Since it opened in 2001, Prairie Quilt in Hennessey has grown to become the largest quilt shop in Oklahoma.

As of Aug. 23, owner Randa Parrish will add a new title to the store’s list of honors – one of the top 10 quilt shops in all of North America.

Prairie Quilt will be featured in that list in the Fall-Winter 2019 issue of Quilt Sampler, a magazine published by Better Homes and Gardens that is slated to hit newsstands Aug. 23.

Prairie Quilt was selected from among 3,000 qualified applicants for the top 10 list in the magazine, which is published twice a year and has been profiling North America’s top quilt shops since 1995.

Parrish submitted her shop’s detailed application last fall, listing the store’s history, business promotions, charitable work, teaching schedules

and design philosophies.

The applications

were reviewed by a

panel of quilt experts, spearheaded by the American Patchwork & Quilting staff, which selects the top 10 shops. “When I received the official phone call, I was in shock,” Parrish said. “They called me in December and I had to keep the news quiet until they unveiled the chosen shops in May at Quilt Market in Kansas City. “It was difficult to do so. This is the highest honor in the sewing and quilting industry, so to be chosen is a wonderful feeling.” nine chosen shops were photographed and interviewed by a team from Quilt Sampler for a multi-page profile that will appear in the magazine.

At 6,000 square feet and growing, the store is packed with more than 5,000 bolts of quilting fabrics and notions, as well as Pfaff and Brother sewing and embroidery machines and Handi Quilter quilting machines.

The neighboring building to the south, the former home to LaPorte Drugs, is being remodeled to extend Prairie Quilt’s footprint and will become a showroom for the store’s sewing embroidery and longarm machines, adding another 5,000 square feet of space and allowing the original building to be devoted only to fabric and sewing notions, Parrish said.

The showroom is expected to be open in January.

Parrish called her move from Oklahoma City to Hennessey “a great decision.”

“It was a big shock at first to get used to a different lifestyle, but I absolutely love it and I love the people here,” she said. “Customers are amazed that we are in such a little town but we draw from all over Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas.

“In addition, we offer over 15,000 items for purchase online and sell all across the country.”

To celebrate its selection to the top 10 list, Prairie Quilt is hosting a party on Aug. 23, the magazine’s release date.

The first 50 customers that day will receive a complimentary signed copy of the magazine.

“We will have cake, demonstrations and special sales for our customers throughout the entire day,” Parrish said. “We want this to be a celebration for them as well.”