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.

Share Your Story With Us for National Quilting Month!

It’s National Quilt Month, and we are ready to par-tay (And give away lots of Quilter’s Cash)!!!! Here’s how you can join in on the fun:

Missouri Star Quilt Co challenges you to make something today!

Create: We encourage you to join quilters across the globe as we accept the challenge to  #makesomethingtoday! Whatever you choose to make, enjoy it!

Share: We’re continuing the MSQC tradition of holding a “Stitched Together” story contest, and we want YOU to enter!  Share your story with us: Has quilting made your life better?  Has it changed you or touched your heart?  Tell us how in 500 words or less and you could be one of three entrants chosen to have your story featured on our Daily Deal page and Daily Deal email!

  • 1st place will be featured on National Quilting Day (Saturday, March 19th) and will receive $250 in Quilter’s Cash

  • 2nd Place will receive $100 in Quilter’s Cash and will be featured Sunday.

  • 3rd Place will receive $50 in QC and will be featured Monday.

Stitched Together: Stories for the Quilter's Soul, by Missouri Star Quilt Co

A few details to remember:

  • Entries must be emailed to stories@missouriquiltco.com by noon (CST)on Saturday, March 12th.

  • If you would like to remain anonymous, please let us know. (Or, come up with a fabulous pen name!)

  • Even if your story isn’t chosen as one of the three winners, we might still share it in future Daily Deal stories, blog posts, or magazine articles. By submitting your story, you acknowledge that Missouri Star may use it at some future date for commercial purposes.

We are so excited to read your stories! We want to be inspired! We want to laugh! We want to cry! Just be sure to send your entry to stories@missouriquiltco.com by noon (CST) on Saturday, March 12th, 2016! 🙂

Haven’t read the touching stories in Stitched Together Volumes 1 & 2 yet? Get them HERE! You’ll love them!

New Site Madness 101!

Thank you, thank you, thank you! You all have made converting to our new site a breeze! Thank you so much for your cooperation and understanding as we go on this new and crazy adventure together. By now, you’ve hopefully had some time to browse and click around, and get familiarized with the site. We want to help familiarize you even more based on some of the wonderful questions we’ve been getting! 🙂

Where can I find the tutorials on the new site? 

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To find our tutorials, simply place your mouse over the “Community” tab and then click on “Quilting Tutorials” in the drop-down menu. Now you’ll have all of the MSQC Tutorials at your fingertips!

How do you get to the Daily Deal page? 

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There are two ways to access the Daily Deals from our homepage. Let’s start with the easiest (and most recently added). Right below the menu bar, we added a “Check Out Today’s Daily Deal, it’s % Off!” button. Click on any part of this header to access the Daily Deal page (I love how easy this is now)! The second way is to place your mouse over “Daily Deals” in the upper left-hand corner of the homepage. In the drop-down menu select, “Daily Deal”. This is where you can find the sale bin and other specials as well!

Where are the BLOCK corrections?

Block site

Let’s start from the beginning for this one… On the homepage, place your mouse over “Books & Block” on the menu bar, then in the drop-down menu select, “BLOCK”. Now you’ll be on the screen pictured above! Simply click on “corrections” in the second paragraph to find all the BLOCK corrections ever made! 🙂

I purchased a digital issue of BLOCK/ digital pattern. How do I access it?

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This is a great question! All digital downloads are stored in your MSQC account. To access them, login to your account and then click on the “Your Account” button in the upper right-hand corner of the page. You’ll then be on a screen that looks like the one shown above. Click on “Your Digital Downloads” to access all of your digital issues of BLOCK and digital patterns.

** If you use Apple products you can download our new BLOCK  Magazine App right to your iPhone or iPad, allowing you to take each issue with you in the car, at the store, or wherever your quilty heart desires! Click HERE to learn more and download the app.

I hope these tips and tricks are helpful when searching the new and improved MSQC site! If you have more questions, don’t be shy. We’re here to help make this transition go smoothly! Start browsing and trying these shortcuts out HERE! Happy quilting!

 

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.

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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.

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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!

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

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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! 🙂

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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! 🙂

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

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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!

 

New Friday Tutorial: The Missouri Star Baby Quilt with Flange Binding

MSQC New Tutorial on the Blog!

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We just love the Missouri Star quilt block (good thing, right?) and Jenny had to make a baby quilt version. It is just so perfect for a quick baby gift that will steal the show! You’re going to love this fun binding technique that adds an extra little edge to give it an extra polish!

It features the stunning Fancy and Fabulous Collection by Fancypants Designs for Riley Blake Designs!

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Watch the tutorial and find out everything you need to make this gorgeous quilt!

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