What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

Quilters love a classic and there are few blocks more classic than a Disappearing Nine Patch! In this incredibly simple Vintage Jenny tutorial, Jenny Doan demonstrates how to stitch up this easy block using Charm Packs. First you’ll use your 5″ squares of precut quilting fabric to create a giant nine patch (which is just as simple as sewing nine squares together) and after that, you’ll use your ruler and rotary cutter to quarter your middle square. Flip those squares around and just like that, you’ve created a Disappearing Nine Patch!

Needing some more inspiration to create ...

If you catch an Autumn leaf as it falls to the ground, good things are in store! 

Jenny’s Design: Fall Festival I & II

According to British superstition, you’ll avoid head colds all winter long. Even better, each leaf caught brings a full month of luck in the year to come! (If you spot me chasing leaves in the park, don’t be alarmed! I need all the luck I can get!) 

Misty’s Design: Happy Harvest

In this month’s Triple Play tutorial, the Doan gals are stitching up cozy Autumn quilts based on the Lovely Leaves quilt ...

There once was a mischievous fellow named Stingy Jack, or so says the old Irish myth. 

The Devil – who had been tricked by Jack one too many times – didn’t want him, and heaven wouldn’t take him. So when he died, Jack was consigned to roam the earth forever with a lantern carved out of a turnip. Over time, he became known as Jack of the Lantern or, Jack O’Lantern. 

For hundreds of years, Irish folk carved spooky faces on turnips and potatoes to repel the ghost of Stingy Jack. Later, when Irish immigrants arrived in America, they ...

Halloween is just around the corner and this year when you’re doing your shopping, keep more than just the Trick-or-Treaters in mind! Thanks to Jenny’s creativity, you can take all of those old candy wrappers and bags and create a one-of-a-kind gift (or fun little project for yourself!) using no more than the wrappers, a little scrap fabric and batting, a zipper and some Heat N Bond Iron-on Vinyl!

Supplies Needed

One Empty Candy Wrapper (A Fat Quarter also works great!)

One Package of Fusible Fleece 45″x60 ...

Jenny Doan loves to quilt everywhere she goes: In the studio. On the couch. In waiting rooms and on long drives. (Can you relate?) Life is more fun with a needle and thread in tow!

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Jenny has whipped up a quilt-as-you-go heart quilt using fat quarters and the fabulous Jewel Template. Best of all, these pretty hearts can be sewn by machine or by hand! 

Jewel Heart is a great project for long waits and nervous energy, and it makes such a sweet gift, too!

Book lovers, rejoice! Studies show that reading isn’t just fun—it’s good for your health, too! 

A regular date with a good book can reduce your chances of Alzheimer’s by 2.5 times, reduce stress, exercise your brain, and even extend your lifespan! In other words, a well-stocked library is like a real-life fountain of youth!

This week, Jenny is whipping up a bookcase quilt filled with books of all colors and sizes. She used a gorgeous Kaffe Classics Prims layer cake, but this bookshelf quilt is just begging to be customized with your prettiest scraps and ...

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 ...

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 ...

Picture this: You are relaxing next to a desert campfire. Rocky cliffs and towering saguaros are silhouetted by a fire-red sunset. The scent of sagebrush floats in the cool, evening air. You wrap a quilt around your shoulders and listen for the call of a distant coyote.

Of course, such an idyllic moment demands a carefully chosen quilt—and we’ve got just the thing!

Boho Blooms is a beautiful Southwestern quilt pattern inspired by the classic Squash Blossom. It comes together quickly with layer cake squares and snowballed corners. Best of all, Jenny turns the scraps into a pretty ...

If you love cats, you’re in good company!

Catherine the Great kept up to 300 cats inside her Winter Palace.

Florence Nightingale’s personal writings are dotted with the inky paw prints of her feline companions.

Itty Bitty Kitty Committee

And Abraham Lincoln took his cats to live at the White House, where Tabby was fed with a golden fork during a formal dinner with visiting dignitaries, and Dixie was declared to be “smarter than my whole cabinet!”

Cats in the Window

Of course, here at Missouri Star, we love cats so much, we can’t stop quilting them ...

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! 

A butterfly is the pickiest of guests. 
Invite her for brunch, and she won’t eat a bite—unless you serve her favorite food. (Milkweed for monarchs; white cedar for hairstreaks.)

On evening strolls, the weather must be perfect. If it’s too chilly, your fluttery friend will simply stop, drop, and nap. 

And no matter how lovely the guest room, it won’t tempt Miss Butterfly. Oh, she may request a posh butterfly house. But rest assured she’ll never step inside.

This week Jenny is stitching up a layer cake butterfly quilt fit for a queen. She’s ...

Have you noticed? Gnomes have taken the world by storm, and we couldn’t be more pleased! 

The BIGGEST gnome in the world stands 26 feet tall in Saanich, Canada. (His hat is the size of a family tent!)

The largest COLLECTION of gnomes resides in Devon, UK. (Human visitors to the woodland reserve wear pointy hats to blend in with the 2000+ gnomes. True story!) 

And the most ADORABLE gnomes are found right HERE in Jenny’s new quilt tutorial! 

We’re using Hello Melly’s “You Gnome I Love You” quilt pattern to whip up little layer cake ...

You asked and we delivered! In our Handmade Holidays pictures, there are cute little ornaments that you were curious about. We heard your requests and we’re showing you how to make them! From Ali, our visual merchandiser, here are the instructions on how to make these cute paper ornaments.

Supplies Needed:

Old book, paper of your choice.

Hot glue gun

Scissors

Sizzix machine or something to create circles. The bottom of a cup could work as a template.

Twine or string of your choice

Hold onto your Santa hat, folks!

We’re celebrating Christmas in July with 3 festive quilts + 3 bonus projects made with our brand new Wing Template!

Christmas Tree Farm

Of course, these pretty new layer cake patterns would shine in any season, but we’ve added a sprinkling of Christmas magic with holiday fabric and machine quilting stitch patterns featuring snowflakes, jingle bells, and Christmas lights!

Layered Diamonds

Best of all, each of these quilts ...

Signature quilts – or friendship quilts – first became popular in the 1840s. Sometimes they were used as sentimental wedding gifts. Sometimes they honored a beloved teacher or minister. And sometimes, they were carried across the plains by pioneer women as a reminder of dear friends left behind. 

These quilts were so cherished, many have survived the generations and can be found in hope chests and museums even today.

This week, Jenny is making her own family signature quilt. It’s adorned with hand-written names of all the Doan kids and grandkids, and I have a feeling this pretty quilt will become ...

You probably know John Adams as a Founding Father of the United States. But did you know he was also a fantastic party planner? It’s true! (Well, kinda…)

When independence was officially declared, John Adams wrote: “[This day] will be the most memorable in the history of America. It ought to be [celebrated] with pomp and parade, games, sports, and [fireworks] forever more.” His 4th of July plans were so much fun, we’ve celebrated John Adams-style for 245 years! 

But there’s just one thing Mr. Adams forgot: Quilts! Every good holiday needs quilts!

This week, Jenny is ...

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 ...

Summer is just around the corner, so don’t leave your creativity behind as you embark on your summer vacations! Just because quilting is often seen as a home-based activity, that doesn’t mean there aren’t projects that you can work on from the road. Even if you don’t enjoy bringing your work with you, take the time to immortalize your summer travels with a brand new Summer Travel Project!

From Destination Panels from Riley Blake to the Road Trip quilt from Missouri Star, we’ve gathered some of ...

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