Summer Travel Projects

The Sidekick quilt from Missouri Star Quilt Co.
The Sidekick quilt from BLOCK Volume 5 Issue 3.

Summer is just around the corner, so don’t leave your creativity behind as you embark on your summer vacations! Just because quilting is often seen as a home-based activity, that doesn’t mean there aren’t projects that you can work on from the road. Even if you don’t enjoy bringing your work with you, take the time to immortalize your summer travels with a brand new Summer Travel Project!

From Destination Panels from Riley Blake to the Road Trip quilt from Missouri Star, we’ve gathered some of our favorite summer travel projects to share with you. Whether your sewing from the comforts of home, or stitching on the go, be sure to always share your creations with us by using #msqcshowandtell on Facebook and Instagram!

Quilt As You Go Hexagon Quilt

The Quilt as You Go 2.5" Hexagon quilt from Missouri Star Quilt Co.
The Quilt As You Go Hexagon Quilt from Missouri Star Quilt Co.

Is there a more perfect travel project than a Quilt as You Go Hexagon quilt? This revolutionary project is made easy with the Quilt As You Go 2 1/2″ Hexagon Template designed by Daisy & Grace which allows you to play with your fabric and fussy cut designs you’d like to feature. To finish, you can either hand stitch or machine stitch these beauties. Not only does this create a beautiful and unique finished quilt, but it makes quilting while you travel SEW much easier!

This template fits perfectly on a charm pack (you’re definitely going to want some coordinating yardage for the backing though as it’s slightly larger!). Go big and go bold with this project because it is bold in it’s design. Consider a Kaffe Classics Prism Charm Pack by Kaffe Fassett for FreeSpirit Fabrics for your 5″ squares. Not only will these colors be vibrant, but they’ll blend perfectly together to create an eye-popping, unique quilt!

Watch the Free Quilting Tutorial >

Pick up the Template >

Destinations by Riley Blake

The Destinations Collection by Riley Blake from Missouri Star Quilt Co.
The Destinations Collection by Riley Blake

Quilting on the road isn’t for everyone. Some of us enjoy the organization and peace of our home quilting studios and don’t wish to be bothered while we’re out experiencing everything this world of ours has to offer. Instead of working while you’re going, show us where you’ve been with this jaw-dropping fabric panels from Riley Blake!

The Destinations Collection features postcard style panels in an Art Deco theme highlighting popular travel destinations from around the world. Whether you’re stitching up a quilt highlighting all the national parks you’ve been to, or a beautiful pillow featuring your hometown, The Destinations Collection allows for a quick and easy project that will be a favorite for years to come!

Shop the Destinations Collection >

Learn more about Quilting with Panels >

Sew on the Go Pouch

The Sew on the Go Pouch from BLOCK Magazine Volume 7 Issue 3
The Sew on the Go Pouch from BLOCK Volume 7 Issue 3.

For those of us who prefer a little organization, the Sew on the Go Pouch is the perfect compliment to any summer vacation. Whether you’re traveling on your own, or attending a sewing retreat (think of how handy this would be!) this cute little custom-made pouch holds your most important notions and tools of the trade.

This BLOCK Magazine exclusive is featured in Volume 7 Issue 3 and comes together with ease using no more than a few yards of scrap fabric. While this perfect stash buster will help eliminate your growing fabric supply, you can also create this project as a gift featuring a favorite fabric of a friend! Pick up some fabric by the yard, such as the beautiful Curiouser and Curiouser – Baby Buds Daydream Yardage by Tula Pink for FreeSpirit Fabrics and create a long lasting and frequently used gift for the quilter in your life!

Download BLOCK Volume 7 Issue 3 >

Browse Fabric by the Yard >

Road Trip Quilt

The Road Trip quilt from Missouri Star Quilt Co.
The Road Trip quilt from Missouri Star Quilt Co.

Planning a cross-country drive this summer? Show off your journey with the Road Trip quilt! This gorgeous pattern allows you to document your journey with easy to print state applique shapes. Even if you aren’t traveling this year, stitch up a simple pillow using this pattern to commemorate your favorite destination.

Start this project by downloading the free state applique shapes and then select your favorite layer cake to fill them out! Show off your patriotic pride by selecting a red, white and blue fabric such as Land That I Love 10″ Squares by Michael Miller for Michael Miller Fabrics to really capture that Americana theme of the classic American road trip!

Download the Applique Prints >

Watch the Free Quilting Tutorial >

I Spy Jar Quilt

The I Spy Jar Quilt from Missouri Star Quilt Co.
The I Spy Jar Quilt from Missouri Star Quilt Co.

I spy with my little eye, your next quilting project! Do you have memories of playing the “I Spy” game in the car? Road trips in the summer are all about fun, so bring back this great summer travel memory by creating an I Spy Jar quilt featuring found fabrics from your travels!

You’ll need charm packs to create this fun travel friendly project. If you’re at home and ready to get sewing, consider a kid-friendly fabric that’s full of different elements to point out such as Unicorn Kingdom 5″ Stackers by Shawn Wallace for Riley Blake! Make memories with your children or grandchildren by playing a game of I Spy at home with the quilt as your guide. If you are traveling however, pick up fabric on the way! Stop in at local quilt shops or repurpose some old T-Shirts for a truly unique project that captures all the great memories you made.

Watch the Free Quilting Tutorial >

Get the Pattern >

Gee’s Bend Quilters: Abstract Art from the Rural South

Almost 20 years ago, the tiny, rural community of Gee’s Bend was brought into prominence when their quilts were discovered to be works of art, not just the simple bed coverings they’d always believed they had been making. Their quilts were purchased by collectors and displayed in art museums across the country causing quilting to be elevated from folk art to masterpieces. In one of the first reviews of their artwork in 2002, Michael Kimmelman of the The New York Times called the Gee’s Bend quilts “some of the most miraculous works of modern art America has produced” comparing them to renowned artists like Henri Matisse and Paul Klee. 

The exceptional modern art style of Gee’s Bend quilts might be attributed in part to their unique community. Their isolated town is nestled in a crook of the Alabama River, surrounded on three sides by water without a bridge or ferry. Being a close-knit group of only a few hundred, the quilters of Gee’s Bend have passed on their knowledge and skill to subsequent generations, untouched by outside influences, allowing their patterns and variations on patterns to live on. In their insular community, they have taken traditional quilt blocks and molded them to fit their own preferences with astonishing results.

Another reason the Gee’s Bend quilters’ style is so unique is their utilitarian spirit. They are a make-do group of women who have taken old work clothing, worn out blue jeans, scraps of corduroy left over from a sewing contract with Sears in the 70s, and just about any kind of fabric they could get their hands on, to make their incredible abstract quilt designs. Without the means to simply buy fabric, they made their scarcity into a feast for the eyes. 

They design innately, inspired by their surroundings and what they have on hand, creating organic quilt compositions that go far beyond the precise, mail-order quilts they had once produced back in the 1960s for the Freedom Quilting Bee to sell in department stores like Bloomingdales and Saks 5th Avenue. They allow their quilts to wibble and wobble. The colors alternate as they see fit. They don’t have straight borders. These quilts don’t play by the “rules.” 

It’s such a pleasure to marvel at the improvisational prowess of the Gee’s Bend quilters—a surprising addition of yellow blocks in a mostly blue, brown, and maroon quilt is a welcome sight. A half-log cabin quilt with blocks turned this way and that feels so freeing. Rows and rows of blue jeans with faded knees turns into a master work when discarded work pants are pieced together just as they are, allowing them to speak clearly of their origins.

In the Gee’s Bend quilts are innumerable variations of the well-known “housetop” quilt block, that many of us might recognize as “courthouse steps,” a variation of the log cabin. They take this block that is built strip by strip, and add vibrant centers or ignore the centers altogether, focusing more on the contrast of light and dark in the strips themselves. They add a few pieces of striped fabric for interest wherever they please. Patterns and solids are used in wildly varying combinations and the colors just seem to work.

After taking in such freely interpreted designs, we hope you feel yourself filled with the desire to play with fabric again, cut it without squinting at the markings on a ruler, and sew it together without a pin in sight. Why not? There are no mistakes to be made when you simply allow yourself to create.

Souls Grown Deep

Ever since their quilts have been discovered to be the works of art they truly are, the quilters of Gee’s Bend have experienced a renaissance of creativity in their community. Those who had long since put down the needle and thread have picked it up again in the fervor of renewed quiltmaking, and those who had never been interested in the art of making quilts before suddenly found themselves longing to be a part of this vibrant group of quilters. All were welcomed in and during the past 20 or so years, more quilts have been made than ever before. And they’re just as beautiful and inspiring as we remember. 

To help this community continue to promote their art and to protect the livelihoods of these quilters, Souls Grown Deep has partnered with Nest to help the quilters of Gee’s Bend. The Nest team has spent time in Gee’s Bend with the quilters there, building relationships and getting to know these wonderful women to help them market their world-renowned quilts and make sure their unique stories are heard. 

Gee’s Bend has an average annual income of $12,000 and more than half of their population struggles with poverty. Many don’t have internet access in their homes and as a result, it has hindered their ability to connect with those outside their community and reach a wider audience to sell and to display their quilts. Souls Grown Deep, with their partner Nest, is working with these wonderful quilters to help them receive fair payment for their quilts and build a strong foundation for future financial success. 

To learn more about Gee’s Bend Quilters, view their quilts online, and purchase their works of art, please visit: www.etsy.com/featured/black-history-month#gees-bend

Family Football Traditions

The Doan Family celebrating last years big game in February 2020.

Does your family have football traditions? Here in Hamilton, Missouri we love to celebrate our favorite Kansas City football team and we are so excited to see them bringing more attention to the great state of Missouri once again. Whether your family goes to the backyard to throw around the pig skin or serves up an incredible halftime meal, we hope that you have a chance to enjoy your festivities of choice safely!

For those of us looking to make changes this year and celebrate smaller, there are still plenty of fantastic options to do so! What football fan wouldn’t want to celebrate the final victory of the year under a warm and cozy Blipper? Get crafting with a quick turnaround in mind with our Last Minute Gameday Projects featured HERE!

Missouri Star Quilt Co. employees gathered last year to show their support by wearing red.

Football is a big deal in the Doan household, as Misty stated in a recent issue of BLOCK Magazine, “Every Sunday is a party at our house when it’s football season – and more importantly, when the Chiefs are playing! We all wear red, of course, and everyone brings food to share, from delicious barbeque to tasty Mexican dishes and cute little appetizers. We also have a floating Chiefs football helmet that has become part of the gameday superstition. My husband Jake likes to say, ‘if it’s spinning, we’re winning!’ I LOVE FOOTBALL!”

While we can’t gather in the big groups we once did, you can still make the big game extra special. If you’re crunched for time, surprise your household with a simple treat straight from Misty Doan’s kitchen!

Misty’s Chicken Hot Wing Dip recipe from BLOCK Magazine Volume 7 Issue 5.

However you’re celebrating this weekend, we wish you all the best! If you’re planning to spend your time quilting rather than cheering (or a combination of both for the multi-taskers out there) we hope you share your football creations with us by using #msqcshowandtell on all of our social media pages!

Year in Review – A look at 2020 with Missouri Star

As we look back over the past twelve months, we’re simply amazed! We were touched by the love from our followers, the support of our customers, the kind hearts of each and every one of our hardworking team members, and the selflessness within the quilting community. Despite this challenging year, we’ve been able to accomplish so much together.

Thanks to you, Missouri Star is celebrating yet another great year of quilting! It’s been filled with inspiring stories from quilters all around the world, brand new products created with you in mind, exciting tutorials that have inspired many, and some unforgettable, first-ever online events!

Let’s celebrate the end of 2020 by looking back on some of the good things that happened this year:

FACE MASKS

Wow, quilters! Thanks to your passion for sewing and your big hearts, you were able to play an important part in the fight against a global pandemic. Since March 1st of 2020 – 56,973 of you have purchased fabric from Missouri Star specifically to create masks to help keep your communities safe! That is amazing – thank you!

In the comments below, tell us about all the ways you were able to help your community this year! Here’s what we did for ours:

  • Close to 6,500 yards of fabric has been donated to area groups and non-profit organizations who are making masks for healthcare workers
  • We have donated 350 N95 masks to the local regional hospital and 2 local businesses who provide food delivery and cleaning services for our community
  • We provided tutorials for creating masks to keep you safe
DIY Face Masks

TOP TUTORIALS

Morning Star Quilt Tutorial

MORNING STAR

Jenny Doan demonstrates how to make a beautiful Morning Star quilt using 2.5″ strips of precut fabric (jelly rolls). This pretty star pattern was designed by Tara Faughnan for ModBLOCK. It’s an easier version of the old block known as Morning Star, Lone Star, or Star of the East.

WATCH TUTORIAL >

Jenny's Easy Carpenters Star

JENNY’S EASY CARPENTER STAR

Jenny teaches us how to make an easy version of the classic Carpenter Star using 10″ squares of precut fabric (layer cakes). This traditional quilt is often made with squares and diamonds, but Jenny uses half square triangles because they’re so quick and easy and don’t require y-seams!

WATCH TUTORIAL >


TOP MISSOURI STAR LIVES

Our First BLOCK Party

Together we celebrated BLOCK Magazine Vol. 7 Issue 4 with our very first BLOCK Party hosted by Jenny and Natalie!

WATCH BLOCK PARTY >

Zig Zag Placemat and Napkin Kit LIVE

Placemat & Napkin Kit

Back in January, you let us know loud and clear that you loved this fun tutorial. These pretty placemats make a sweet addition to your table!

WATCH TUTORIAL>


NEW SERIES! THE FINAL STITCH

We introduced a brand new tutorial series by Jenny’s daughter, Natalie, that’s a fresh take on finishing quilts. Follow along with her and get beautiful results every time!

SUBSCRIBE NOW >


THE NEW, IMPROVED BLOCK MAGAZINE!

BLOCK MAGAZINE

This year, the BLOCK team released a brand new design to BLOCK Magazine. New cover look, more educational content, more stories from our readers, and more!

Digital version of BLOCK Magazine

DIGITAL BLOCK

Each issue of BLOCK comes with an interactive digital version! It’s kind of hard to wait for each issue to arrive, so we wanted to give you an early treat.

SEE HOW IT WORKS >

Best of BLOCK

Best of BLOCK

We recently released our first-ever special edition of BLOCK Magazine. It’s a compilation of the last seven years with 25 of our favorite patterns and over 200 pages of quilt-y fun!

PRE-ORDER TODAY! >


SEW-ALONGS

This year we introduced two new sew-alongs to make quilting easier than ever. As you follow along, month by month or piece by piece, your quilt will take shape! By the end, you’ll have a lovely quilt that’s handmade by you!

ALL STARS BLOCK OF THE MONTH >

Jenny released her first-ever block of the month in February of this year. It contains 11 of her favorite star blocks from 11 of her favorite tutorials! Become an all star and join in on the fun in her Facebook group! >

INTO THE WOODS QUILT PATTERN >

Inspired by her children’s love for the outdoors and their adventurous personalities, Misty created a gorgeous quilt designed with them in mind! Get the pattern and join her Facebook group >


BIRTHDAY BASH – AT HOME

This year we celebrated Birthday Bash like never before! Thank you for stitching along with us for 12 wonderful years and joining the party from the comfort of home. It was an experience we’ll never forget! Relive the Best Moments >


DONATIONS

Thanks to your support, we were able to donate $10,000 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation! All through October, we fought breast cancer one stitch at a time by shopping pink! Learn more >

Project Linus is an organization that provides love, security, and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or are just simply in need of a handmade blanket. As one of the many ways we’re trying to spread kindness this year, we chose Project Linus to receive a $5,000 donation from us at Missouri Star. Learn more >

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT TO MAKES THESE DONATIONS POSSIBLE!


GIVE LOVE

You are one of our biggest sources of inspiration! Although it’s been a tough year for many, you continue to show optimism and spread joy through all the kind things you do.

“I’m 11 years old. My Grandma taught me to sew. This is my very first quilt!  I used 10 squares. I had it quilted at Missouri Star. I Love my Grandma!  It was the best day. Ever. (It was my idea to have her embroider a Secret Santa for people to find.)”
– the grandson of Laurie S.

“For several years now I have been donating quilts to the Linus Project.  I get to be very creative and I try to think about the kids that will receive a quilt and make them more than just something to snuggle under…  I average about 10 quilts a year.”
– Wendy G.

“We are a small group of ladies that support needs of nursing homes… We have made over 60 fidget pads, over 30 clothing protectors, over 20 baby dolls with blankets, crocheted over 40 caps, covered over 40 Small pillows, for wheel chairs, 100s of masks… Love these ladies and their servant hearts!”
– Nancy D.

“I volunteer with the “Helping Hands” sewing group my church.  We make various items from donated fabric and yarn… lap quilts for first responders to give to children in trauma situations, bed quilts and kitchen goods for our missionary families, quilts for orphanages, and window curtains for loft houses our church builds for homeless families.”
– Cindy M.

Quilters, thank you for being an inspiration to us and the world. We look forward to seeing all the great things you’ll continue to do in the new year!

Happy quilting!

Triple Play! Best of BLOCK

Triple Play! Best of BLOCK from Missouri Star Quilt Co. Watch the free quilt tutorials today.

BLOCK Magazine is a simple thing. Just 100+ pages of pretty pictures and words.

Jenny’s Design

The Half-Hexi Braid Place Mat from Missouri Star Quilt Co. Watch the free quilt tutorial today.

But when you open that front cover, the heart and soul of Missouri Star come rushing out like a flood of inspiration and creativity!

The Half-Hexi Braid Place Mat from Missouri Star Quilt Co. Watch the free quilt tutorial today.

Misty’s Design

The Charm Pillow on Point from Missouri Star Quilt Co. Watch the free quilt tutorial today.

For this month’s Triple Play tutorial, Jenny and the girls gathered ideas from the December 2020 BLOCK to design a treasure trove of quick and easy projects that are perfect for holiday giving!

The Charm Pillow on Point from Missouri Star Quilt Co. Watch the free quilt tutorial today.

Natalie’s Design

The Rhombus Garden Table Runner from Missouri Star Quilt Co. Watch the free quilt tutorial today.

Click HERE to learn how to make BLOCK-inspired placemats, pillows, pincushions, and table runners with your favorite precut charm packs and jelly rolls!

The Rhombus Garden Table Runner from Missouri Star Quilt Co. Watch the free quilt tutorial today.

(Not a subscriber? Click HERE to treat yourself to a full year of BLOCK Magazine! Inspiration awaits!)

Watch the Latest Tutorial from Missouri Star Quilt Co!