Road Trip to Missouri Star Quilt Company - Part I

 

Quilt Town, USA Mural

Last weekend, Those Crazy Sewing Ladies (a local sewing/quilting group I belong to) and I took a road trip to the Missouri Star Quilt Company AKA Quilt Town, USA.  As Hamilton, Missouri is 4 1/2 hours away from us, we had to leave Northwest Arkansas very early in the morning.  We gathered at the home of Melissa, who had a feast of all sorts of breakfast foods (complete with coffee and tea) laid out for us.  We each made ourselves a portable container of food to eat on the road.  Melissa, the rock star that she is - drove us to our destination in a 15 person van that she rented for the occasion.

Those Crazy Sewing Ladies and the wonderful (and substantial) breakfast spread.

 

When we arrived in Hamilton, Missouri, the home of Quilt Town, USA, we were met with pouring rain that later turned to snow.  It didn't dampen our spirits.  We were ready to have fun and shop to our heart's content.   (And, boy, did we ever!!!)

Quilt Town, USA is located on Main Street, and it consists of 12 themed shops located on both sides of the street.  The themes include the Main MSQC Shop, Florals, Novelty, Seasonal, Mercantile, Batiks, Modern, Kids/Babies and Backing Fabric, among others.  (There's even a Man's Lounge. No kidding.)  The Main Shop sells a little bit of everything found in the individual shops, in addition to several other different items.

The Main Shop

Of note, besides fabric, the Main Shop sells clothing, Block magazines and unique handmade items made by local artisans of northwest Missouri.  I particularly enjoyed the handmade items in this shop.  The items included hand-carved wooden quilt block magnets, pincushions housed in little boxes and birdhouses fashioned to look like primitive barns.

Handmade pincushions.

 

Hand-carved quilt block magnets.

 

 

Handmade birdhouse.

  The Main Shop is also where Jenny Doan's 2023 Block of the Month Piecemaker quilt is on display.  (On a side note, I've signed up to participate in this program.  I hadn't envisioned the quilt to be as large as it is, but it is absolutely gorgeous in person.)

Jenny Doan's Piecemaker BOM Quilt

 

One of the quilts on display at the Main Shop.

There were several photo-taking opportunities to be had, as well.  My friend, Elizabeth and I couldn't resist posing with "flat Jenny", a life-sized image of Jenny Doan on display in the shop.  I also took a pretty decent selfie in front of one of the displayed quilts. :)

My friend, Elizabeth and I posing with "flat Jenny" at the Main Shop.

My selfie in front of one of the quilts on display.

 Near the front of the shop, the latest weekly tutorial is on display.  

The latest weekly tutorial is on display.

There's something really neat about this little town.  In one of the buildings, the staircase is colorfully painted with all sorts of positive quilting messages.  It's pretty neat.

The inspirational (and colorful!) quilter's staircase.

 In fact, positive quilting messages are located everywhere the eye can see, like here above one of the pattern walls:

 

Inspirational wall.

All of the shops had beautiful quilts on display. And, nearby, the patterns to make them.

One of the quilts on display at the MSQC.

One of the quilts on display at the MSQC.

One of the quilts on display at the MSQC.

One of the quilts on display at the MSQC.

 

Inside the Batik Boutique.

 One of the things I really adore about small towns is the street art/murals often on display there.  Quilt Town, USA was no exception.

Quilt mural on Main Street.

Mural located on the Main Shop building.

And certainly not to be outdone, Jenny and her girls' images grace the light poles located among Main Street, welcoming visitors to their little town.

Jenny and her girls' images grace the lamp posts located along Main Street.

Please join me next time for Part II of our road trip to the Missouri Star Quilt Company.