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April 25, 2016April 25, 2016

Spa Retreat Recap // March 2016

What’s more relaxing than a day at the spa? Why, getting the spa treatment while quilting of course! We had a wonderful group of women from around the United States as well as a couple from Australia for our Spa Retreat this March. It was one relaxing, fun, quilty time! 🙂

The ladies worked on two quilts, including the Dresden Sunburst and learned some new techniques. We demonstrated how to use the Sizzix for some other quilts as well as some small projects.

Their days were filled with quilting, shopping, massages, spray tans, manicures, pedicures and hand wax dips. It was amazing!

We even had a fun little contest where the ladies wore a facial into the stores shopping. They won prizes if they would shop for 30 minutes with their masks on. People were giving them funny looks in the shops, but most of them stuck it out and got their prize! When in Hamilton…. 😉

Our two retreaters from Australia, Leonie and Kylie, brought a Missouri Star quilt block with them for Jenny to sign as well as Australian chocolates for everyone. Yummy!

It was such a wonderful retreat and many lifelong quilty friends were made. If you would like to attend a future retreat, you can find them here: Missouri Star Quilt Company Retreats and Events Page.

February 29, 2016March 11, 2016

Slumber Party Quilting Retreat Recap February 2016

Here in Hamilton, MO, where you can find 12 Missouri Star Quilt Shops, we host at least one themed Quilting Retreat each month! February brought us the “Slumber Party” Retreat.

Jenny gave one of her famous Trunk Shows that had the audience laughing, crying, Ooo-ing and Aah-ing. Mr. Jenny (Ron) has the strongest arms in the quilting industry, as he serves as Jenny’s quilt holder and assistant in each of her trunk shows! Talk about a loving husband! 🙂

This particular retreat is a favorite because those who attend don elastic waists and slippers for the entire weekend (and don’t we all like to be comfy when we’re engrossed in a new quilting project??). Even some of our shop gals and guys dressed in their PJs so that our retreaters could feel comfortable shopping in their favorite PJs. And of course, we quilt.

We had some organized quilting projects as well as some impromptu little projects, which everyone loved.

We had a great group from around the states, from New York to California and many states in between! It is so much fun to meet ladies from all over the United States and sometimes the world. Quilting is what stitches us all tighter and no matter where we are from we all speak the same language, “Quilt”.

If you would like to attend a future retreat, you can find them here: Missouri Star Quilt Company Retreats and Events Page.

November 20, 2015November 20, 2015

New Friday Tutorial: The Andes Quilt Featuring Guest Quilter and Fabric Designer Mary Fons

This quilt features the brand new fabric line created by Mary herself, called Small Wonders for Springs Creative and it is filled with what Mary calls “irresistible small scale prints” perfect for patchwork. If you love a print, you don’t have to worry about cutting your favorite design in half or not seeing the complete print when you cut your fabric to piece together into a quilt! It has a beautifully vintage flare and it’s just so cute!

This quilt is a slight variation of the 54-40 or Fight Quilt. Watch in the tutorial how you can flip a few squares and get the original. We can’t wait to see what you make with this pattern! Make sure to share on social media using #andesquilt!

Here are a few quotes from Mary Fons that we love:

“When life as you know it is torn into a zillion pieces, it just makes sense to tear up fabric into a zillion pieces and then sew it back together again into organized blocks with a nice French-fold binding.” (Source)

“Once the quilt bug bit me, obsession set in.” (Source)

CLICK TO WATCH THE TUTORIAL AND GET ALL THE SUPPLIES YOU NEED TO MAKE THIS BEAUTIFUL QUILT!

November 16, 2015November 16, 2015

Rob Appell’s Man Sewing Surf’s Up Retreat!

We had so much fun last week because Rob Appell from Man Sewing was here filming tutorials, followed by the first ever Surf’s Up Retreat at Missouri Star Quilt Company! The retreat started with Rob’s Trunk Show, which was so amazing! There is something special about a trunk show. Each one is so unique to that specific quilter and even though we’ve been working with Rob for about a year now, we were reminded of Rob’s good heart and the journey that has led him to where he is today! Thank you, Rob for not only teaching us about quilting, but about overcoming obstacles, gratitude, hard work, and love for family. Your honest, vulnerable storytelling was such a treat and we’re so glad that you’ve decided to be a part of the Missouri Star family.

Rob rolls up his quilts, so they won’t get fold creases. Isn’t that so smart? Let’s take a look at some of the other quilts Rob shared.

I always knew I loved his work, but the stories behind them make them even more beautiful! It was so exciting to see them in person… sometimes photos just can’t do a quilt justice. This next one is the Color Strata quilt, featured in Rob’s new Color Strata Book! The tutorial is coming very soon!

You have to take a step back from this one to fully appreciate it…

If you’ve never seen Rob’s Endangered Species Quilt series, they are even more incredible in real life! Rob teamed up with Michael Miller Fabrics and their Fairy Frost fabrics to create a series of quilts to raise awareness for endangered species and donates a portion of pattern sales to help support these animals and those who care for them.

So amazing! Here’s the whole group! Jenny Doan attended the trunk show and we even put Ron (Mr. Jenny) to work holding up the quilts for Rob! 🙂

During the retreat, Rob taught his ever popular 3 Dudes Quilt with a twist and had fun making ‘stained glass’ when it caught the sun! 🙂

With Rob’s quilts on the wall, it feels like everyone is working in an art gallery! So beautiful!

We’re so glad that all of you retreaters could be here and Rob as well! Here’s to the next one! If you’re interested in attending a retreat at Missouri Star Quilt Company, visit Missouri Star Quilt Company Retreats & Events!

Be on the lookout for Rob’s own post about the retreat, coming soon at mansewing.com!

November 9, 2015November 9, 2015

Kaffe Fassett Glorious Color Retreat and Lecture!

Have we ever mentioned how much we love to have visitors come to Hamilton?? This past weekend was our Kaffe Fassett Glorious Colour Retreat and we just had a blast!!

This is an amazing group of quilters and artists! It was such a treat to have all of them here and to have Kaffe Fassett and Brandon Mably here to share their wisdom and insight on the wonderful world of glorious color! The retreaters had the opportunity to do two hands-on workshops as well as attend a wonderful lecture from Kaffe!

The first class was called Mediterranean Hexagons, where they learned how to work with Kaffe’s large print florals to create a beautiful balanced quilt.

This is Debbie Carlson, who, without realizing, created a quilt design that matched her outfit! Isn’t it gorgeous?? If you look closely, she used all kinds of black and white prints as the points, including one with ampersands on it. So fun!! According to Kaffe, sometimes the print/motif just doesn’t matter 🙂

The 2nd class Kaffe taught was Bright Squares, where they created the most beautiful quilts from 2.5″ squares!

Kaffe worked one on one with the retreaters to help them find a beautiful balance of color and contrast. Wouldn’t you like Kaffe to teach you all about how to use bold, bright colors in a harmonious way??

At the end of each class, Kaffe would walk around and comment on each person’s work, to give praise, encouragement and valuable feedback. What a wonderful opportunity to have input from Kaffe on your personal work!

On the last full day of the retreat, Kaffe gave a wonderful lecture on finding inspiration in art, architecture, knits, and how you can find different inspiration all over the world. There were well over 200 people in attendance and it ended with a book signing!

Tula Pink was even here in attendance to see Kaffe’s lecture!

Thank you to everyone who attended! We would love to hear about your experience in the comments!

If you are interested in an MSQC Retreat or Event, you can find all the information here: Missouri Star Quilt Company Retreats & Events