’s) with chunky yarns will make you want to learn.” Libey said. “You’ll need a size 10 needle.”
Sew Biz has the distinction of being the only BERNINA sewing machine outlet in the New River Valley. The Swiss-engineered BERNINA is viewed as a top-of-the-line machine.
“They are not machines anymore;” Worrell said. “They are computers.”
So Worrell recently enrolled and graduated from “Bernina University,” where she learned to do repairs to the machines, an important part of Sew Biz‘s service to the NRV sewing community over the years.
Another service is use of the big classroom. Individuals and groups can rent the space except during “Open Sewing,” when groups of six sewers bring their own machines and work—together and individually—in the large room.
Breakfast Club’s show-and-tell atmosphere is not limited to the shop’s latest finds. Many of the people who attend are ready to show off their latest accomplishments. There was a machine embroidered Halloween bag and a quilted wall hanging, a placemat, a knitted elephant,
“Hand stitching is so much fun,” said Becky Kirby of Draper, “because you can take it with you.” She said she likes to have something to work on during flights to visit her son in Texas.
Dublin residents Judy Friant and Peggy Fletcher teased each other.
“She didn’t like batiks,” said Friant. “Now I do everything in batiks,” confessed Fletcher.
Christy Lovern of Riner and Jennifer Eanes of Christiansburg were excited to announce that they had gotten first and second place, respectively, at the New River Valley Fair for their quilted wall hangings.
As of Oct. 26, Worrell’s life became more manageable. That was her last day at RAAP. Holding down the fort for her while she approached her role as the new owner of sew biz were her five employees, each of which specializes in some aspect of fabric arts.
On the store’s website (sewbiz.com), a surprisingly long list of classes and clubs are described, revealing a treasure trove of talent in the shop.
There’s even a camp for kids run by Sandy Ferraccio, who also teaches wool felting. Peggy Quarterman will teach you how to quilt or sew clothing. Alison Willey teaches knitting and is learning to assist with machine repairs.
Linda Libey likes to share her knowledge of hand sewing and rug making. Crystal Johnston teaches quilting and creatimg accessories.
Worrell admitted October was super busy. For a year and a half she’s been the machine technician at Sew Biz and she recently took over finances there. She doubled down to train her replacement at the Arsenal (RAAP). But Worrell does not allow herself a vision of slowing down.
“There’s still a lot to do at the shop,” she said.