More Than Quilts makes move to new location

Mary Barnett has a new location for her store, More Than Quilts, that caters to one of Sidney residents' favorite hobbies.

More Than Quilts – like the name suggests – offers more services than quilting. She caters to everything dealing with sewing at her store, now located at 1044 Illinois St.

"We felt there was need in this county for people to come and buy fabric," Barnett said. "The closest store outside of this one is 40 miles away in Sterling, Colo. This location provides a better chance of foot traffic along with providing better parking. It gives us a better chance to spread and allows us to put down roots."

Barnett, who has been sewing since age 12, has a passion for the craft. She would love to pass this passion on to future generations. She holds classes on piecing or putting the top of the quilt together, as well as beginner classes and a variety of sewing classes. She teaches a 4-H group that consist of girls ages 8 to 18. A group of five girls participated in a competition last year and all placed no lower than second place. This group meets on Saturdays at the store.

"I love sewing, all kinds," Barnett said. "Quilting is something I guess I came to late. I started around my 20s and it just started to grow on me. I'd made a couple of quilts with my husband in Germany."

Barnett believes this store will flourish due to all the customers in Sidney who are interested in the sewing craft.

"I believe in the general happiness of the people who come in here," Barnett said. "They are very excited, and they're even more excited now that we've moved. Now we're able to be in a position to purchase more fabric than before. I get people who tell me all the time that they're happy we're here or they didn't know we were here and, now that they know, they're absolutely thrilled. The love for small-town businesses is why we believe we'll prosper here in Sidney."

Mary Barnett is from Northern California and has been sewing since she was a child.

"I had my own sewing room when I was 12," Barnett said. "I used to sew for my nieces and nephews, so I've been sewing for over 40 years. After following my husband around, who was in the military, my background has allowed me to acquire a versatile array of taste. I don't just like print from the northwest, I like Hawaiian print, Polynesian print, I love Asian print, I love prints from India and everywhere.

The building now used by More Than Quilts is one of the oldest and historic in Sidney. It was used by the storied group the Odd Fellows.

Mary and her husband plan to move to Sidney so that they might have more time to dedicate to the shop. They live 25 miles away right now, but will move soon. When they do, More Than Quilts will start to offer night classes as well, she said.