Tutorials | Missouri Star Blog

February 19, 2015February 19, 2015

Throwback Thursday: Summer in the Park

Have you ever heard of Throwback Thursday? Every Thursday all over the internet, people post old photos of themselves with their families or friends, etc, and use the hashtag #tbt to share a blast from the past! Well, today we’re introducing #msqctbt!

Here’s how it works. Every Thursday we’ll be featuring ONE of our previous tutorials from our YouTube channel. We’ll share a little bit about it and then we’ll ask you to share your photos of projects you’ve created using that quilt tutorial.

To share your photos, I want to introduce you to Missouri Star Quilt Co’s Quiltsby.me. Quilts By Me is a Show & Tell for your quilts and sewing projects and we’re so excited about it! It’s user friendly and a great way to share your projects with the web. You can ❤ your favorite projects, follow your friends, search by precut/style/project type… basically it’s amazing! Once you play around a little bit with it, we know you’ll just love it! This is a home for your projects where you can tell their stories and share with the quilting community!

First, you need to know how to log in. We’ve made it super easy for you! When you get to Quiltsby.me, this (image above) is what the front page will look like. Rather than creating a new account, if you already have an account at missouriquiltco.com (what you use to place an order), you can skip the whole ‘create an account’ process and just login with your missouriquiltco.com info!

Once you’re logged in, you can Create a Project, fill out all the info and in the Tags section, make sure to include #msqctbt as one of the tags!

We will select winners from all submissions with the #msqctbt tag and feature them next Thursday when we introduce the next Throwback Thursday Tutorial for the week! We also would love for you to share your photos on Instagram and Twitter with the same #msqctbt hashtag that feature any previous MSQC Tutorials! We may even repost/retweet our favorites, but the “winners” will be selected from the #msqctbt tag on Quiltsby.me.

So, let’s get started! For our inaugural Throwback Thursday, we’re going back to the Summer in the Park Tutorial! This is such a simple quilt to make with your 2.5″ strips and people just love it! Use some great prints with your favorite coordinating solids and it’ll be so gorgeous!

We even have a ‘Revamped’ version to help your creative juices flow!

If you’ve already tried this one, upload your photos to Quiltsby.me and you’ll be awarded a Throwback Thursday badge (If you haven’t done this one yet, you’ve got all week to get it uploaded)!

The winners we feature on the blog will also be awarded the Throwback Thursday Winner Trophy.

I can’t wait to see all of your creations!

December 17, 2014December 18, 2014

Block Magazine December Issue!

It’s getting cold outside, which always makes me want to curl up in a warm blanket by the fire with some hot cocoa and my favorite book. Just in time, our latest issue of Block Magazine has arrived! This issue is special to us… it focuses on the things that we really love and cherish. Family, memories and doing the things we love. Get to know Jenny, her children and grandchildren, as they give us a peek at some of their favorite holiday memories and traditions. This issue also features some really amazing projects that you’ll definitely want to add to your quilting bucket list (I know you have one!).

Here’s a little glimpse of what you can find in the issue.

First, we have the Charmed Spools Quilt. Earlier this month, Jenny did a wonderful tutorial on this quilt pattern. It is so cute with the tall spools and inviting colors… I can just imagine a smaller version hanging on my sewing room wall! If you would love to make this quilt, you can follow all the details in the following link (including the fabrics to buy, etc.)

The Charmed Spools Quilt

Of course we had to create our own Missouri Star pattern. We would love for each of our amazing customers to have their own Missouri Star quilt in their homes to wrap around themselves as if we’re giving each one of you a giant hug! If there was a way to actually give each one of you a hug from us, we would make it happen! Perhaps this quilt is the closest thing to that! Either way, this is a beautiful pattern that will always look stunning!

Our Missouri Star Quilt

The Patchwork Stocking is so fun and simple. I love projects that look more difficult than they really are and this is one of those… This is a quick, one day project, so it’s would be great to give as a gift or hang them all over your house and it will look like you put your heart and soul into it without having to give up an arm and a leg at the same time!

The Patchwork Stocking

The Illusion Block Quilt is just so much fun! We’ve been asked many times if there is a pattern for this block and now there is! Whether you decide to use solids or prints, this is definitely going to make a big impact wherever you put it! We just love it!

The Illusion Block Quilt

I love to have something quilted on my holiday table. I can pick out my favorite Christmas fabrics and have something completely unique to go along with all of the delicious food that comes with the holidays. I love this Dresden Placemat project! Change up the fabrics and you could have beautiful placemats for every season. I can even imagine a special birthday placemat that comes out for a child’s special day. Such a sweet pattern and so versatile!

The Dresden Placemat

We love this time of year where we get to stop and think about what is really the most important to us. We hope this issue of Block reflects that because we sure enjoyed creating it! This is just a few of the many projects in the issue. For Block susbscribers, if you haven’t received your issue yet, don’t worry, it’s on its way!!

December 4, 2014December 4, 2014

Holiday Tutorials from MSQC

Isn’t this such a fun time of year? I love the spirit of love and joy and the spirit of giving! Let’s take a minute to check out all of Jenny’s tutorials that are perfect for the holiday season!

We know this one’s a favorite!!

Or the original stocking tutorial (this one shows how to do the hanging loop in detail… start at 7 minutes)

Remember these decorative ornaments? Such an easy, fun way to add some festive decor for the holidays!

I just love this tree skirt tutorial!

If you’re looking for last minute gift ideas, how about a set of super cute plates using your favorite fabric and some Mod Podge? I can just imagine a stack of decorated sugar cookies on top of these! So fun!!

How about a little something to complete your holiday table? These table runner quilts are great and so quick to make!

I LOVE all the bags that can be made so quickly with fabric, whether it’s with scraps, precuts or whatever you have in your stash. I especially love this tutorial using the Dresden Plate Layer Cake Template. This would make a fabulous gift for a woman of any age!

Here are a couple more purse/tote tutorials!

If you want to check out ALL of the holiday tutorials we’ve done so far, we’ve created a Holiday Projects Playlist on our YouTube Channel, so you can watch one after the other!

We’d love for you to leave a comment letting us know your favorite holiday-themed tutorial from MSQC or what holiday projects you’re working on now!!

September 5, 2014September 5, 2014

Project Notes Notebook (Free Printable and Tutorial!)

If you’re like me, you scribble notes about your project on whatever is nearby. A receipt, on the back of junk mail, etc. That’s why I love this little notebook! It’s so easy to make, and full of graph paper, which is perfect for figuring out the specifics of your next quilt (and keeping them all in one place)!

In less than an hour you can make one of your own. And the best part is, you probably already have everything you need.

What you’ll need for one notebook:

1 sheet of 8.5 x 11 cardstock in your favorite color
5 sheets of 8.5 x 11 printer paper or graph paper
About 3 feet of book binding string (or embroidery floss will work fine, too!)
Sewing needle
Rotary cutter, ruler, and mat
And this file, printed onto the sheet of cardstock

Step 1: Print the free .pdf onto your cardstock. Use your ruler to measure 5.5″ and cut the paper in half. Fold in half as shown in this picture. Now you have two covers. Hopefully you’ll love the first one enough to make another for a friend!

Step 2: Open the cover and starting 1/2 inch from the top, make a mark every quarter inch along the spine ending 1/2 an inch before the bottom as well. Poke a hole with the sewing needle on each mark.

Step 3: Then cut and fold the graph paper just like you did the cardstock.

Step 4: Using the cover as a template, poke holes in the inside paper, a few sheets at a time.

Step 5: Once your paper is all folded and punched, it’s time to start sewing. Start on the top hole, and draw your thread through the cardstock and all five sheets of inside paper. Sew back to the outside.

Step 6: Double knot the string and clip the end.

Step 7: Go back down the second hole. Once you are inside the book again, come back up the third hole and loop under the thread between the first and second hole. Then go down the third hole again. Repeat down the entire spine.

Step 8: Once you get to the end, come out the last hole, loop through the previous threads one more time and tie it of with a double knot. Trim the ends of the thread.

This is what the inside and outside will look like:

Step 9: Using your rotary cutter and ruler, trim the edges of your book so they are uniform.

You’re all done! Wouldn’t these make such a great gift with a charm pack or two? Enjoy!

May 30, 2014July 29, 2014

Missouri Star Quilt Co. Precut Fabric Infographic & Printable!

Precuts. Oh, lovely and wonderful precuts. We sure love ’em around here! We’re often asked how many of each precut it takes to make a ______ sized quilt. Or which pattern is great for each precut type. So, since we love our customers SO much, we whipped up this handy (and totally clickable!) infographic for you! Try clicking all around the different sections…. you’ll go right to the supplies and tutorials you need! How cool is that?! Pin it, share it, bookmark it….make it work for you!

We also made a fun FREE printable for you! You can download that here!