Quilt shops are the cornerstones of the sewing and quilting community. They provide gathering spaces for classes and a welcoming environment to get the creative juices flowing. They’re great places to get inspired, to learn new skills, or get just the right tools needed to unlock your potential.
In honor of ‘Visit Your Local Quilt Shop Day’ on January 26th, we held a contest to celebrate our love for quilt shops. We asked all of you out there to vote for your favorite shops and tell us about why they were special to you. The contest lasted just a few short weeks, but the response was overwhelming with nearly 5,000 votes!
Thanks to your support. The winners who had a combination of the most votes and the best comments from their customers, are now winning a free ByAnnie trunk show to display in their shop for a full month! See if your favorite shop was a winner, and find when you can go visit these shops to see the trunk show!
Grand Prize Winner
Emma’s Quilt Cupboard – Franklin, MA
Emma’s Quilt Cupboard is a top voted shop that has it all: a friendly staff, fun classes, great clubs, and a wide variety of fabrics and notions.
Winning over 330 votes from its customers, many people commented on the wonderful support they get from this shop.
One customer wrote, “The highly competent and very friendly staff will help you through every stage of your quilt project and then invite you back to celebrate the finished product. The fabrics are top quality and so is the advice.”
Swing by this great quilt shop during the month of October, 2019 to see the ByAnnie trunk show.
Runners-Up
Congratulations to our other winners!
Capital Quilts has been providing high quality fabrics, notions and services for nearly 25 years. They are known for their friendly, casual environment. Customers enjoy interactive classes, events, and charity programs. Stop by to see the ByAnnie trunk show at their shop in July, 2019.
The Old Country Store has been a beloved staple in their community for over 40 years. Customers travel from miles around to check out this shop’s unique mix of fabrics, classes and novelty items made by local craftspeople. You can see the ByAnnie trunk show in their shop in May, 2019.
The Cherry Pit has been offering a wide range of goods and services to their area for over 20 years. This store is also known for their wonderful classes. They’re planning on hosting the ByAnnie trunk show in June, 2019, so be sure to stop by!
Here Are Some Fun Facts:
This year’s contest ran from January 26 through February 15, 2019.
Votes for favorite local quilt shops were collected through a Google Form which was distributed through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and social media ads, as well as through ByAnnie emails.
Together, the four winning stores make up nearly 25% of the votes, and found success through sharing contest details with their customers through social media, newsletters and spreading the word to people who came into their shops.
It’s Fun To See Quilt Shops Succeed
People were really excited to cast their votes for their favorite local quilt shops.
This year, we collected over 4,400 votes. That’s about 40% more than we collected last year in 2018!
In an era when so many have the option to purchase sewing supplies online, it is great to see how many people are supporting their local brick-and-mortar quilt shops.
This is a great way to build a strong community of sewists and makers.
Every Store Matters
Close to 1,000 stores were nominated for this contest, and 55 of those stores had over 10 votes.
All 50 states in the USA had a store nominated, and 12 countries around the world were represented in the contest.
Great job on showing your local quilt shops some love!Want to find a local quilt shop near you? Try NeedleTravel.com and check their online Shop Finder for stores in the USA!
If you live outside the USA, try Google maps and search keywords like fabric, quilting, patchwork and more!
We want to thank everyone who participated in the contest this year. If you didn’t see your favorite quilt shop listed above, you can still give them a shout-out by mentioning them in the comments below. Let us know where they’re located and why they’re special to you!
