Missouri Star Quilt Company Visit + Quilt Tutorial

This past winter, I was contacted by the Missouri Star Quilt Company to see if I’d be interested in re-creating one of Jenny Doan’s past quilt tutorials from the MSQC YouTube channel. I’m a fan of Jenny and it sounded fun. Today I’m sharing the quilt I chose to re-boot – the Missouri Star block. (Duh! What else would I choose?) You can read more about the quilt, my fabric choices, and get a link to the original video tutorial on the Missouri Star blog.

When I accepted the opportunity and scheduled the post for May, little did I think that I would get to visit the whole Missouri Star Quilt Company live  and in person before I wrote this post!

As I mentioned in my Spring Break wrap-up, our family took a trip through the mid-west – including a drive across Missouri. I knew that the MSQC was in a little town in Missouri, but didn’t realize until days before we left that we’d be driving right past that little town, Hamilton.

I contacted Sarah, one of Jenny’s daughters, to let her know that we were passing through and I’d love to say hi. She told me where to stop first and when I walked into a building used mostly as an office, there was Jenny herself, sewing away. You know how surreal it is to walk in on a real, live person that you’ve watched on a screen multiple times? Well, that is exactly how it felt.

Jenny and another daughter Natalie ended up taking me on a grand tour of all of the shops, restaurants, offices, warehouse, and retreat center. It was just amazing to see how a quilting business could take over the whole main street in downtown Hamilton, Missouri. Did you know they have 11 individual stores on Main Street. Some of the shops are connected to each other, some are across the street. You can see the whole list of shops here. 

Each store has it’s own theme such as Reproductions, Batiks, Licensed (think sports teams and cartoon characters), machines and notions, and extra-wide backings. Above is the MSQC Kids and Baby store. Here’s a glimpse of a few more of them.

Missouri Star Modern

MSQC Floral Shop – all floral fabrics and collections

This shop is called Penney’s Quilt Shop and contains all basics, mostly in solids, including Cuddle fabric. It’s housed in an old JC Penney store, hence the name.

Check out this amazing space above the Penney Quilt Shop – this is what a lot of the spaces looked like before MSQC restored them. So much beautiful natural light and amazing architectural detail and potential. Even the original metal ceiling tiles.

I also got a tour of the Sewing Center – a whole building set up for sewing retreats complete with a kitchen, sewing tables and lots of bedrooms. Little Hamilton has become a quilting destination with people coming from all over the world. The planning and details of the retreat center were so well thought out. (I especially liked that I would have my own bed. 😉 ) The center is in use constantly with upcoming trunk shows and retreats scheduled months out.

Another genius addition was a storefront called Man’s Land. This was outfitted with leather recliners, a pool table, a tv, magazines, and vending machines. (and a bathroom).  This is where all husbands (and children) can comfortably kill time while their favorite quilter visits all 11 quilt shops. 🙂 I’m just sayin’. My own dearly beloved ones were very glad of this space and it definitely bought me a lot more time to look around.

We also partook of the restaurants MSCQ has brought to town including the Burger shop and the Bakery. (Sweet rolls from the Bakery were another very helpful bribe/reward for patient behavior.)

So there’s just a glimpse of the many quilty sights and wonders to behold in Hamilton, Missouri! It’s become a quilting mecca. If you ever get the chance to go, do it!

PS: Can you find the hidden Missouri Star quilt blocks in the two pictures above?

And if you’re now inspired to create some big Missouri Star quilt blocks of your own, check out the link to the tutorial and more pictures and steps of my project on the MSQC blog. I’m so pleased with how this quilt turned out.

I’m kind of a sucker for large, graphic star blocks. I’m definitely making this pattern again, only this time making a bigger quilt! The cool quilting was done by Melissa of Sew Shabby Quilting. Thanks Melissa! I used 100% cotton batting. I’ve since washed the quilt to make it all soft and wrinkly. It’s perfect for naps or picnics or lacrosse games. (I even used it for my Sunday afternoon nap yesterday.) Can’t wait to carry it around all summer.