Are you doing the "Row by Row Experience"?

How many of you are working on the "Row by Row" Experience?

It is the newest quilt craze.

It started in New York in 2011, Pennsylvania came on board in 2013, and this year there are 1250 shops across the United States and Ontario.

You can print a list for your state or one you will be visiting and see which shops are participating.

The pattern is free, and a lot of the stores are offering for a fee, the fabric to make their row.

There are also these cool license fabric licence plates you can purchase, also for a small fee.

Each state has a page on Facebook, where you can see what a row looks like for a particular quilt shop.

All skill levels, and type of quilting are represented.

It is a chance to try a block you may have been wanting to, but weren't sure.

Check out their website.

In Illinois there is a shop hop going on for June, July and August. I paired up all the shops on the hop with all the ones doing the Row by Row.  I could kill two birds with one stone.

Grab a couple of friends and hit the road.  You never know what you will find.

As you can see, I have four rows done.  I did these in two days

I am enjoying doing these.  I like the pieced blocks so far.  One that I am working on is tulips to applique.  They are machine appliqued on the shops sample, but I am doing mine by hand.  I can do it faster by hand. 

While on the road, you never know what you will see.  There are some beautiful gardens at some of the shops.
Love those hollyhocks.  Remember making ladies out of the flowers?

Ron and I had a day out.  We went to three shops not far over the Illinois line to Wisconsin.  We came across several barn quilts.

How about this castle? It is Ravenstone Bed and Breadfast!  Who knew.  It is not far from Harvard, Illinois.  I looked it up on the internet and found they have special events and special theme rooms for overnight stays.  We are thinking we may book an overnight stay in the fall.  

Have no idea what the name could be for this barn quilt, but It is so neat.

In Delavan, Wisconsin, we came across this gorgeous house.  Some of the small towns have such beautiful homes.

Then there is the kitty that greets you when you visit a quilt shop.  Kitty's and quilts do seem to go together.

More hollyhocks!

This garden is just my style.  Wild and full of flowers.  The property at this house was so much fun.  There were birdhouses all around, and flowers in gardens, on porches, in baskets in trees.  I love it!

There was weather all around, but we only got a little bit of rain, now and then.
We did visit 5 shops.  The three in Wisconsin, and two in Illinois.  We had such a great time.  Put a few miles on the car, found a fun restaurant for dinner, travel some wonderful back roads, and enjoyed each others company.
A good time was had by all.