Cary Quilting Company in Cary is the Regional Winner for North Carolina!
Read on to learn more about a popular shop that was started by accident!
Please tell us your store’s story.
Cary Quilting Company started somewhat by accident! Julianne moved her home-based custom quilt making business into an historic house that had been home to a local quilt shop for about 35 years.
Once the owner of that shop retired, the house remained empty for more than a year. Julianne moved her little business in, and people started knocking on the door wanting to know when the quilt shop would be opening!
Less than 2 months later, and with just 400 bolts, a shop was born. Now Cary Quilting Company is nearly 12 years old and boasts more than 6,000 bolts of fabric in inventory!
Julianne Walther is the shop founder and owner. When she’s not working she’s quilting! Her true passion is creating portrait art quilts, for which she has written a book.
For those who have not seen the store, please describe it.
The shop is nearly 6,000 square feet of quilting heaven! We have something for everyone, and we love color!
We are located just a mile from the heart of beautiful downtown Cary, North Carolina, which is just to the west of Raleigh, North Carolina.
We are one of the few independently owned quilt shops that doesn’t sell sewing machines! We like to focus on fabric. We offer longarm machine quilting services and tons of camps and classes.
— 2024 Contest Customer Comment —
“I am still learning how to coordinate fabric choices and Cary Quilting has always been very helpful in assisting me in making great selections!”
KATHY
— 2024 Contest Customer Comment —
“Friendly, knowledgeable staff, great fabric selection, and unique items to discover in an enjoyable, light-filled, and spacious environment. It’s a great place to shop!”
SANDRA
Please tell us about your staff.
L to R: Lori Rice, Inventory Manager; Linda Hunt, Longarm Quilting Manager; Allison Ege, Retail Sales Associate; Linda Piccola, RSA; Roberta Miller-Haraway, RSA; Ina Stringfellow, Inventory Assistant Manager; Donna Kumorek, RSA; Noreen Naiman, RSA and Class Coordinator; Julianne Walther, Owner; Katherine Setzer, Longarm Quilting Associate and Special Events Coordinator.
(15 staff members not pictured here – we have a total of 25 on staff)
— 2024 Contest Customer Comment —
“Everything they do is top notch! Excellent staff, wide variety of classes, and wonderful selection of everything you’d ever need for quilting!”
JOYCE
Please tell us about any upcoming special events at your store.
We are participating in the Row by Row Experience for the 10th year this summer. Look for some fun events for “Christmas in July” this summer, too!
We will be a part of the All Carolinas Shop Hop in September and October. Our next Handmade Market will take place on October 12, 2024.
Local attractions
In conclusion
When asked about the impact of the Local Quilt Shop Contest, Julianne said, “I love how ByAnnie understands the importance of celebrating locally owned shops and sharing information about local quilt shops. I am confident that winning our region two years in a row has helped many people learn about Cary Quilting Company. I’m so grateful that Annie understands the connected nature of our collective success – there’s a piece of the pie for everyone, and celebrating and supporting each other makes everything “tastier”!”
