State Map Applique Pillow Project

Home is such a special place. It’s where we keep our hearts, hang our hats, and even when we may be miles and miles away, we keep a piece of it with us.

This week’s State Map Applique Pillow project on Missouri Star Live was inspired by a similar idea created by Kelly Young of My Quilt Infatuation that our In-Town Education Manager, Courtenay made to give as gifts to those around her.

**We apologize for the echo at the beginning of this video. It is fixed around the 5:00 minute mark, so feel free to skip ahead!**

Last year, Jenny created the Road Trip Quilt that commemorated some of her recent quilting adventures, featuring simple state map applique shapes that you can find HERE.

How to Print State Map Outlines: 

NOTE: The states are listed in alphabetical order, and reversed for easy tracing. We’re using the state of Missouri as an example on page 25. Keep in mind that each state is a different size and orientation. Courtenay scaled the state of Pennsylvania by 350%. To reach a similar size, we scaled Missouri by 200%.

We’re using these same outlines from the Road Trip Quilt to create the applique shapes for the pillow, but we’re increasing the size of each printed sheet. Follow along for our step-by-step instructions on how to print these applique shapes at your desired size.

  1. Download the State Map Outline Template HERE
  2. Open up Adobe Reader and the State Map template. 
  3. Open the Print dialogue box and select the image number you would like to print from the Pages section: (For this example, we’re printing page 25 for the outline of Missouri.) 
  4. Under Page Sizing & Handling, select Poster
  5. In Tile Scale, enter the scale you would like to increase the page by. For this example, we scaled Missouri by 200%. We left the overlap as is. 
  6. Select Print. Your outline should be scaled and print out in multiple sheets.

Pillow Form Perfection!

Helpful Hint: As Courtenay put together this easy sewing project, she discovered that when using a pillow form, it helps to sew the top of the pillow the same size as the form, and then sew a .5” seam allowance. In Courtenay’s example, she used a 20” pillow form so her top is 20”.

Embroidery Supplies List

Courtenay embroidered the word “home” onto her pillow, and if you would like to do so, too, you’ll need the following supplies:

April 2020 FREE Quilt Planner

April showers provide ample opportunity to spend some quality time at the sewing machine. Be it stitching up a Totally Tulips quilt (those showers do bring May flowers after all) or perhaps the new and oh-so-lovely Irish Change, Missouri Star has plenty of inspiration just waiting for you! Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you never miss a new quilt tutorial or weekly Missouri Star Live!

Download the FREE April Quilt Planner to keep all those rainy–and sunny–day projects in order!

April 2020 Quilt Planner Free Download

Tula Pink HomeMade Challenge at Missouri Star

Bold and brilliant colors plus sewing-themed designs?! Sign us up! This is what you’ll find in Tula Pink’s brand new HomeMade collection. Designed with her sewing process in mind, HomeMade is sure to dazzle!

To celebrate the HomeMade collection, Tula Pink, Free Spirit and Aurifil are sponsoring the HomeMade Challenge, a juried and judge quilt competition, and we’re proud to be one of the participating quilt shops!! For the complete contest rules, please click HERE

We can’t wait to see your quilt submissions here at Missouri Star (and be sure to check the list of participating shops to see if your local quilt shop is participating, too!) All of the competition specifics can be found HERE. Please read them thoroughly before you start stitching! 

  • Quilts must be no smaller than 60”x60” with a four-inch sleeve sewn to the top back edge of the quilt. 
  • At least 80% of the quilt should feature Tula Pink HomeMade fabric and the use of Aurifil Thread
  • Missouri Star is accepting images of quilts for the entry into this contest. Please email socialmedia@missouriquiltco.com with your quilt images. Please DO NOT SEND physical quilts to Missouri Star for entry into this competition. 

Please submit your quilts via email at socialmedia@missouriquiltco.com and be sure to fill our the submission form HERE no later than November 2, 2020. Online voting on quilts will begin later in the month.

Tula Pink HomeMade Challenge at Missouri Star

NOTE: This blog post has been edited with updated deadlines from Free Spirit Fabrics due to COVID-19. Updated dates and procedures are listed in BOLD.

Bold and brilliant colors plus sewing-themed designs?! Sign us up! This is what you’ll find in Tula Pink’s brand new HomeMade collection. Designed with her sewing process in mind, HomeMade is sure to dazzle!

Tula Pink HomeMade Fabric available at Missouri Star Quilt Co.

To celebrate the HomeMade collection, Tula Pink, Free Spirit and Aurifil are sponsoring the HomeMade Challenge, a juried and judge quilt competition, and we’re proud to be one of the participating quilt shops!! For the complete contest rules, please click HERE

Missouri Star Quilt Co. is one of the quilt shops participating in the Tula Pink HomeMade Challenge

The winner of this challenge wins a terrific grand prize valued at over $10,000 (more details on the prizes HERE), AND the opportunity for his or her quilt to hang in a special gallery at Quilt Market in November 2021!

We can’t wait to see your quilt submissions here at Missouri Star (and be sure to check the list of participating shops to see if your local quilt shop is participating, too!) All of the competition specifics can be found HERE. Please read them thoroughly before you start stitching! 

  • Quilts must be no smaller than 60”x60” with a four-inch sleeve sewn to the top back edge of the quilt. 
  • At least 80% of the quilt should feature Tula Pink HomeMade fabric and the use of Aurifil Thread
  • Missouri Star is accepting images of quilts for the entry into this contest. Please email socialmedia@missouriquiltco.com with your quilt images. Please DO NOT SEND physical quilts to Missouri Star for entry into this competition. 

Please submit your quilts via email at socialmedia@missouriquiltco.com and a completed entry form found HERE no later than Sept. 30, 2020. Online voting on quilts will begin June 17.

March 2020 FREE Quilt Planner Download

Quilt fabric, notions, buttons and more on a sewing room table. Find this image in BLOCK Magazine, Volume 7, Issue 1.

Happy National Quilting Month, dear quilters! It’s time to wind up those bobbins, pick out a new project (or 2 or 3 or 4), and start stitching up some quilts! 

To keep us all marching…and sewing…all month long, we have put together this free quilt planner! Click HERE to download.

March 2020 Quilt Planner Free Download

As we make our way to National Quilting Day on March 21, keep an eye out for special celebrations, and don’t forget about our Quilting Craziness tournament on our Facebook page! Throughout the mad month of March, your favorite Missouri Star tutorial quilts will be going head-to-head in a daily Facebook poll to see which one wins the Quilting Craziness crown! Be sure to check in every day at 7pm Central to vote for your favorite!