What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

The string quilt I've been working on for the last couple years is finally finished!

When you make the Serendipity Infinity quilt, you’ll end up with scraps. 

You can use those scraps to make a pretty table runner. But guess what? You’ll still have scraps. Make another table runner, and still, more scraps. Keep sewing!

When all is said and done, you’ll have a beautiful quilt + up to NINE table runners to use as gifts! Is it a Christmas miracle? Nope! It’s Serendipity Infinity!

It’s simple geometry:

When the 3 Doan gals whip up 3 new quilts using the Equilateral 60 Degree Triangle Ruler, the result is infinite fabulosity!

Natalie’s Design: Mountain Magic

First, Natalie fussy-cuts fabric panels to create a modern masterpiece featuring mountains, trees, and woodland creatures on every block.

Jenny’s Design: Hexi Stacks

Next, Jenny pieces intricate, overlapping hexis using holiday jelly roll strip sets—with enough left over for TWO bonus table runners.

Misty’s Design: Grandma Etta’s Stars

Finally, Misty uses a beautiful floral layer cake to recreate an heirloom triangle star quilt made by ...

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 ...

Quilters find inspiration everywhere we look. 

We see quilts in old tile floors. We see quilts in stained glass windows. We even see quilts in patchwork fields of wheat and corn.

This week, Jenny is stitching up a new layer cake quilt inspired by childhood memories of the California Coast. 

You see, when Jenny was a little girl, her family loved to visit the beach at Santa Cruz. Even now she can picture that beautiful boardwalk stretched across the sand like long, pieced strips.

Click HERE to learn how to whip up this show-stopping strip quilt with quick and easy ...

In 1899, an unknown quilter began stitching fabric scraps on a paper foundation. Alas, the quilt was never finished. (It happens to us all!) The incomplete top is on display at the Virginia Quilt Museum, and the paper is still intact.

Candy Lane

Can you guess what that paper foundation is made of? Old letters! I’d sure love to inspect those tiny bits of history!

Skyward

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 ...

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 ...

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!

Hexagon quilts can be tricky, but they don’t have to be! Simply grab your favorite jelly roll strips and our brand new 60 Degree Triangle Ruler. Almost like magic, those six-sided beauties come together in a flash—no Y-seams required!

This quilt would dazzle with any 2.5 inch strips, but we sure love Jenny’s choice of Linework and Designer Solids by Tula Pink for FreeSpirit Fabrics. It’s bright, cheery, and oh so fresh! Click HERE to watch the tutorial!

2020 has been rough. Too much division. Too much loneliness and distress. Too much heartache. But when the world seems to fall apart, we quilters stitch it back together.

“Through Love” is a quick and easy jelly roll pattern with a powerful message: LOVE. It was created by Allie Perry of Taren Studios who says, “We are all connected through love, and when we come together, we can create something beautiful.” 

As you work on this simple strip set quilt, I hope it brings healing and peace to your heart. Click HERE to watch the tutorial!

When Suzy Snowflake comes tap, tap, tappin’ at your windowpane, how do you react? 

Do you welcome winter with open arms or do you wrap up in your thickest quilt and “hibernate” ‘til spring?

Do you curse each icy flake, or do you set up the Christmas tree and drink peppermint cocoa for breakfast, lunch, and dinner?

Love it or hate it, winter is on its way, and Jenny has just the quilt to get you in the mood:

The Snowball Star is a quick and easy jelly roll pattern. We’re using Ombre Snowflake Metallic strips, and every block ...

In 2008, the Doan kids asked Jenny to film her first-ever quilt tutorial. Her response? “What’s a tutorial??” 

12 years later, Jenny’s videos have been viewed 200 million times and the Missouri Star community has spread across the globe!  And you know what? It’s all because of you! 

From Iran to Australia to small-town America, we are “Sew Inspired” by your creativity and love! 

And so, on our 12th birthday, we are stitching up the sweetest little sewing machine blocks out of jelly roll strips. It’s a quick and easy project to celebrate us all!! Click ...

They say there’s more than one way to skin a cat. (Ew, right?) I prefer to say there’s more than one way to set quilt blocks on point!

Last week Jenny taught one quick and easy way to set a quilt on point; this week, she’s demonstrating another simple method! 

She starts with an easy-peasy bear paw block and stitches it up with setting triangles. It’s the perfect pattern for your favorite 2.5 inch strips, and it comes together like a dream! Click HERE to watch the tutorial!

Would you like to make a diamond? Here is my recipe: Add 725,000 pounds of pressure to ¾ cup pure carbon. Bake at 2000° for one million years. That’s it!

Pro tip: If you’re short on time, stick with fabric diamonds! 

Jenny’s Rhombus Gemstones quilt is made with yardage, 2.5 inch strips, and the Missouri Star Large Rhombus Template. This pretty pattern is quick, easy, and absolutely dazzling!

How does the poem go? “A quilting tool with many uses is a joy forever!”

The Binding Tool was invented for bindings, but that’s not all it can do! (Jenny has an entire collection of Binding Tool quilt tutorials HERE!)

This week Jenny has whipped up yet another Binding Tool masterpiece! Starstruck is a gorgeous pattern with big star blocks made out of 2.5 inch strips. Click HERE to watch the video!

Have you ever admired a stained-glass window and thought, “That’d make a great quilt block!” 

We quilters find inspiration everywhere we look! We see quilt blocks in the facets of sparkling diamonds. We see quilt blocks in patchwork fields of wheat and corn. And this week’s new quilt was inspired by…a tile floor!

Click HERE to learn how to transform 2.5 inch strips of fabric into the fabulous Tile Style quilt!

Life on the American frontier was hard. There were prairies to tame, trees to fell, and fences to build. There was butter to churn, laundry to scrub, and water to fetch.  

Despite such labor-filled days, those resourceful pioneer women found ways to whip up easy patterns like the Log Cabin block. These simple, pretty quilts were used not only as bed coverings, but as windows, room dividers, and doors, too!

This week Jenny is working on a Simple Log Cabin with a traditional red center square to represent the heart of the home—the hearth.  Click HERE to learn how ...