Qbee Quilts

I’m 30 years old and an art quilter and crafter with my own Etsy store and a very bold aesthetic. At the time of writing this, my hair is a vibrant blue. I can acknowledge that I’m probably not their target demographic. BUT. I just can’t get behind this place. Even when I wore my hair dark, suited to the dressed-​up job I had at the time, I have felt out of place in this store. They very obviously market to a distinctly traditional style, and they sort their fabrics by color, instead of displaying collections together as the designers intend, making assembling a color palette more complicated than it has to be. There’s very little in the way of contemporary fabric lines such as Zen Chic or Cotton and Steel, or even the brightly colored prints from Riley Blake or Tula Pink. With the number of fabric options available online, if I’m going to spend extra to buy from a brick and mortar shop, I either want the enthusiastic customer service I get at Sew Much Fun in Lowell, or the kind of selection I get at Mary Jo’s in Gastonia. This place has neither, and I never really feel welcome. I might stop in if I’m looking for something specific, but it’s really my last choice in terms of independent fabric stores in the area. I’ll go as an alternative to Hancock or Joann, but that’s about it. Mediocre at best.

After taking my folks to a lunch at the new Culver’s just down the street, my slick mother asked for me to look up an address on my phone — after telling her it was just a few minutes away, we were headed to the Qbee — with age comes trickery skillz.
Located in a strip center with a Jack In the Box and a Cici’s Pizza, this is just past the intersection of Carowinds Blvd and S Tryon. My GPS took me right to it and there was plenty of parking (and it was only about 5 minutes from Culver’s).
What a gorgeous quilt store — I was absolutely amazed. Mom is a major quilter doing quilts for Project Linus (to give to critically ill children) and for oldsters in wheelchairs (she’s a saint, I am not sure what happened to me). Qbee had a huge selection of quality fabrics, threads, kits, patterns and anything and everything a quilter could possibly need. The prices were in line with items I have ordered for mom online. I am pretty sure she could have dropped her retirement funds for the month, but kept herself to just a few items.
They had a gorgeous selection of Moda fabrics, some Dr. Seuss, Peanuts, Maxine, bright and beautiful batiks, panels of different themes, fall prints, florals and bright geometrics. They were also very well stocked with fat quarters, charm packs, layer cakes, jelly rolls and candy bars (not the sweets, quilting cuts). The friendly owners were in the back working on a tshirt quilt for a young man who had long since stopped wearing the tshirts, but wanted to keep them around. My mom has made me two such quilts and they are incredible.
This store is a must-​stop at for any quilter. Mom was super-​thrilled which makes my day, so we will definitely be returning.

We are quilters from outside of the Carolinas, and we decided to try this shop based on the pictures on their web site. While it isn’t a huge place, they have a well-​organized store, making it easy to find fabrics, rulers, and notions. Given that it wasn’t busy, the staff member was willing to cut fat quarters for us if we couldn’t find any of the fabric we wanted. She also pointed out that they had pre-​cut full repeats of larger patterned fabric. Projects from classes were displayed around the store, making me wish I could come back for one. Best of all, they had a scrap bin: stuff a quart Ziploc bag for $ 3 (bag must close). Excellent for someone looking for appliqué items or for small paper-​piecing material. If we return to Charlotte, we will definitely return to this store.
One more thing: They use an ID code for every fabric, and your receipt will list the numbers. This means if you want to order more of a given fabric, you only need to tell them the ID number. This is very handy!