What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

The ancient peoples of the earth knew a lot about stars. 

Egyptians watched for Sirius’ predawn appearance to signal the annual flooding of the Nile. Polynesian navigators traversed the vast Pacific Ocean with nothing but the stars to guide them.  And the Maya used the movement of the heavens to create the most accurate calendar in the world. 

I, on the other hand, struggle to spot the Big Dipper. (But I sure can stitch up a pretty star quilt!)

This week, Jenny has created a celestial wonder of her own with jelly roll strips and a bit of yardage. The ...

In 1820 – for the very first time – thread was sold on spools. (Before that, it was skeins or hanks. Can you imagine the tangles?!)

The spools were made by a local woodturner, and the thread was wound by hand at the Clark Brothers’ factory in Paisley, Scotland. Like old fashioned soda bottles, these wooden spools came with an extra half-penny charge that was refunded when the empty spool was returned to the shop. My, how times have changed!

This week, Jenny is whipping up a homage to the magnificent spool with a brand new jelly roll quilt.

Spool Stars and ...

Mae Emma Plumb was a talented lady. 

She sewed and painted and baked excellent pies. She kept a lovely flower garden and volunteered countless hours crafting costumes and planning skits for the local Boy Scout troop. And, best of all, she made quilts. 

Years and years have passed – four generations, in fact – but by some magic, one of Mae’s quilts still exists. It belongs to Mae’s great-granddaughter Kate, our very own Missouri Star marketing manager.

Of course, when Jenny saw Grandma Mae’s antique quilt, she fell head-over-heels in love! She did a bit of research and found ...

I’ve never met a sunset I didn’t love. 

Big-city sunsets always impress, with skyscrapers silhouetted against a golden sky. Winter sunsets transform freshly-fallen snow into acres of pink cotton candy. 

But nothing compares to sunset on the lake. Those colors dance on rippling water, creating a light show like nothing on earth! 

This week Jenny is whipping up a Lakeview Terrace jelly roll quilt with colorful bargello chevrons that remind us of sunset-tipped waves. What a dream! 

Click HERE to watch the tutorial! 

This pattern is one of Moda Fabrics "Patterns To Share" as part of The Cutting Table. It is a simple, fast quilt to make and a great pattern to introduce new quilters to 2-1/2" strips. The printed pattern uses 32 strips or one Jelly Roll™ and the finished quilt is 48" x 60". The picture below uses 64 strips or about two Jelly Rolls™ and the finished quilt is 60" x 72".

Quilters on the American frontier were inspired by the world around them. They stitched up log cabins, rail fences, bear paws, and flying geese. And, of course, they stitched up windmills. 

You see, windmills dotted the Great Plains, pumping water from deep underground. When dry spells left the earth parched, a windmill could pump enough water to cook, bathe, wash, and water crops. Now that’s a quilt-worthy feat!

This week Jenny is whipping up a simple Breezy Windmills quilt using precut 2.5 inch strips. It’s a pretty jelly ...

I have settled on a layout for the scrappy black and white blocks made a couple of weeks ago.

It will be throw sized, about 54″ x 72″.

When Jenny Doan was a child, she lived in an idyllic little town called Spreckels, California. 

In the center of town stood a park circled by a wide sidewalk, the perfect canvas for chalk artists to create all sorts of interesting scenes: Fields of poppies, snow-capped mountains, coral reefs filled with rainbow-hued fish.

How she wished to hop right in – Mary Poppins style – to explore those magical worlds!

This week, Jenny is working on a Playground quilt that is as charming as that small-town park. It’s a beautiful jelly roll + layer cake pattern made with easy flying geese, square ...

Handy Andy is a traditional 19th century quilt block. It’s sometimes called Footstool or Mrs. Jones’ Favorite. And, truth be told, it’s ALWAYS made with bajillions of tiny pieces. (Bajillions!) 

But don’t worry! You can count on Jenny to make it easy!

Using 2.5 inch precut strips and our beloved Clearly Slotted Trimmers, Jenny whips up scores of little half-square triangles and hourglass blocks without breaking a sweat. Best of all, the leftover scraps become a piano-key border! 

We’re calling this charming jelly roll quilt Handy Dandy, but whatever the name, this pattern is an ...

Jenny is a rescuer of old, antique blocks. 

She sifts through stacks of orphan blocks at yard sales and antique shops, imagining the quilters who started – but never finished – so many years ago.

When Jenny spotted a long-forgotten Mother’s Choice block, she fell in love! And then…she used a sprinkling of Missouri Star magic to make that pattern new again!

Mother’s Choice Remake is a beautiful, simplified version of the old-fashioned Mother’s Choice. This pretty jelly roll quilt is made easy with half-square triangles, flying geese, snowballed corners, and – best of all – zero Y-seams! 

You may ...

In winter, quilts are for snuggling. We wrap them ‘round our shoulders like thick, cozy cocoons and pile them on our beds to stay toasty through the night.

But in summertime … those quilts take on a whole new life!

We carry them to picnics and t-ball games. We spread them out for fireworks and parades. They join us on camping trips and days at the beach. Summer is adventure time for quilts! 

This week Jenny is working on a brand new Summer Squares quilt. It’s a pretty jelly roll pattern based on one of our all-time favorites, Summer in ...

I used to be good about posting what was under my needle each month, but it's been a long time since I've had anything to share. However, I've been able to sneak in and out of my sewing room in small 5 minute increments. I'm still cooking for the crew, but we've eliminated breakfasts for them and that frees up some time. I may still cook breakfast for them on occasion when we brand, but in all

Did you know? The world’s biggest spool of thread is located right here in Hamilton, Missouri! It’s 22 feet tall, 8 feet wide, and wrapped with ONE MILLION yards of thread. Come for a visit, and you can add a few yards of your own!

Jenny’s Design

It’s no secret we love thread, so our newest Triple Play tutorial is all about spools! We’re using charm packs, layer cakes, and 2.5 inch strips to create big spools, little spools, and everything in between! Fun fact: Jenny’s larger-than-life spool quilt pattern is actually a ...

The closest star in the night sky is about 25 trillion miles away, give or take. If you plan to visit, be sure to pack a lunch; it will take 75,000 years to arrive. Of course, if you’re short on time, you can create your own gorgeous stars at home!

This week Jenny is stitching together a breathtaking star quilt made with jelly rolls and the Missouri Star Equilateral 60 Degree Triangle Ruler. 

This pattern produces very little waste, and the bits of extra are used to make a fun, pieced strip for the back of the quilt!

Wow, my third Friday Finish post in a row! It is so nice to get a few things completed. This week I finished January Stars, so named because I started this quilt in January and I’m terrible at picking names.

January Stars is the second iteration of this quilt. This first one is pretty boring because I used boring scraps. Quilting will do wonders for this quilt, though, so eventually, it will be finished. It was way more fun to work with the happy, bright fabrics on gray winter days.

Going back even further, the quilt was inspired by ...

That pile of scraps has become two baby quilts.

They are about 35″ x 37″. And it is fun to see them side by side.

They still need quilting, but soon…

Is this something you would like a tutorial for?

This Desert Peaks quilt began back in 2017 on Sew a Jelly Roll Day. I like to hand stitch binding while watching TV in the evening and found this quilt all ready to go. I thought I would have my Ombre Stars ready to quilt but it is taking forever. There is a stash of quilts ready for binding so I always have something when I need a quick finish.

The fabric is a Moda jelly roll from the “Desert Blooms” line by Sherry and Chelsi. The background is a Bella solid.

This is a super simple quilt to make ...

The bits and pieces of a jelly roll project are continuing to take shape.

Into a coin quilt…

I am pleased so far. The frame gives a distinctive look.

And helps to hide tiny differences in the width of the strips.