hamilton | Missouri Star Blog

February 20, 2018March 1, 2018

Celebrate National FFA Week with Forever Blue Fabric

Surrounded by emerald fields of corn and rolling pastures dotted with cattle, Hamilton, Missouri, sits in the middle of America’s heartland. As in many such communities with strong agriculture roots, there is a group of students who fully embrace what it means to live, work and support the business that is agriculture, our local FFA chapter.

If you have ever donned the blue corduroy jacket and recited the FFA creed, or know someone who has, then the FFA Forever Blue fabric by Riley Blake Designs is a wonderful tribute to the traditions that make up the National FFA Organization. The Forever Blue fabric features the timeless blue corduroy jacket, the FFA emblem and a variety of livestock and agriculture prints. You can shop all of the Forever Blue fabrics, including the Forever Blue quilt kit, HERE.

With such a wide variety of prints, we knew we wanted to create a quilt that could show off some of the larger prints and the different color schemes. A member of our sewing team, Janice, used the Slice of Life Quilt pattern, and sewed up the entire quilt! Check out the finished quilt below, and watch Jenny’s tutorial on how to create a Slice of Life Quilt!

You can also find a fantastic panel that makes a wonderful wall hanging or a centerpiece of a quilt as part of the Forever Blue collection. We used this panel, along with some extra yardage for borders, to create a wall hanging.

After the quilt and wall hanging were completed, they needed a home, and with National FFA Week on the horizon, we knew that these creations would honor the Hamilton FFA chapter at Penney High School for all of their accomplishments and the work they do throughout our community.

Janice, who created the quilt, was on hand to present both the quilt and the wall hanging to Mr. Burns, the FFA advisor, along with all of the Hamilton FFA officers.

Thank you, Hamilton FFA for all you do!

January 11, 2018January 12, 2018

2017 Year in Review

Happy New Year, dear quilters! This is sure to be a memorable year filled with many exciting moments here at Missouri Star Quilt Co. We are grateful for your loyalty and patience with us as we grow and we think 2018 is going to be the best year yet! But before we jump right into it, let’s take a moment to reflect and look back on some of the highlights from 2017.

Shark Applicutter

Our dear friend, Rob Appell of Man Sewing, designed an innovative cutting tool that took the sewing and quilting world by storm! With a 14mm blade, the Shark Applicutter is the go-to rotary cutter for freestyle piecing and intricate cutting. Learn more about the handy Shark Applicutter HERE.

Missouri Star Academy

Missouri Star Academy began as a dream. We imagined quilters gathering together from across the globe in Hamilton, Missouri, to learn directly from professionals in the industry and from each other. In 2017, this dream became a reality for more than 450 students and instructors who traveled to Quilt Town, USA, for a two-day, immersive, creative experience filled with demonstrations, classes, and trunk shows. We are still amazed by the ideas and inspiration shared during Missouri Star Academy. Thanks to everyone who attended! We hope to see you again this year. Be sure to mark your calendars for June 7 and 8 for our second Missouri Star Academy! It’s going to be a lot of fun!

Jenny Turns 60

Our very own Jenny Doan hit a milestone birthday in 2017, and we celebrated her “Sweet 60th” together. We are so thankful for her contagious enthusiasm, her kind spirit, and the creativity she shares with us every day!

Birthday Bash

Missouri Star Quilt Co. celebrated its 9th birthday last year. Can you believe it? Time seems to have passed as quickly as our bobbins go empty! Three days filled with fun, games, food, and inspiration culminated in a party that will be long-remembered here in Hamilton. Reminisce about all of the festivities from the 2017 Bash HERE.

Stay tuned for 2018 Birthday Bash. We’ll be pulling out all the stops for our big 1-0 coming up later this year, and make plans to attend September 20-22nd!

Hurricane Relief Quilts

Thanks to quilters like you, our hearts were filled to the brim this year by the overwhelming support you showed when we asked for donations to help those affected by the hurricanes that ravaged our coastal states. You answered the call with more than 9,000 quilts, blankets, and afghans, as well as 4,000 pillowcases! These handmade labors of love were donated to organizations and distributed to those in need.

The entire Doan family and dozens of Missouri Star employee volunteers helped sort and repackage the donations.

Quilt Snips Mini Tutorial: Dandy Stars Quilt

The team at Missouri Star Quilt Co. has done it again! Here is an easy and fun way to throw together a quick quilt top using a couple packs of 5″ squares!

Watch the full tutorial and get all of your supplies HERE!

September 8, 2016November 8, 2018

A Peek Inside the Machine Shed

Welcome to the Machine Shed at Missouri Star Quilt Company! You guessed it, the Machine Shed is our shop full of sewing machines! It’s also home to lots of thread, templates and other quilting notions.

Doesn’t it have such a great feel to it? You’ll be able to find all the Sizzix™ Machines and dies and you can even test them out. They make cutting small shapes a breeze!

We carry 6 models of Baby Lock™ sewing machines, including the Katherine, S ofia2, Rachel, Molly, Jane and BL9. They can all be found and taken for a test drive in the Machine Shed. (Baby Lock™ sewing machines are available in store only.)

Check out this wall of thread. Isn’t it beautiful?? There are hundreds of fantastic hues to choose from! You can shop thread online as well, HERE.

You’ll also find Jenny’s “Heritage” Thread Collection from Aurifil™ in the Machine Shed. Aren’t those colors gorgeous? Jenny handpicked each of them as a tribute to her Scandinavian heritage. Grab yours HERE.

We hope you’ll stop by the Machine Shed and take a look around next time you’re in Hamilton, MO. It’ll keep you in stitches! 🙂

June 22, 2016July 6, 2016

Back to the 50’s Retreat Recap

Remember the purr of a 57’ Chevy? The taste of a ten-cent burger? The sweet sounds of the Everly Brothers? The 50’s were an unforgettable era full of great fashion and style we love! We especially love those 50’s inspired quilts and that’s we hosted not just one but two fun filled Back to the 50’s Retreats! Check out all the happenings from both below. 🙂

At the Back to the 50’s Retreats we went all out wearing poodles skirts, letter sweaters, bobbie socks and our boyfriend’s class rings! To really set the tone, there was 50’s music playing in the background the entire time (you know, the good stuff you can’t find on the radio today).

A real blast from the past came when we had “Do the Twist” dance-offs and hula hooping! Oh yeah, us quilter’s can still shake it! 😉 Memories were brought up as we discussed phrases from the 50’s as well. We even burned some rubber on the sewing machine pedals!

Check out this darling traveling chest covered in 50’s style! It’s got that vintage beauty!

Isn’t this retro 3D Pinwheel that Karen Hartley made so fun?? She brought this as her own pattern to work on at the retreat and by the time it was over she taught almost everyone in attendance how to make it. We love when quilters come together and share their wisdom to inspire others!

Take a look at this fun wall hanging that one of the retreaters made specially for the retreat! How cute is that??

Of course, one of the best parts about retreats is show and tell with everyone who is there. We love seeing everyone’s quilt designs, fabric choices and progress!

To check out our upcoming retreats and events, visit our MSQC Events Page! We hope you get to #visitmsqc soon!

Tag: hamilton