By CRAIG FREILICH

WADDINTON – After 32 years of growing to serve the needs of local sewing aficionados, Waddington Sewing Centers will change direction to emphasize sewing machine sales and lessons for people who want to learn to sew.

“I want to give people everything but I have to cut back. There’s too much inventory,” said Alice Pavelski, partner with her husband Joe in the sewing center at 11697 Rt. 37. “The classroom is just too packed” with inventory, she said.

She is having a sale with prices up to 50 percent off on items such as Janome sewing machines, fabric, threads, and accessories of all sorts. Customers who purchase something during the sale through July 21, and even people who just show up for a look, can get points toward prizes such as smart TVs, a Blu-Ray player and wireless speakers that will be awarded on the 21st.

She said some sales at the shop have suffered due to people “going on the internet for things which we introduce them to,” and she is finding ways to compensate for that.

“I’m checking out demand as we go along” to see what she will do after the sale, but Pavelski is sure she will want to work with children, sell sewing machines, and give free lessons to machine purchasers on how to use the machines one-on-one. More advanced lessons will be available after that, “hopefully with children and their parents and grandparents.”

She is also purchasing a quilting machine for quilts as wide as 12 feet, and will offer lessons on that, and machine rentals, and sales of the machines with software.

She and her husband will continue repairs on the Janome sewing machines they sell as an exclusive dealer for that company.