FARMINGTON — Cheryl Lewis is sad yet excited about the new chapter she’s facing in her life.

“There’s no regrets,” she said of her decision to close her business, The Fabric Inn, on Wilton Road.

The business was started in 1976 and will close on Dec. 31 after 37 years. The inventory of colorful fabrics and sewing supplies are on sale. She intends to continue selling sewing machines as she moves on to employment with the Fabric Garden in Madison.

Her decision was made within the last three weeks and will allow her to keep doing what she likes with more freedom and less business responsibility, she said.

She thought she’d just continue the business started by her sister and parents until this offer was presented. With her children grown and at age 47, she decided she’d like more freedom.

When her sister Valerie Swain came here from New York to attend the University of Maine at Farmington in the 1970s, she thought the town needed something more. A fabric store was her choice, Lewis said.

Her parents, Arden and Martin Priebe, moved up in 1978 to help with the store, which expanded twice over the years. Lewis said she would get off the school bus at the shop. She helped with the store and learned to sew. 

When her sister moved to California, Lewis, at 17, basically stepped in to run the business. She’s been there ever since.

As customers came in Wednesday expressing regrets, Lewis said it was fun to reminisce about those years. 

The store has offered a variety of classes, including quilting and fabric art since the beginning.

Some people take one class, others have continued with classes for about 15 years, bonded by their mutual interest. Lewis expects some of the women in the quilting classes to continue meeting together, perhaps in private homes.

As trends have changed over the years, the store has reduced its space to one-third the building. Wears and Wares and Northland Custom Flooring lease the rest.

When the store started, many women sewed clothes, many were stay-at-home moms.  Now with more women working, many have stopped sewing clothes. Some have turned to quilts and fabric art, she said.

Lewis has expanded her knowledge of sewing over the years, often teaching “whatever you want to learn,” she said.

She employs one part-time clerk and Betsy Plummer who teaches classes.

The inventory includes decorative hand-sewn quilt class samples. Store specials are posted on the store website, www.fabricinn.com, she said.

abryant@sunjournal.com