Shannon Cuddle Retreat Recap // May 2016

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!

self binding cuddle thumbnailWhile 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!

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Someone who definitely loved the Cuddle workshop was Shelby McCoy, one of the wonderful employees who works in our shops.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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!

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

Jenny Doan and Crafty Gemini Retreats // 2015

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This past couple of weeks, we had a special visitor in Hamilton at MSQC! Vanessa Vargas Wilson, the Crafty Gemini, was here for two back to back Jenny Doan/Crafty Gemini quilting retreats and these gals seriously had a blast!

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There’s always plenty of time for sewing and shopping when you’re here for a retreat, but this one was packed full of some fantastic classes as well! Jenny taught the retreaters how to make various disappearing blocks and then showed them how to turn them into a tablerunner. 🙂

These gals are sisters who all love to sew and quilt! They came with their own matching t-shirts and even their own catch phrases! It was so fun to meet them!

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Vanessa taught a class on how to make this adorabe ‘Any Which Way’ quilt using paper piecing!

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Jenny even tried this one out because she wanted to improve her paper piecing skills! Those arrows are looking good, Jenny! 🙂

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Vanessa did something that was so fun! She brought a Polaroid camera and took a special photo with each of the retreaters and signed it for them! What a fun little souvenir to take home! 🙂

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We hope you had a wonderful time, retreaters!

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RETREATERS ROUND 2

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If you are hoping to visit Missouri Star Quilt Company in Hamilton, Missouri, check out our complete list of events and retreats here: MSQC Retreats & Events

Shop Owners Retreat

Missouri Star recently held a Shop Owners Retreat to allow owners to visit Hamilton and see the changes it has undergone in the past few years! MSQC has been expanding and opening more store fronts and we wanted to share our story and these exciting times with others just like us!

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While here, shop owners had the chance to look around town, network with one another, participate in a Barn Quilt Blocks painting class, attend a Jenny Trunk Show as well as have a round table BYB (Build Your Business) discussion with Al Doan!

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Of course, Jenny painted the Missouri Star Quilt Block! Does’t it look great on the side of her house? 🙂

We loved this Bear Paw barn quilt block that Jan Heddinger from Des Moines made!

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Jenny did one of her amazing trunk shows for the retreaters and focused on ways these shop owners can teach some great tricks and tips to their own local shop customers. It was such a fun night!

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The retreat team set up these tables of MSQC products to show the shop owners some fun ways to display quilting products for sale! Did you know that some local quilt shops carry MSQC products? Click HERE to find a wholesaler near you!

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If your interested in attending an MSQC retreat, click HERE for more information!

 

MSQC Featherweight Retreat

Do you remember back in the day when cars didn’t break down as often and everything was built to last? Those were the good ol’ days! The same goes for Featherweight sewing machines… They’re strong, good quality, lightweight and they get the job done right! That’s why so many people still use them, and we had a whole retreat themed around them! Some wonderful ladies and their Featherweight machines joined us for a fun time of sewing and demos in the beginning of August.

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Aren’t these machines so retro and cute? While the ladies were here they were given a demo on the Quatrefoil Quilt (Click HERE to watch tutorial) along with several other tips and tricks from the wonderful Cindy! They also got to attend one of Jenny’s Trunk Shows!

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Several retreaters took advantage of the Daily Deals during their stay with us, and made some beautiful quilts from it while here! Check out these two quilts that were made using the Bandana and Florals Charm Pack by Dover Hill for Benartex, although the fabric is the same, the two quilts turned out so different and spunky, each as beautiful as the other! The one pictured on the left is the Bordered Periwinkle Quilt using the Wacky Web template while the one pictured on the right is a Charm Big Star Quilt that Tina Jennings made. They’re both so cute!

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If you were in attendance at our Featherweight Retreat and would like to download some of the photos that were taken during the event (for example, if you had a small group shot taken), click here: Featherweight Retreat Photos! We cannot wait for the next time we have a Featherweight Retreat, thank you all for making it such a fun one! 🙂 

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If you are interested in participating in one of our future retreats or events you can find more information by clicking here: Missouri Star Quilt Company Events. We hope to see you there! 🙂