Area quilt stores offer 'Row by Row Experience'

Margo Balzarini, owner of Palouse River Quilts, stands in front of patterns she created as samples for this summer's Row by Row Experience project. This year's theme is “Home Sweet Home."

Gazette intern reporter

Local quilting stores are participating in an international promotion to encourage summertime quilting.

“Row by Row customers visit other shops. It benefits them when everyone visits. It really helps when there is a variety of shops participating,” said Margo Balzarini, owner of Palouse River Quilts in Colfax.

The Row by Row Experience began in 2011 when 20 quilt shops in the state of New York decided they wanted to promote quilt sales in the summer. In 2012, the event grew to include 62 participating shops. Pennsylvania joined in 2013 to make the total number of participating shops 138 between the two states. In 2014, more than 1,250 quilt shops participated in 34 states as well as Ontario, Canada. 2,655 shops across the U.S. and Canada participated in 2015.

This year, all 50 states, 10 Canadian provinces and three territories will participate as well as most of Europe. There are no fees, no cards to stamp and it is all summer long. To participate, visit shops in each state which are participating and pick up a free pattern for a row in a quilt. Combine rows with other free patterns to create a unique quilt using at least eight different 2016 participating Row by Row shops and be the first to bring it into a participating shop to win a stack of 25 fat quarters (or 6-1/4 yards of fabric.)

Balzarini moved to Colfax in 1978, with her husband who was attending Washington State University for graduate school while she worked for the university. Balzarini worked at WSU until she retired in 2007. She decided to open Palouse River Quilts with a friend in March 2013 after a previous quilt shop, Quilted Moose Store, closed its doors in August of 2012.

“I guess I have been sewing since I was four years old,” said Balzarini. “My sisters and I used to sew clothes for our dolls and eventually our own clothes.”

Since then, Balzarini continued to sew and said she picked quilting up 35 to 40 years ago.

“I don't have many quilts anymore, but before the shop I had many,” Balzarini said. “Most of the quilts around the shop here sit as samples. I think I have about 30 hanging up and around.”

Among the quilts hanging up around the shop are Balzarini's sample rows for this year's theme for Row by Row, “Home Sweet Home.” The rows for the project must be 9x36 inches, and the sample rows designed by quilt shop owners such as Balzarini, can be created by the owner or a designer. Once a pattern sample for a row is made, shop owners can make patterns available for interested customers, or kits that include supplies for that row. Last year, Palouse River Quilts handed out 93 free patterns and sold 150 kits.

“There's also lots of add-on sales you can have along with your Row by Row pattern and kits,” said Balzarini. “We sell license plates like other shops do too.”

The Row by Row experience started June 21 and ends Labor Day Weekend. Quilters must complete eight different rows from eight different participating stores. If the quilter is the first to complete and turn in a quilt at a store, they can receive 25 fat quarters (the 25 fat quarter equals 6 ¼ yards of fabric total). In addition, stores can throw in other prizes for those who complete their quilts first.

“We give a ruler rack as our additional prize,” said Balzarini.

Her husband works with wood and hand-crafted the ruler rack which holds fabric rulers, creating more organization and space for quilters and sewers on their tables or rooms where they quilt.

Besides Palouse River Quilts, there are eight other area shops participating, including Grammy G's Quilt Shop, Palouse; Stitches & Petals, Moscow; Rather-Be's, Pomeroy; Becky's Fabrics, Lewiston; The Wild Hare, Orofino; Home Grown Quilts, Grangeville; the satellite Home Grown Quilts, Lewiston, and Quilting Treasures, Grangeville. These shops, along with Palouse River Quilts, also participate in a Shop Hop twice a year in May and August. The Shop Hop is an event where all shops participating come together for customers to “hop” between to receive free patterns, fabric and food.

“It's somewhat hard to see others, but with the shop hop group (which meets twice a year) it helps being able to see what they're doing and have fun with people who do what you like to do,” said Balzarini.