Visit MSQC | Missouri Star Blog

September 10, 2019December 10, 2019

Local Business Spotlight: Studio Inertia

Alisha Branham, known as Lou Yoga N Flo, is the owner of the new yoga studio here in Hamilton, MO. Alisha has been working hard the past few months to renovate her building from the winery and antique shop it once was into a place where one can come to live a healthier lifestyle. She calls it Studio Inertia, after Newton’s law of motion with the intention of sending the message to “always keep your body in motion.”

Alisha started practicing yoga in 2016 and fell in love with the art of it. After hours of training, she soon became a registered yoga instructor.

“After cheerleading and gymnastics, yoga was something that just came naturally to me.”

Luckily for us, Alisha chose Hamilton, MO to open up shop!

Take a peek into the studio…

Once at the studio, we entered into a freshly painted, cool blue room that wrapped a spacious and comforting welcome area. Alisha kindly offers tea to her guests and her pleasant personality makes it easy to feel relaxed.

Walk through the hall to find where the classes and private lessons are held. The studio is the perfect environment to get reacquainted with one’s body. Its space, lighting, music, and decor have a relaxing and motivating effect. It’s a great place to get your mind and body right.

Alisha’s goal in opening her yoga studio is to get the community, especially children, to become more active. She wants everyone to know that yoga isn’t scary. A person at any level and at any age can approach yoga with ease and she is here to help you get started!

HOURS, PRICING AND CLASS DESCRIPTIONS

Monday
5:30PM FOCUS
7:00PM BREATHE

Tuesday
3:30PM FOCUS

Wednesday
5:30PM FOCUS
7:00PM BREATHE

Thursday
10:00AM ALIGN

Single – $12/class
Punch Card – $50/100
1 Month Unlimited – $75
1 Month Unlimited Family – $115
Private Studio Session – $45

25% discount for Hamilton athletics!

BREATHE – 1 hour
For everybody looking to de-stress and relax. Poses are comfortably held for several minutes allowing muscles to relax for a deep stretch preparing the body for rest and restoring sleep.

FOCUS – 1 hour
Build internal heat through a creative flow using breath synchronized movement to stretch and strengthen muscles. Improves strength, flexibility, and endurance.

ALIGN – 1 hour
Designed for beginners and advanced students who enjoy a slow pace class with emphasis on anatomical alignment. Poses are held for multiple breaths increasing flexibility and overall body awareness.

Studio Inertia holds an intimate relationship with its community, providing not only the above services, but holding events such as Rage Yoga, for local Mug Club members, and Yoga in the Park which is held in Penney Park at the heart of the town.

Pst! If you plan on coming to our Birthday Bash event, Studio Inertia will be holding one of her Yoga in the Park events on Saturday, September 28 at 10 AM!

Follow Lou.Yoga.N.Flo on Facebook as well as the studio’s page for any updates. You can also visit https://www.louyoganflo.com/ anytime to find more information!

August 29, 2019December 10, 2019

Introducing… Let’s Make Art

Two years ago, Sarah Cray was a freelance artist… selling her prints on Etsy, illustrating books, and just simply exploring her creative freedoms was the life Sarah had fallen in love with. But then, she got a call that would result in her being able to take those passions and share her love of art with the world. The call was from ours truly, Al Doan, the co-founder of Missouri Star Quilt Co. The pair had briefly known each other in college, but after a bad experience in shopping art supplies online, he called up the talented Sarah in hopes the two could create something better for others.

Let's Make Art, Hamilton Missouri, Local Business Spotlight, Missouri Star

Together, they worked to transform the reputation of art from being intimidating, hard, and overwhelming to helpful, welcoming, and encouraging. In 2017, Sarah’s artistic abilities and Al’s master business mind proved a powerful duo in giving birth to Missouri Star’s sister company, Let’s Make Art! Since then, the team has welcomed modern lettering artist, Nicole Miyuki.

The business hopes to offer several different art medium services soon, but right now, Let’s Make Art offers monthly subscription boxes, supplies and step-by-step tutorials for watercolor taught by Sarah and hand-lettering taught by Nicole.

“The intention was to create a company that was way more accessible and not as intimidating for people who want to get into it. Something that sends the empowering message that anyone can make art.” – Sarah Cray, Co-Founder

When asked what they believe attributes to their success so far. Sarah answered by stating, “I don’t want people to think that I’m the best at watercolor and that I do it perfect every single time. If I make a mistake, I show them openly, and explain how they can correct it… Art is a process and we’re always learning. People are welcome to be open with no judgement here.” Others have found that they have been able to relate to the Let’s Make Art team. It’s a space full of inspiration in which people feel comfortable to begin their creative journey.

Sometimes the art they create has a mission of its own. With Let’s Make Art Matter, the Let’s Make Art team places an addressed and stamped postcard in each subscription box. There is a free tutorial per each card. Everyone then creates their postcard and sends it to a family, person, or organization that is suffering from the death of a loved one, an illness, or other disaster. “We send them to a family that just really needs a little bit of love. Art can be very healing.” says Sarah. Outside of the subscription boxes, people are welcome to walk-in, sit down at a table and Make Art Matter right there in the store and they will make sure it’s gets sent to the family for you.

When you stop in at Let’s Make Art, there’s always an opportunity to “try it before you buy it” and even participate in a make-a-take! With our Birthday Bash event coming up, Let’s Make Art invites you to come and create your own or join in on making art matter. Whether for yourself or for a family who needs a smile, stop by their booth and try it out!

Even if you aren’t quilter, you can still enjoy “Quilt Town, USA.” Bring your friends and stop in for a brew, go golfing, or grab a sweet bite to eat. And don’t forget to say hi to the Let’s Make Art team and discover watercolor and hand-lettering designs!

Learn More at LetsMakeArt.com or follow them on Facebook or Instagram!

June 27, 2018July 17, 2018

We Quilt This City!

Every summer we host thousands of visitors from near and far in our happy little town of Hamilton. Many of these visitors come to us as their end destination or as part of a detour on their road trip. No matter how our visitors get to us, we do all we can to make sure that they have the best experience in Hamilton.

If you needed another excuse to come visit Hamilton this Summer, starting June 21st we are participating in the Row by Row Experience again this year!

The Row by Row Experience is a wonderful program started in 2011 by Janet Lutz to help quilt shops get more visitors in what might otherwise be slow summer months. All the quilt shops participating in Row by Row have their very own free pattern to help you make a quilt block, and if you are the first to complete a quilt using at least 8 different rows from 8 different 2018 participating shops, you win a stash of 25 fat quarters and you win a bonus prize if you use our block and bring it in to our store!

The theme for Row by Row this year is “Sew Musical” and we have our very own pattern called “We Quilt This City.” The pattern features a beautiful appliqué town and music notes, hopefully not bringing just your quilts, but also your community in harmony.

To get your free Missouri Star Row by Row pattern all you need to do is come to Penney’s Quilt Shop and ask for our Row by Row pattern! Each customer is limited to one pattern. Sorry to all of our online customers, this pattern is only available in person!

The Row by Row experience will run from June 21st to September 4th, 2018, and you will have until October 31st, 2018 to submit your quilt for a prize.

May 17, 2018

Art Quilts on Display at Missouri Star

There is such artistry in quilting, from carefully selecting fabric colors to experiment with design and layout, the only limit to quilters’ creativity is imagination! Beginning Wednesday, May 16 through Saturday, June 2, the Penney’s Quilt Shop at Missouri Star will be home to the University of Missouri’s School of Visual Studies’ Art on the Move: Modern Art Quilts exhibit featuring the wonderful fiber artwork of Jean Brueggenjohann and Riana Bovill.

MU Visual Arts Display — A selection of Riana Bovill’s artwork on display in Penney’s Quilt Shop.

Both artists use fabric and fiber as their canvases. Riana creates stunning portraits that she hand stitches, and Jean creatively combines traditional quilt blocks and contemporary style to create amazing quilted pieces of art.

After they finished hanging their artwork in Penney’s Quilt Shop, I sat down with Jean and Riana for a quick Q&A session.

How did you get started sewing and quilting fabric works of art?

Riana: I was a painter before I started experimenting with fabric. My husband and I move quite a bit, and I ended up in a place where I didn’t have the opportunity to set up a studio, so I went to a local fabric store and bought some fabric. I still paint a bit, but I work mostly with fiber.

Jean: My mom taught me to sew when I was 9 or 10, and I started making clothes. I sewed garments off and on until 1991, when I took a quilting class and started making quilts. I’m a graphic designer and I teach graphic design, and I now devote all of my time outside of the classroom to making art quilts.

What does it take to make an art quilt

Riana: I’m very inspired by the people around me. Some are people I know and some are people I do not. I like having a good, big collection of fabrics to work with. I’ll spread out my fabrics and pick from them. I always laugh because I could make 2 or 3 portrait quilts from the large fabric I select.

MU School of Visual Studies — Young Man with Hat and Pipe by Riana Bovill

Jean: I really like to learn new things. When I have the opportunity, I like to take different classes. I have learned how to dye fabric, print letterpress on fabric, and anything where I can try something new motivates me. Right now, I like to incorporate traditional quilt blocks with non-traditional, and I really enjoy creating landscapes. In terms of fabric, if I have an idea, I like to buy fabric I like when I see it, and my entire stash is organized by color.

Riana: Speaking of fabric, in one of Jean’s quilt, I found a piece of the very first fabric I ever bought to make my first portrait!

Jean: Some of the fabric I have could be 20 years old, some could be brand new!

What advice would you give to those experimenting with fiber art?

Jean: Don’t give up. Be persistent. I can’t tell you how many times I rip out stitches because the color or value isn’t right. Think of it as a fun process even when you have to rip it out. 🙂

Enchantment in the Jungle by Jean Brueggenjohann

Riana: Don’t be afraid to find the answers. A quick YouTube video may be just what you need to move on.

Jean: Some of the colors that you think absolutely will not work, do, so you have to be brave and go for it!

What advice do you have on color and fabric selection?

Riana: I’m a big advocate for any color goes with any color. You may be surprised at just how colors interact with one another when you put them together.

Jean: One of my quilts on display has batiks, African fabrics and fabric from a local quilt store, and I had a comment. “How could something so wrong be so right?” in terms of fabric choices.

Riana: Any [piece of fabric] is game. Sometimes I take my husband’s clothing and cut pieces off of them. One time, he was asking for a pair of his pajama pants, and I knew I had recently seen them, and sure enough, I looked down and saw them woven into the rug I was working on.

How would you describe your work?

Riana: My work has some quilted elements, but mostly applique and collage. Almost all of my work is hand stitched.

Jean: I want people to see that traditional and contemporary quilt blocks and elements can be merged. Each quilt I create has a story, and I want people to see the story and be drawn in and look at the details. Mine are all machine pieced and machine quilted. Hand and machine appliqued with embellishment.

April 10, 2018April 10, 2018

Highway 36 Quilt Trail

Travel back in time to the 1800’s in northern Missouri for this year’s Missouri Highway 36 Quilt Trail 2018 Passport program. This year’s theme is “Ol’ Trail Town,” with each of the 16 blocks along the trail capturing a bit of life throughout northern Missouri as it was 150 years (or more) ago. Our block for Missouri Star features a train station, which played an integral part in the early development of the town of Hamilton.

History of the Railroad in Hamilton

The railroad brought commerce, construction, dry goods and much more to our town, with the line completed on Valentine’s Day 1859, and the depot finished later that year. To learn about Hamilton’s railroad, we spoke with Dean Hales, a native Hamiltonian with a penchant for history, who remembers the railroad vividly from the 1940s on until the late 1980s when the line and the train station were removed.

Hales explains that three sets of railroad tracks once intersected Davis Street, just a few steps north of our Main Shop. Although almost all evidence of the railroad is gone, there are still a few reminders. The relocated Penney house sits atop the foundation of what was once the train depot, and the “Hamilton” sign across the elevated tract of land between Penney Park and the bank was put in place so that commuters could look out the window and know which town they were passing through.

Of course, one only has to look at the mural painted on the north side of our Main Shop to see the most visible reminder of the role the railroad played in shaping Hamilton.

Highway 36 Quilt Trail

Now that we know the significance of the railroad in Hamilton, let’s talk more about the Highway 36 Quilt Trail program. This is the program’s fifth year and the trail opens on April 3, with 16 shops in 15 towns along the Missouri section of Highway 36 participating in the program.

Our Highway 36 Quilt Trail Quilt is currently displayed in our Penney’s Quilt Shop, and this year, we are offering a fabric kit so you can create a block exactly like ours! As you travel down the quilt trail you will see that each quilt shop created their own

The trail journeys along Highway 36, with stops in towns throughout the corridor, which includes towns on the highway, and also those that are 36 miles to the north and south of the route. Historical towns like St. Joseph, Marceline, Hannibal, and a dozen others with quilt shops and iconic American stories to share are ready and waiting to welcome you on your journey down the Highway 36 Quilt Trail.

Participants can download a shop passport HERE (or pick one up in the first shop you visit), and visit all of the shops for a free block pattern. One must visit the shop in person to participate in the Quilt Trail. Read all about the program HERE. Once you complete the trail, you will have 16 blocks to create your “Ol’ Trail Town” quilt, and you can turn it into one of the participating shops to see if you win a prize! We can’t wait to see what you make!

If you are planning your trip to Missouri Star Quilt Co., be sure to check out Visit MSQC for travel and lodging information. We hope you enjoy traveling down Highway 36, and visiting all of the shops along the way!