Missouri Star Cool Stuff | Missouri Star Blog

September 6, 2015September 8, 2015

Shop Owners Retreat

Missouri Star recently held a Shop Owners Retreat to allow owners to visit Hamilton and see the changes it has undergone in the past few years! MSQC has been expanding and opening more store fronts and we wanted to share our story and these exciting times with others just like us!

While here, shop owners had the chance to look around town, network with one another, participate in a Barn Quilt Blocks painting class, attend a Jenny Trunk Show as well as have a round table BYB (Build Your Business) discussion with Al Doan!

Of course, Jenny painted the Missouri Star Quilt Block! Does’t it look great on the side of her house? 🙂

We loved this Bear Paw barn quilt block that Jan Heddinger from Des Moines made!

Jenny did one of her amazing trunk shows for the retreaters and focused on ways these shop owners can teach some great tricks and tips to their own local shop customers. It was such a fun night!

The retreat team set up these tables of MSQC products to show the shop owners some fun ways to display quilting products for sale! Did you know that some local quilt shops carry MSQC products? Click HERE to find a wholesaler near you!

If your interested in attending an MSQC retreat, click HERE for more information!

August 30, 2015August 27, 2015

MSQC Featherweight Retreat

Do you remember back in the day when cars didn’t break down as often and everything was built to last? Those were the good ol’ days! The same goes for Featherweight sewing machines… They’re strong, good quality, lightweight and they get the job done right! That’s why so many people still use them, and we had a whole retreat themed around them! Some wonderful ladies and their Featherweight machines joined us for a fun time of sewing and demos in the beginning of August.

Aren’t these machines so retro and cute? While the ladies were here they were given a demo on the Quatrefoil Quilt (Click HERE to watch tutorial) along with several other tips and tricks from the wonderful Cindy! They also got to attend one of Jenny’s Trunk Shows!

Several retreaters took advantage of the Daily Deals during their stay with us, and made some beautiful quilts from it while here! Check out these two quilts that were made using the Bandana and Florals Charm Pack by Dover Hill for Benartex, although the fabric is the same, the two quilts turned out so different and spunky, each as beautiful as the other! The one pictured on the left is the Bordered Periwinkle Quilt using the Wacky Web template while the one pictured on the right is a Charm Big Star Quilt that Tina Jennings made. They’re both so cute!

If you were in attendance at our Featherweight Retreat and would like to download some of the photos that were taken during the event (for example, if you had a small group shot taken), click here: Featherweight Retreat Photos! We cannot wait for the next time we have a Featherweight Retreat, thank you all for making it such a fun one! 🙂

If you are interested in participating in one of our future retreats or events you can find more information by clicking here: Missouri Star Quilt Company Events. We hope to see you there! 🙂

August 13, 2015August 13, 2015

Christmas in July MSQC Quilting Retreat!

Ho ho ho! We had such a merry time at the Christmas in July Retreat a couple of weeks ago, from July 30th to August 2nd! We had about 25 lovely ladies participate in this event here in Hamilton and it was so much fun making quilts and other Christmas projects with them. Once everyone arrived there was a meet-and-greet with Mrs. “Jenny” Claus and Mr. “Jenny” Claus, as small gifts were handed out to everyone there! (It may have been 90 degrees, but they didn’t mind dressing up one bit!)

The entire Sewing Center was decorated with a Christmas tree, lights and other decor as well to keep the retreaters in the spirit as they worked on their Christmas projects. Several Quilted Christmas Stockings were made (Click HERE to view this tutorial) as well as some Dresden Tree Wall Hangings (Click HERE to get the pattern). They’re so cute and festive, and make wonderful gifts!!

We worked on all kinds of fun Christmas decor and gift items! Aren’t these folded napkins so cute??

One of our retreaters, Dana Moore, loves to work with scraps! They were working on a quilt block as a group that created a few scraps, so Dana seized the opportunity! She was given scraps from all the other retreaters and created this beautiful quilt block from it! Isn’t it stunning?? What a gift she has!

The group had mini lessons from Cindy each day where she gave them tips on using tools and templates, how to make each project and even some quilt demos. Check out this Dresden Tree Wall Hanging made by Dawn Wilking! It’s so fun to use colorful Christmas Charm Packs to get a unique look! These bright blue and purple batiks are beautiful, aren’t they?

In our Sew Seasonal holiday quilt shop, we did demos on the Dresden Tree Pattern and one lucky participant won supplies to make their own! One little girl named Adelle got to draw the winner and present the prize! 🙂 She said, “This is what Santa feels like!”

We had such a good time with our Christmas in July Retreat and Events and can’t wait for Christmas in December, or… actual Christmas 😉 If you are interested in participating in one of our future retreats or events you can find more information by clicking here: Missouri Star Quilt Company Events

June 21, 2015June 22, 2015

Row by Row Experience 2015: Row by Row H20!

1,250 Quilt Shops in the United States and Canada came together last year to give you the free shop hop event called the Row by Row Experience and this year is going to be even better! This is Missouri Star’s first time participating and we are so excited! Each shop has a unique row pattern following a theme and you can go into their shop and get a free pattern to make the row. This year’s theme is “Row by Row H20,” so all the patterns are water themed! This is our row (pictured blow). It’s called Sail Away and we think it’s pretty awesome 😉 Come into our shop for the free pattern now!

We also have exclusive fabric plates available in the shop during this event, which can be purchased in the shop, so that you have an additional keepsake from each shop you visit! Here’s what ours looks like (below — the black binding was added for display). It measures 8″ x 4.5″. While the pattern for our row must be picked up in our shop here in Hamilton, Missouri, our fabric license plates are also available in our online shop HERE.

As a participating shop, we will be awarding a bundle of 25 fat quarters to the first customer who brings in a completed (quilted, bound, labeled) row quilt using rows/patterns from at least 8 different shops, with a special bonus prize if the finished quilt includes our MSQC row! The chance to win ends October 31, 2015.

Here is a map of ALL the quilt shops participating!!

June 12, 2015June 17, 2015

The Search for Missouri’s Best Grandmothers – 2015

As members of a small town in Missouri, we love finding opportunities to support other small towns in Missouri. Have you ever heard of Marceline, Missouri? Well, if you’re a Disney fan, you might know it’s the boyhood home of Walt Disney himself and this little town inspired many of his drawings and stories. Because of this, The Magic of Marceline Development Company began, to preserve the charm and magic of Marceline, “immortalized by Walt Disney as ‘Main Street USA.'”

Marceline, Missouri 1950's — Photo from www.magicofmarceline.com

We are so excited to be co-sponsors with The Magic of Marceline to find Missouri’s Best Grandmothers. This is such a fun opportunity to recognize the women who have done so much to influence the lives of their children and grandchildren (which ultimately shapes the community) in a positive way.

Jenny is especially tickled to be a part of this wonderful event. Being a grandmother to 21 children (and many more honorary grandchildren) and having some incredible grandmothers herself, she understands the amazing power of a grandmother. They are often the backbone to family traditions and get-togethers in times of chaos and busy schedules. Grandmas also teach us life skills that are irreplaceable. Whether it’s how to bake, sew, garden or even resolve conflicts, they are definitely some of the best teachers out there!

If your grandmother lives in Missouri and you think she might be the best, don’t miss your chance to enter her in this contest! There is even a recognition gala/dinner and a cash prize!! You can find more details and enter the contest HERE. The deadline to enter is July 20th! 🙂

Let’s all take a moment to show our grandmothers how much we love and appreciate them in our lives. Leave a comment on this post answering the following questions: How has your grandmother influenced your life? What’s something that she has taught you? We’ve stocked up on our tissues and are prepared to laugh and cry! Don’t worry about us saps, we’re ready for your stories (we can’t wait)!