Row by Row question: pattern only?
 

Hi, all,
I picked up my first 2016 Row by Row pattern today. Last year I bought several kits but only made a few so I've resolved that I'll only get patterns this year.

My question is: for the contest, how closely does your row have to match the shop's demo? Is it enough to just follow their pattern or must you use their special fabrics, special embellishments, embroidery machine designs (yes, the one I picked up today had that as an option to buy)?

If anyone has an answer I'd love to know! Thanks in advance.

Hallie

I picked up my first three Row by Row this afternoon.

I bought kits, but at one shop the free pattern was different than the kit. I do not think that followed the 'rules' but I got it as well as the kit.

I will not be entering a competition at a local shop, so am not worried about how it may look compared to the kit.

One show had their design done up as kitted and also done in batiks. The batiks gave a depth of colour that enhanced the design.

I found it easier to get the kits last year. It saves me time .... don't have to go find fabrics to get a similar look. I did do my quilt and got the prize at a LQS. It was so much fun that I'm going to do the same this year.

I'm going to get my 1st R-b-R tomorrow.

You have to stay in Hawaii? You poor thing! :hunf:

I spent 13 hours and two tanks of gas, and picked up 6 rows. Will get the local one tomorrow, and the one near where I work (84 miles away) on Thursday when I need to be in the office. Then I'll have the 8 I want to use this year. Only one of these (the local one) is from a shop row I used in my quilt last year. All of mine as SD rows, and three are from shops I've never visited before.

Last year, I embellished most of the rows I made (last year I used 10) and changed out some fabric in a few of the kits. I had a lot of fun making the rows and doing the quilting.

Here are some of the embelishments I did last year - swaped out teh background fabric for fireworks and stitched with several colors of metalic thread for the starbursts.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...psrxcdj4lj.jpg

This one had a very simple design of a speared fish (Spearfish SD) and I used shadow trapantu to make something much closer to the official city seal.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...pskojt7gje.jpg

you are all so ambitious! I never seem to get mine done as I'm always tied down with other project. My goal is the use the license plates I've collected over the last 3 years to put together a quilt bag--best get that done soon or it will turn out to be so big I'll not be able to carry it!:D

rofl!!! :d

this is new to me and I'm new to quilting but I'm going to give this a shot for practice - there is no way I will be winning any contest. I will be traveling a fair bit this summer so I should be able to hit up 8 shops easy. I clicked on this thread and had no idea what you all were talking about at first. This will give me some along-they-way destinations. Thanks!

Question - each shop has their own row, is that right? each row from a shop will be different from the other shops?

I saw last year a lot license plate fabrics sold on eBay.

I am planning on collecting some license plates and making a quilt with them. We are taking a car trip, but not until Aug. I'll collect the row patterns, but don't have any plans on getting them finished soon enough to win anything.

I planned to start collecting patterns yesterday, but ran out of time to hit any shops. I may go out today and start collecting. I don't like the pressure to get the quilt done, so winning anything is out of my plan. Maybe I can finish last years quilt. lol Last year I found a couple of patterns on a fabric manufacturer's site, they were free. Hope that happens again. Sometimes the finished quilt isn't a size I like, so the free internet patterns help. Last year, a lady finished her quilt and claimed her prize in less than a week. Impressive.
Sue

I had no plans of trying to win last year. However when I had it to the floppy stage, I was told them at my local quilt shop, and they encouraged me to get it done and bring it in, as they had not heard from anyone else locally that was doing it (small rural town). So I did.

I think the deadline for turning in a quilt is October 31st. They are suppose to post winning quilts on the facebook page, but I know from experience it does not always happen. Last year there were 15 shops participating in SD, and there are way less than 15 winners posted on the Facebook page. I think in more populated areas, they may get quilts turned in quickly. I know that the four stores closest to IA/MN border had winners long before I got mine done.

You can do it however you would like. I think one of the pluses of just getting patterns is you can use your color scheme. I am thinking of using elements from patterns and doing a more medallion style quilt this time.

I bought kits last year and they were fun. This year I don't think I will unless there is something special about the kit. I went to Shipshewana yesterday and Yoder's kit is pretty (a black silhouette of barns on solids in several shades). Since the barn silhouettes were already cut it fit my this year criteria for kit buying - if there is fussy/precision cutting already done and pretty fabrics in the kit, I'm getting it.

:p

Somebody has to do it .....

I have 4 so far. Good thing I will be collecting a bunch of them. A couple are pretty odd looking. I will pick and choose which ones I want to sew up.
Each shop has their own row.

Is there no row by row in Hawaii?

Thank you, sewingitalltogether for answering my question. I'm going to start driving around tomorrow and collecting what I can.

Yes, that is correct. Each shop designs their own row within certain criteria. They have a size limitation and it follows a theme. Two years ago the theme was Seasons. Last year it was Water. This year is it Home. Rows can be horizontal or vertical.

Between certain dates (June 21-Labor Day) the participating shops offer the pattern free to anyone who comes into the shop. They can also develop a kit for the row which they can sell only to those who come into the shop. Starting somewhere around the end of October they are permitted to sell patterns and kits by mail or multiple kits to one person coming in the shop. The premise behind Row by Row is to increase people visiting quilt shops.

A completed quilt must have 8 rows but can have more. If you are the first one to complete a quilt and take it back to one of the shops where you have a row then there is a prize.

You can go on Facebook and put in your "state row by row experience", or any state you might be travelling to, and see a lot of shops rows and license plates

Yes each shop designs their own row based on this years theme Home sweet home.
Quilt for the contest must be totally completed and have at least 8 rows in it, they can be from anywhere. The basic row should represent the original but placement or embellishment is your choice, artistic preference is allowed.

PLEASE clue me in on the Row by Row. I have been out of quilting since Dec. 31 due to a very bad arm break, surgery and not using my arm. So I am interested.
Mariah

I didn't participate last year, but I really want to travel and see if I can get something different.

I wan't going to buy any kits this year...to try and use scraps and fabric I already have. However, today I picked up a kit, because the row was appliqué and the pieces had been laser cut with a removable backing. Can't wait to get going on it! Love that the pieces are already cut. I'm not going to as many shops, because I have to finish the rows I already have.

Yes each shop has a different row designed by someone from the shop owner or employee some are very creative I have picked up 5 so far if you go to facebook and type in row by row experience you will get a page that shows license plates for the U.S. and Canada click on the one you are interested in and you will be able to view the row and the license will help you to decide where to go I have found way to many but it is fun and I like the kits

K-Roll -- yes each shop creates their pattern and you can use your own fabric. Have fun.

I think I've got four done - and wanted to give a "heads up" to those doing this the first time. I am not "dissing" the quilt shops, for many, this may be the only time they've attempted to put together a pattern and fabric kit. And I know how hard it can be to get it all correct.

If you get the kit, make sure you have enough fabric, and consider all of the pieces you need to cut out, sometimes there is enough fabric only if you cut a specific way. Unfortunately most directions don't say anything about that. Good thing it's fine to swap fabrics to make it work. (I also swap if they have something I don't care for). Sometimes there will be similar fabrics and the directions don't do a real good job of identifying which fabric to use for what pieces. Of the four kits, one was missing one fabric, and another was way short of background fabric.

Double check measurements. So for I've had two of the kits with wrong measurements for cutting. And since there usually is not much extra fabric, I've ended up putting in a seam where one was not suppose to be to get things to line up and sew together.

I don't really mind the problems, I consider that part of the challenge of getting the quilt done.

Lovely to see the discussion on Row by Row and license plates. I did pick up directions for Row by Row at a local shop, but no way to get to eight, so no plans on a Row by Row quilt this year. I am collecting license plates and have offered in our PC blocks of the month to trade with them and posted what I have bought in Iowa and Missouri. Hope to get several so I can make a wall hanging for my quilt room. Due to lost eyesight in one eye and seeing 90% with the right eye due to optic nerve damage I do not drive Dh and friends are kind enough to drive me if they have time. On the first, Quilter 65 took me to seven quilts shops in the All Iowa Shop Hop and one book store. Last Friday, a another couple took Quilter 65 and I to four Missouri quilt shops, including Missouri Star Quilts at Hamilton, Mo. Both were very enjoyable trips.

IF I lived in Hawaii I might enjoy it too much and not go anywhere I did not have to go. Living in the country in the middle of nowhere that is somewhere is what my DH and I love the most and where we retired to live. I just finished canning 37 quarts of Georgia peaches. We are happy were we live.

Last year I used no kits, only my stash fabric, and a few cuts to help it out.
You just need to follow the directions of making the row. You can choose any colors or types of fabric.
I tried really hard to get my rows to be the exact length, thinking they would measure exactly to make sure I did them correctly....they didn't. They just ooo'ed and ahhhh'ed over my quilt, and I allowed them to display it for about a month.
This year I'm doing the same, from my stash. I did break down and buy one kit, it was inexpensive and really cute.

Teri

The winning quilt at the shop I work at is gorgeous. She used her own fabrics, which just brings it all together. I'm sure it wouldn't look nearly as nice in the kits, since most of the stores did not use the row-by-row fabrics this year and just did their own thing with colours etc.

They interviewed RxR people on The Quilt Show a couple of weeks ago, they invited us to make the rows our own, the shop I turned my quilt in at, their row appliqued 7 people and was horizontal, I appliqued 3 people, added 2 cats and made it vertical. 3 rows I used my own fabrics, 3 rows the shops offered a plethora of kit choices, so I was able to find good options to match my border fabrics.
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That's an awesome quilt, MelissaMc! So much to look at. So... did you win all the fat quarters? :D Can't believe you already have all that done.

I have collected 4 rows so far, but not sure if I will make one of them. I have a row from last year that I never made, so I may make that and add it into my quilt. Still need a few more rows. We just don't have many quilt stores in my state, or my adjoining states, so it's going to be tough to get enough rows I like to put together. I'm having trouble with sciatica due to disc degeneration, so I can't drive long distances without sciatic pain. I may have to work on my rows one at a time and save them for a later year when I can put them all together into a quilt. Some of the rows this year are so pretty!

Boy..., AMEN to this! I was working on one of my favorite rows last night and the pattern was terrible. The design and concept were awesome, but the designer had no clue what info needed to be in the pattern. No fabric requirements, and no dimensions of fabrics. I was using a kit and it said nothing about cutting down the fabric pieces involved. I tediously covered a 5" WOF strip with little chenille cotton bolls, only to figure out later that I had to cut 1" of it off for it to fit right in the dimensions of the row. The "sky" was 6 2.5" strips, only no final dimension for the sky was given... you were on your own to figure out how far to overlap those strips to get to the right measurement. I got it, tho and love this row! Someone less experienced is really going to have a mess trying to make it from the pattern only.