Who We Are

Don and Sue Shrader opened Creative Sewing Machines 1983 in Tazewell, VA and in 1997 we moved our store to Mt.Airy, NC. 

The first BERNINA sewing machine we sold was the original 830 (it is hard to beat the best) and we progressed and sold all of BERNINA's offerings through the years. When the BERNINA embroidery software was introduced we began teaching our customers the joys of creating their own embroidery designs. 

We began our journey with Brother in June 2016 and have been so impressed with the quality of the product. We look forward to the future with such a bright company.

We have fabrics, notions, accessories, and a nice sized classroom. We know that your sewing experience will be different at different times of your life. We are here to help you pick out the things you need in your life, whether it be an heirloom quilt as a gift or for yourself, a purse or a tote bag with flair and spunk, a wall hanging that reflects your class and style. Come in and see us. 

Sue Shrader is the author of the Creative Sewing Machines Instructional workbooks. She started creating the workbooks at Version 3 because we had so many people to comment that they wished they had a simple, straight forward approach to learning the software. Since then Sue has written workbooks for Version 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8.

Timmesa Wishart has been sewing for over 40 years and has been inspired to create and re-purpose from existing items for years. Her designs have been featured in BERNINA's "Through the Needle" Magazine. She has also created countless patterns for our shop that we use for classes and have available for sale.

Timmesa is also our in house authorized technician for BERNINA and Brother sewing machines. She apprenticed under her father, Don, for many, many years before taking the reigns of such an important part of our business. Being a sewing enthusiast herself, she understands how important it is to have a sewing machine you can count on.

Timmesa has five children ranging from age 13 to 26. 



We are a family business. We have such great respect and appreciation to all of our customers who shop with us. Thank you so much for keeping us here.