Tag: quilting

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Call for Stories – National Quilting Month 2017

March is National Quilting Month and we’re using it as an opportunity to celebrate the giving nature of quilters everywhere! Here’s how you can join the fun (and win lots of Quilter’s Cash!) :

Quilt From The Heart #GiveaStitch

Quilt from the Heart: This month (and every month) we challenge you to #giveastitch by making a quilt and donating it to a person or organization in need. Listen to a special message from Jenny and check out the information we’ve gathered to help you out HERE including easy to make patterns and a list of organizations accepting quilt donations. Be sure to share your charity quilts and the story behind them with us on social media using #giveastitch!!

Share:  We’re continuing the Missouri Star Quilt Co. 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? Have you used your quilting skills to make someone else’s life better?  Email us at stories@missouriquiltco.com and tell us how in 500 words or less for the chance to be one of three grand prize winners to win Quilter’s Cash and be featured on our Daily Deal page and Daily Deal email!

  • 1st place will be featured on National Quilting Day (Saturday, March 18th) and will receive $250 in Quilter’s Cash

  • 2nd Place will receive $100 in Quilter’s Cash and will be featured Sunday, March 19th.

  • 3rd Place will receive $50 in Quilter’s Cash and will be featured Monday, March 20th.

stitched together

A few details to remember:

  • Entries must be emailed to stories@missouriquiltco.com by noon (CST)on Saturday, March 11th.

  • 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 11th, 2017!

Haven’t read the touching stories in Stitched Together Volumes 1, 2 & 3 yet? Get them HERE! You’ll love them!

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Summer in the Park Tutorial Reboot Featuring Lee Ann Perry!

Revisited Quilting Tutorials from Missouri Star Quilt Co
Lee Ann Perry Tutorial Reboot
Hi! My name is Lee Ann. I’m a wife and mother of four. When I was expecting my third child, I saw some rag quilts on Etsy and thought they were adorable—but expensive. I mean, $65 for a little baby blanket?  
So I bought my first sewing machine and a set of fat quarters by Kaffe Fassett. I learned how to make my first rag quilt by watching a tutorial by Vanessa Vargas Wilson on YouTube. I was pretty happy with the result but my husband teased me a bit. ”Why spend $65 on a blanket when you can make it yourself for $300?”
But, I fell in love with sewing!  Putting colors together.  Feeling the fabric run through my fingers. And the finished project was an item that was both USEFUL and beautiful. I made several rag quilts before getting bored and wanting to learn more. That’s when I found the free video tutorials online by MSQC.
One of the first “real” quilts I made was from a pattern called Summer in the Park using a jelly roll, a line by Tula Pink, the Birds and the Bees.
Watching the videos made it easy for me to follow along—or watch a half dozen times if necessary, and sometimes it was! The finished quilt was so worth it.
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But, like many quilters, I don’t ever make the same thing twice! You’ve got to change it up a bit.
Recently I came back to this pattern and changed only two things.
In the tutorial, Natalie uses a brightly colored jelly roll and combines it with a jelly roll of white strips. When sewing them together, she sews two strip sets, 1) white, print, white, and 2) print, white, print.
So to change it up, I chose a jelly roll of Carolyn Friedlander’s Carkai. Instead of white, I used a darker CHAMBRAY fabric.  I also changed how I sewed my strips together. ALL of my 3 strip sets were sewed as: print, chambray, print.
 
The 3-strip-sets are then sewed to each other, right sides facing, into a “tube.”
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Now comes the really fun part—cutting the tubes into squares. You lay your tube down and cut triangles—when you open it up, they will be perfect squares!
The best ruler for this is the Triangle Square Up Ruler, 9 1/2” by Quilt in a Day. I don’t happen to have that ruler (mine only goes up to 6 1/2”), so I had to make do with my big square up ruler for squares. I put the point of my ruler right up to the seam but did not cross it. Then, I made sure both of the 8” marks touched the bottom seam before making a cut.
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Continue cutting the tube, swiveling the ruler around the opposite way to maximize the number of cuts you can make.  I was able to get five finished 8” squares from each “tube.”
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When sewing the squares together, I made sure to nest the seams to make perfect points.
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I sent this quilt off to MSQC for machine quilting.  My local lady is great but she will not back anything with fleece.  MSQC does — Cuddle/minky too!  This is my first quilt backed with fleece and it’s pretty much the best thing EVER.
After it came back, I had to choose binding fabric.  I always “audition” a few colors first.
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After letting this quilt and the different options sit on my table for a few days, I ended up going with the same chambray I used in the quilt blocks.
My favorite binding tutorial is The Ultimate Quilt Binding Tutorial by MSQC.  No binding tool required!  I used to have one but I don’t use it anymore.  This method is the easiest!  But, I must confess, I had to watch this video EVERY SINGLE TIME a quilt needed finishing for at least the first ten quilts I made.
Here’s the finished result of my “reboot”.
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And now that I’ve spent a few years piecing quilts…I’ve decided a $65 rag quilt is more than fair!  A bargain, really! But, I wouldn’t trade learning a new hobby for ANYTHING.  Quilting has become my quiet place and saving grace in my busy life.
lee ann perry pinnable
Thank you, MSQC for asking me to write this blog post and for teaching me how to quilt in the first place!
You can follow my quilty adventures on Instagram at leeannjperry.
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Quilt Snips Mini Tutorial: Missouri Roads

Quilt Snips Mini Quilting Tutorials

Check out this Quilt Snips Mini Tutorial

Here is a fun little tutorial on how to make the Missouri Roads block using 5″ squares and some extra background fabric.
Here at MSQC we are all about quick and easy quilting tutorials, so we’ve taken your favorite tutorials and condensed them to give you a big dose of inspiration in a small bite. Check back every Friday for our regular Quilting Tutorials with Jenny Doan!

Watch the full Missouri Roads tutorial and get supplies HERE!