Our Stories
Everyone has a start. For me, it was making some crafty sewing products such as dolls and doll clothing. My sister and I would attend craft shows and sell what we made. It became obvious right away that speed and accuracy was important. You wanted speed so you could make lots of items for the next craft show but at the same time, the items needed to look professional. I've always been looking for a better way. Enter...quilting and the Square in a Square technique. -Jodi
Meet The Team
We may look good but our team is just me and Steve, my husband. Most married couples don't work well together but we always have. We each bring something unique to the table. I like to sew, quilt and lecture and he likes the technology portion of our membership group.
My start was as a fellow student; I loved to sew and I loved history. After signing up for a quilting class at our church, I really started to enjoy the process but became quickly frustrated by the way things were done.
Jodi Barrows, Square in a Square Founder
My start was as a pharmacist when typewriters were the only source of technology. In the pharmacy, I used the typewriter to make a label that went onto a prescription bottle. Soon, I needed to invest in a computer which was very pricey and quickly became outdated.
Steve Barrows, Pharmacist turned computer nerd
ABOUT JODI
My story really began the moment I wanted to quit.
Frustration was a real thing. My once easy sewing of garments and crafts went away when I fell in love with piecing of quilts. But it didn't take me long to realize. This was happening even before the rotary cutter or any technique rulers were invented. I knew there had to be a better way.
I didn't set out to change the quilting world since I was only looking for a better way for myself. I studied all the time about finding a way to put my quilt piecing together differently. I started with the end result and worked backwards to find what I was looking for.
I HAD NO IDEA AT THE TIME, BUT...
God had a better idea and He gave it to me in a dream. Actually, it was a series of dreams that helped me with my quilt piecing. I even went to a company that had old plastic laying around and I got some and started drawing lines and angles on it with markers and tape. I used it and began sharing with my quilting bee. They told me that it was such a great idea that I needed to share it with others.
Then I hit this life-changing moment.
I picked up some literature at a quilt show that said "Do you have a budding idea for a quilt book?" I gave her a call. She told me what to do and I set out to write and sent in my manuscript ahead of the deadline. It was quickly loved which led me to my first Quilt Market to sell and release the book. It was a big hit but my publisher encouraged me to make a ruler to go with my system. I found a toll free number from a quilt magazine from a company that made quilt rulers. The number was from Omnigrid, the premier quilt ruler manufacturer. I had the number by the phone in the kitchen but was scared to make that call. My family was involved in conversations about this and one day my oldest son Nick dialed the number and gave it to me to talk to them.
I had a great conversation with Randy Schafer of Omnigrid and soon he was making our Square in a Square rulers. What started with 7 Options has now turned into 44 Options all using the original Square in a Square Ruler.
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I LOVE family, history & gardening
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I PREFER vintage things
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I WAS BORN in Kansas on Kansas Day
ABOUT STEVE
My story really began the moment my typewriter broke.
When my typewriter gave out, I was forced to enter the computer age. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to enter as I needed a faster way to store prescriptions. You see, when a refill was called in, I had to pull the copy of the prescription that people brought in. (Remember the days that your doctor wrote out a prescription?) I could no longer keep up and it became a necessity as the pharmacy grew.
My first computer was expensive and didn't even last me a year because I ran out of storage. I was in the early era where technology changed rapidly and for some reason, I liked it and was able to keep up with some of it.
I HAD NO IDEA AT THE TIME, BUT...
This technology part of the pharmacy world kept my interest and it spilled over to Jodi's quilting world. At this time, I was helping her with the tracking and shipping of orders and some work on keeping her website up and running.
A FUNNY PART OF THE STORY...
When Jodi was on the road teaching and lecturing, it became necessary to have a plan to take orders over the phone. In the pharmacy, I had a dedicated phone line for the doctors to call in prescriptions. Well, when Jodi left on a trip, that doctor line also became a quilt line for orders. I would forward her line to my doctor line and I was taking quilting orders along with prescriptions. I guess we were a match to work together down the road.
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I LOVE mexican food
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I PREFER computers over typewriters
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I WAS BORN on Flag Day
