Grab your stapler, glue stick, and sandpaper, friends! We have a project to make!
I know, I know, those aren’t traditional quilting supplies, but we’re working on something extra special today. Leonie Bateman is the queen of wool applique, and she’s here to demonstrate a quick and easy way to transform Riley Blake’s wool precuts into beautiful masterpieces. Her “glue and staple” technique is so simple and fun, you’ll be stitching wool for days! Click HERE to watch the tutorial!
Click the button below to watch the full tutorial and shop Leonie Bateman’s collection!
I like a challenge, but there are a few things that are just beyond my reach. Climbing Mount Everest? Not likely. Winning an Olympic gold medal? Nope. Walking out of my local quilt shop empty handed? Not on your life! But a scalloped binding? That’s an easy one!
This week Jenny has Darlene Zimmerman in the studio to show us how to finish a quilt with super-simple waves and scallops. Click HERE to watch!
(Psst! If you enjoy watching tutorials with our Quilting Tutorials app, take note! We’ve recently made a few improvements, so be sure to update it on your device!)
Jenny is joined by Sue Daley to demonstrate how to make the Quatro Color Quilt with English Paper Piecing using the “Sue Daley Quarto Petal Template” by Sue Daley Designs for Patchwork with Busy Fingers/Sue Daley Designs, a glue pen, a milliners needle, and Quatro Petal Paper.
This dynamic duo makes English Paper Piecing easy for everyone! Click the button below to watch the full tutorial and to get all of your supplies!
When my brother was a baby, he was obsessed with a particular fluffy blanket; he reminded me so much of Linus from Peanuts, the way he would carry it around with him. It was just a little bit of worn-out polyester fluff by the time he was grown, which was proof of how much it was loved.
Turns out, he wasn’t the only baby who loved soft, fluffy things – many quilting mothers and grandmothers can attest to this, along with the wealth of baby blanket patterns out there. One of our favorites is the Self Binding Baby Blanket, especially when made with Shannon Cuddle. It’s just so soft and comfy that even adults want one!
While it’s wonderful to whip up one of these fast baby blankets on your own, one of the best ways to do it is along with like-minded people! The Sewing Center became a softer place last week when MSQC played host to the Shannon Company for their first ever Cuddle Retreat. Prior to the retreat Shannon held all days classes for the MSQC employees. We had thirty employees who came to the center to make strip quilts for the little ones in their lives. As you can see, we have some eager students among our ranks! Just look at those attentive faces!
Someone who definitely loved the Cuddle workshop was Shelby McCoy, one of the wonderful employees who works in our shops.
She had a blast working with Cuddle and making a sweet blanket for her little boy. Just look at how excited he is about his new blankie!
The following day the thirty plus women who came to retreat enjoyed learning about the Cuddle product and it’s use in the quilting world. Mary Gay Leahy was an excellent teacher that Shannon sent to teach and instruct our attendees. These thirty women made a variety of cuddle quilts which they displayed during Show and Tell at the end of their four day retreat.
Mary Gay taught “pop up” demonstrations in Penny’s Quilt Shop through her time on campus. A surprising amount of women chose to try the Cuddle products for the first time and their results were inspiring.
It was such a fun retreat, with so many wonderful quilters from all over the United States. If you would like to attend an upcoming retreat, be sure to visit Missouri Star Quilt Company Retreats & Events!
Hello fellow quilt lovers! My name is Amy Smart. I learned to quilt from my mom when I was growing up, but have been doing it in earnest since the birth of my first baby 17 years ago. I love share my quilting obsession including patterns and tutorials at my site, Diary of a Quilter and recently published a book, Fabulously Fast Quilts.
I have been a big fan of Missouri Star Quilt Company and was so excited when they invited me to do an MSQC Tutorial Reboot! Serendipitously, my family had a trip planned to Missouri for Spring Break a few weeks ago and I got to visit Hamilton and the whole Missouri Star Quilt Company extravaganza! You can read more about my adventures in Hamilton in this post, including an amazing grand tour of all the shops by Jenny herself!
As I looked through the myriad of quilting videos and tutorials from MSQC over the past years, the one I was most excited to make myself was the classic Missouri Star block itself. (Seems appropriate.) I’m a sucker for large quilt blocks, especially stars, and I loved the scale of Jenny’s block. I’m also a big fan of short cuts and quick piecing and I loved Jenny’s method for creating this block quickly using pre-cut 10″ x 10″ squares.
The large scale of the block lends itself so well to a modern, graphic design. I thought I’d pair a darker, woven solid with some bright, modern prints to change the look a little bit.
Each block requires 3 10″ x 10″ squares. So before doing any cutting or piecing, I mixed and matched my 10″ precut squares into 6 sets of contrasting or complementing prints and colors. That way I knew I was getting a nice variety of colors, prints, and combinations.
From there I assembly-lined cutting and piecing my blocks. One thing that really helped were these custom rulers from MSQC – they come in 2 1/2″ x 8″ and 5″ x 15″ sizes. They are PERFECT for working with precuts – especially cutting those pre-cut 5″ and 10″ squares on the diagonal, without having to get out a bigger ruler. You can follow along by watching Jenny’s tutorial!
I was originally going to make just a wall size quilt using 4 quilt blocks, but I liked the fabric and the block so much, I added two more blocks for a lap-size quilt. (My quilt finished at 52″ x 75″.) I think I would have kept making more blocks if I’d had more fabric on hand!
I definitely want to make this pattern again – the blocks come together SO quickly – and because the scale of the finished blocks is 23″ x 23″ so you don’t need to make a lot of them. It would be a quick way to make a large bed quilt.
In the meantime, I’m claiming this quilt as my snuggle quilt to carry around to soccer games, picnics, and Sunday afternoon naps. The bold colors make a statement, but the warm, taupe background will hopefully hide some of the evidence of everyday use.
Here’s one more parting shot of the giant Missouri Star in the MSQC trims shop. Appropriate, don’t you think? Thanks so much for having me Missouri Star! It was a blast to visit in person, and I’m so excited to have my Missouri Star Quilt as a reminder.
