TORRINGTON – For all the sewing, quilting and knitting fans in Torrington and Goshen County there will be a new store for you to call home, after the grand opening of Sew Addicting.

The new store had its grand opening to the public on Wednesday, June 9. The owner, Ruth Van Mark, purchased the store from its previous owners, The Covered Wagon Quilt Shop, in early May when the owner of The Covered Wagon, Judy Edwards, told Van Mark that she was going to be selling her business and asked if she were interested in purchasing the store.

“I like to quilt, and I’ve always loved sewing,” Van Mark said. “I’ve always been intrigued by the idea of owning a fabric store, so when the lady who previously owned it told me she was interested in selling and asked if I was interested in buying, I started thinking about it and it came together really quickly, and I bought it.”

Van Mark said her passion for sewing began when she was in fourth grade and was involved in 4-H classes here in Goshen County. She has only been quilting for the past five years, but really enjoys it as well.

Before purchasing the store, Van Mark used to frequent The Covered Wagon Quilt Shop as a customer. It was her go-to spot for all her quilting and sewing needs, and when she was presented with the opportunity to purchase the store, she jumped on it.

The walls inside Sew Addicting are covered in beautiful quilts that have been done by various people throughout the community.

“Most of the quilts were done by either my relatives, the former owner of the store or a friend of mine who used to live in Torrington who came down to help me with the store because she owned a quilt store before,” Van Mark said.

One of the things Van Mark has planned for the store is to hold classes to teach people in the community various quilting techniques. There are currently a group of ladies who come in on Wednesday mornings and do embroidery work.

Van Mark also wants to incorporate knitting into the store, as she currently doesn’t have any knitting products offered at this time. She is in the process of getting some yarn to sell at the business and hopes to have something to offer for the knitting community in Torrington.

The ultimate goal is to provide the Torrington community with a successful business where people can come and pick up supplies for knitting, quilting and sewing. Van Mark also thinks it’s really important to teach the younger generations, so the skillset doesn’t go away.

“The goal is to obviously make a successful business venture,” Van Mark said. “Make it a place for people to come in and enjoy shopping and learning things and feel welcomed. It’s really important we start teaching younger people these skills, because we don’t want them to die out. I’m very supportive of the 4-H folks and the quilt club, who have a kids club where they teach the young kids the basics.”

Having a store like this in Torrington is important for the community and it keeps them from having to travel to Scottsbluff to get their supplies. They can instead spend time at a local community owned business and use it as a gathering place for those interested in knitting, quilting and sewing.

“For a town our size, to be able to have a store like this, I think it’s wonderful,” Van Mark said. “There’s a lot of people here in Torrington who not only quilt but do basic sewing. Instead of having to go to Scottsbluff to get their supplies, they can get probably 90% of what they are looking for here. That’s good for them and it’s good for the community.”

Van Mark said the opening day was a great success. A lot of people in the community stopped in to show their support for the business and there was also a free raffle. The three prizes were shopping sprees. First place was a $100 shopping spree, second place was $50 and third place was $25. Van Mark said all the customers were really excited about the opportunity to win a shopping spree. The three winners were picked at the end of the day and door prizes were given out throughout the duration of the grand opening.