Road Trip to Missouri Star Quilt Company - Part II

A rainbow of every color you can imagine! The Kona solid fabric line.

 

 In my last post, I mentioned that there are 12 themed shops in Quilt Town, USA.  The shop that houses solid fabrics is called Penney's Quilt Shop. The actual building did originally house a J.C. Penney store a very long time ago.  The Missouri Star Quilt Company decided to keep the Penney name as a nod to this historic building.

In the picture above, Kona solid fabrics (hundreds of them!) grace the far wall of the shop.  I wanted to find a solid yellow color to match an English Paper Piecing project I am working on.  There was a vast array of yellow shades to choose from and I was able to find a yellow shade that was a close match to what I needed.  There are other brands of solid fabrics available for sale, as well.

Even though I typically don't make quilts using just solid colors, I saw a gorgeous pink quilt on display in the shop that I fell in love with.  The pattern used to make the quilt is called "Confetti" and it uses 12 solid-colored fat quarters in like colors.   I purchased the pattern and the quilting template needed to make it during my visit. I absolutely couldn't resist.

The Confetti quilt pattern.

 

Another view inside the Penney Quilt Shop.

Another shop we visited was the Florals shop.  This shop houses popular fabric lines by designers such as Kaffe Fassett, Lori Holt and Tone Finnangar of "Tilda" fame.  There are several vintage children's sewing machines on display there. (They were simply adorable!)  

The Florals Shop on Main Street.

Inside the Florals shop at the Tilda display.

Some of the vintage children's sewing machines on display.

Vintage child's sewing machine.

Vintage child's sewing machine.

Vintage child's sewing machine packaging.

Each shop has its own personality and the decor is geared to the complement the theme.  Most shops have comfortable sitting areas for shoppers and/or their weary companions to rest for awhile. 

A cheery yellow chair and bright quilt in the Modern fabrics shop.

The sitting area in the Penney Quilt Shop.

Another sitting area in the Penney Quilt Shop.

There is quaint, old-timey decor in the Seasonal Shop.

Inside the Seasonal Shop.

Inside the Seasonal Shop.

Inside Penney's Quilt Shop.

In the event you are on the fence about visiting the Missouri Star Quilt Shop, go!  It's such a unique experience that can't be found anywhere else.

On the way home, we stopped for dinner at a little barbecue restaurant in Kansas City.

We stopped in Kansas City for dinner on the way home.

By the time I got home, I was pretty tired, but happy.  We packed a lot of fun into our road trip, which lasted a good 18 hours.  It was worth every waking moment of the experience.

I'll be heading to the American Quilter's Society (AQS) Quilt Show in Branson in the coming days.  I'm so excited!  I'll be blogging about the show here soon, so please check back.

Until next time,

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.

Throwback Thursday - Double Irish Chain Quilt

 

Irish Chain Quilt - Detail

This lovely Double Irish Chain quilt was one that I began working on in the early 2000's.  The top was completed with reproduction depression fabrics and then it sat for over a decade before it was truly finished. Raija Salomaa performed the longarm quilting with a beautiful feather stitch.

And finally - I gave it to my daughter as a Christmas present in 2015. It was going to be hers all along.

Irish Chain Quilt Detail (pre-quilting)

Irish Chain Quilt (pre-quilting)

Irish Chain Quilt (pre-quilting)

The Completed Quilt

Quilting Detail

 

Quilting Detail

Christmas, 2015 - My daughter, Bri and her quilt.

I have a few other unfinished quilts in my midst that need to be completed.  How about you?  How many UFO's do you have in your midst?  (No judgment here! LOL)

Until next time,

Antique Store Find -Vintage 1940's Girl Quilt

 

Four block view.

Hello, there!  I don't know about you, but one thing I am always thrilled to find are unique vintage quilts when wandering around antique stores.  (Especially if I can buy them at a low price.)

I purchased this adorable 1940's quilt recently.  It features sweet little girls dressed in typical feedsack fabrics of the time.  Each one was hand-embroidered.  Other than a small stain on one of the blocks, the quilt is in pristine condition.  I'm definitely chalking this up to a great find.

1940's Girl Quilt

Four block view.

Detail pic.

Detail pic.

Detail pic.

Detail pic.

Aren't these little girls adorable?  They represent a simpler, more innocent time. I think that is what I really love about them.

Until next time,