When Jenny Doan was a child, she lived in an idyllic little town called Spreckels, California.
In the center of town stood a park circled by a wide sidewalk, the perfect canvas for chalk artists to create all sorts of interesting scenes: Fields of poppies, snow-capped mountains, coral reefs filled with rainbow-hued fish.
How she wished to hop right in – Mary Poppins style – to explore those magical worlds!
This week, Jenny is working on a Playground quilt that is as charming as that small-town park. It’s a beautiful jelly roll + layer cake pattern made with easy flying geese, square in a square, and blocks with snowballed corners.
You may know this old-fashioned favorite as Swing in the Center. We’re using cute 30s prints to give it a vintage look. Follow Jenny’s tips for keeping your points razor-sharp—you’ll never lose another point!
Quilters are some of the most resourceful, green people we know! We are always saving up scraps and asking other quilters for ways we can reduce, reuse, and recycle quilting and sewing materials. We never want to throw anything away if we don’t have to!
In recognition of Earth Day and being green, here are a few ways that we choose to reduce, reuse, and recycle to demonstrate our support for the environment!
Found Fabrics
Found fabric is fabric that you can find . . . anywhere! Make a trip into your closet, into a loved ones closet, to the closest thrift store, or have a stash swap with friends and start cutting up and stitching the fabric back together to create something new and beautiful!
Jean quilts, like the one pictured below, are great found fabric quilts! Take some old jeans, cut them up, and you’ll have a quilt that will last! Bust these out during a camping trip, outdoor sporting event, picnic, or outside play time and they’re perfect for staying warm and dry. The sturdy material won’t pick up dirt and debris as easily as other fabrics can – it’s the perfect outdoor blanket!
Jenny and granddaughter Katie enjoy some sunshine out on the jean quilt Jenny made years ago!
Jeans are not the only clothing item that can be used as quilting material! Shirts of all kind (T-shirts, plaid shirts, flannel shirts, and more!) are great fabric sources. Who knows, you could find the perfect missing piece for your next project in your very own closet!
T-shirt quilts and memory quilts are perfect ways to hold loved ones and warm memories close for years to come.
Scraps
Don’t let those scraps go to waste! There are plenty of ways to make use of small pieces of fabric.
Do you have tiny scraps from a project that you just can’t bear to throw away? Do you have a stray block sitting around that you don’t know what to do with? Make a pincushion! Those tiny pieces are perfect for stitching together to create a cute new home for your pins – make a new one for your sewing space or make a few and gift them to your quilting friends!
Do you or a loved one have a pet? Make a fabric scrap animal bed! Do you want to use those scraps to make something bigger than a pincushion? Try crumb quilting! There are countless ways to make use of those tiny pieces that we may not think twice about as we sew along on other projects. What is your favorite way to use up scraps?
Re-Purposed Items
Many items around you can be re-purposed into something new. The possibilities are endless!
Do you have a cute little cup or pot that needs a new home? Turn it into a cactus pincushion!
Easy Cactus Shaped Pincushion project.
Are you in need of an ironing station closer to your sewing machine? Use a TV tray! Simply grab a heatproof surface such as the Missouri Star Wooly Betty Board to lay on top of the tray and you have the perfect portable ironing station so you can iron as you work! There are so many ways things around us can be re-purposed and transformed into something new. What items have you transformed?
For even more inspiration on how to go Green this Earth Day, check out our Celebrate Issue of BLOCK Magazine! This issue is filled with projects you can stitch up using your small pieces and scraps. Download the digital version and get started on a t-shirt quilt, wall hanging, denim bag buckets, adorable little aprons, and more – today!
Tell us how you go green while quilting in the comments below!
Years ago – when Missouri Star was just starting out – we held monthly “Friday night sews” at our one tiny quilt shop.
10 or 12 of us gathered to chat, snack, and quilt. We took turns choosing patterns: Churn dash, log cabin, bowtie.
When it came time for Jenny to pick a block, she chose the Missouri Star, and … everyone kind of groaned. The Missouri Star was waaay too tricky! Boy, have things changed!
Jenny’s Design
Natalie’s Design
Misty’s Design
This month’s Triple Play tutorial is all about the Missouri Star. And with a few new tips and tricks, those pretty blocks come together easy as pie!
Click HERE to learn how to make 3 new layer cake quilts with our beloved Missouri Star block!
Spring is here and summer is on its way and with them comes beautiful, warm weather! It’s getting harder and harder to want to spend your days completely indoors when you could be out soaking up the sun.
With hand work, you’re never confined to any specific space – the world is yours for the taking (and making!). Get outside and create to your heart’s content!
Both QAYG and English Paper-Piecing are perfect ways to continue stitching up beautiful projects wherever you roam! Take your pieces on the go, all you need are your materials, a needle and thread, and your hands and you’re all set to create some magic!
QAYG Hexagon Quilt by the Missouri Star Quilt Company.
Hand Binding
Finish off your quilts with a little personal touch – by hand stitching your binding closed! With hand binding, you can take your project outside or on the road easily – all you need is a needle, some thread, and your project, ready to be bound! Finishing your quilt can be one of the toughest parts of the process, especially when you’re so eager to have the beautiful finished project adorning your spaces. Luckily, binding is something that you can do wherever you are – take that project with you and you’ll have that binding stitched up in no time!
Do you embroider? It’s the perfect “on-the-go” project for people of all ages! No matter your experience level, it’s a great way to keep your hands busy and the outcome is a beautiful work of art! There are no limits when it comes to embroidery – if you can sketch or trace it out, you can embroider it!
If you knit and crochet then you already know how mobile of a craft it is! Grab your yarn and needles or crochet hook and the world is your oyster – outside, on the go, snuggled up in a quilt on the couch – there’s no bad place to whip up something beautiful!
Join the One Big Happy Cowl knit-along!
If you haven’t yet taken a dive into the knitting or crocheting world, have no fear! Our sister company, One Big Happy, can show you the ropes and have you whipping up projects in no time. There are tutorials and patterns and all the supplies you’ll need to get started and keep going here.
How do you create when you’re on the go, away from your sewing machine? Do you ever take your work outside with you? Let us know below!
In winter, quilts are for snuggling. We wrap them ‘round our shoulders like thick, cozy cocoons and pile them on our beds to stay toasty through the night.
But in summertime … those quilts take on a whole new life!
We carry them to picnics and t-ball games. We spread them out for fireworks and parades. They join us on camping trips and days at the beach. Summer is adventure time for quilts!
This week Jenny is working on a brand new Summer Squares quilt. It’s a pretty jelly roll pattern based on one of our all-time favorites, Summer in the Park.
(Be sure to watch all the way to the end of the video to catch a glimpse of this quilt made in solids + an adorable pillow made from the scraps!) Click HERE to watch the tutorial!
