retreat | Missouri Star Blog

August 23, 2016August 23, 2016

2016 Christmas in July Retreat Recap

Merry Christmas (in July) from Santa and Mrs. Claus at Missouri Star Quilt Company! July is the perfect time of the year for quilters to start preparing for holiday gift giving. It makes us feel like we’re ahead of the game for a while, and then by the time Christmas rolls around we’ll be scrambling to finish up a few less quilts on Christmas Eve. 😉

Show and tell time at retreats is one of our favorites. It’s always fun to see what others have been working on, what fabrics they’ve chosen and how one pattern can have look so different when made in various fabric lines. Isn’t this blue, yellow and white Dresden Flower Quilt darling??

Michele Schneider made the same Dresden Flower pattern using Christmas fabrics and it turned out so cute as well!

Patrcia Jackson made her Dresden Flower Quilt in blue and white snowflake fabric for a fun quilt that will be great to cuddle up in all winter!

Jackie Smith worked on this Jelly Roll Race Quilt that’s going to be a Christmas gift for her grandson. He’s going to love it! She used two Jelly Rolls and doubled the size of the quilt. Find out how you can do that same HERE.

We absolutely loved this shirt! It’s too cute and so true!

A huge thanks to everyone who came and participated in our Christmas in July Retreats this year, it was a blast having you all here and we hope to see you again soon!

For more information on events and retreats at Missouri Star Quilt Company click HERE!

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!

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 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