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Precuts are often a struggle for me. I like the concept, and I know there are a lot of patterns out there, but opening them up and getting started is the hardest step.

Until I find the right idea: Road Home Snuggle Quilt.

If you have a layer cake looking for an idea, here it is.

This is a make-in-a-day quilt, and a nice size (54″ x 63″), and a fun look.

The minkee on the back just makes it even more of a snuggle. I am so pleased with how it turned out. And I have another layer cake ...

From time to time I buy a jelly roll but don’t have a particular pattern in mind to use it. Sometimes I will cut it up and make a “choose your own adventure” quilt. For these quilts, I piece some strips together, make some nine-patches, then piece the parts together into vertical rows with sashing between them. 

I wondered if this freestyle technique would work with a layer cake since I had one with no plan in mind. This Portsmouth line of fabric with its soft patriotic colors and nautical theme is so pretty. It is the same fabric ...

Take one stack of 10" fabric squares and a little extra yardage for borders and you can make this beautiful quilt in no time. The quilt finishes approx. 65" x 73".

The layer cake used in this quilt was from the Wovens Collection by Bonnie and Camile from Moda Fabrics. 

Fabric

• 42 @ 10" squares, coordinating or scrappy
• 1/3 yd for inner border, sub cut to 6 @ 1-1/2" x WOF
• 1-1/2 yds for outer border, sub cut to 8 @ 6-1/2" x WOF
• 2/3 yd for binding, sub cut to 8 @ 2-1/2" x WOF

This quilt finishes about 65" x 78" and is made using 5" squares. You can use packages of 5" charm squares, cut your own squares or use fat quarters. This is a great scrappy quilt.

The pattern is a free download from Moda Fabrics and the link is at the end of this article. Here is the video I prepared for this quilt.

When going through my scrap fabric or after finishing a project, I use my AccuQuilt cutter to cut 5" and 10" squares. I can use the 5" charm squares and 10" layer cake squares to make many ...

Jenny Doan’s family tree is stitched with needle and thread. 

Look back two generations, and you’ll find a pair of great aunts, master seamstresses who traveled from Sweden to work for the acclaimed New York artist, George Inness. 

They stitched and saved to pay passage to America for the entire family–including Jenny’s grandmother, who was just seven years old at the time. 

Jenny says, “When I see these spools, I am reminded that sewing is part of my genetic makeup; it changed our family forever!” 

This week, Jenny is stitching up a beautiful Big Spools quilt ...

Burano is a tiny Italian island known for handmade lace and sherbet-hued homes. 

Why were those little houses painted aqua, lavender, and cotton-candy pink? According to legend…it was to help tipsy fishermen find their way home! 

This week, the Doan girls are stitching up 3 new Drunkard’s Path quilts, and they’re just as colorful and charming as the streets of Burano! 

Watch the latest Triple Play tutorial to learn how to transform layer cakes and charm packs into Drunkard’s Path quilts that are quick, easy, and “sew” much fun!

Every year when the weather turns cold, the peacock butterfly finds a cozy bed inside a hollow tree. There she naps for months at a time, with her wings wrapped around her body like a quilt. 

At the first sign of spring she emerges, wonderfully refreshed and ready to flutter!  (Add a tiny sewing machine and a stack of pretty precuts, and I’d call that the perfect winter!)

This week Jenny is stitching up a new butterfly quilt using a border print and layer cake from the beautiful Elysian collection by Jason Yenter for In the Beginning Fabrics. 

She ...

On live TV in 1956, magician P.C. Sorcar began to “saw” his wife in half. Suddenly, the host signed off and the program went dark!

Viewers across the country assumed the worst. (Something went wrong! The poor woman was dead!) But the truth was much less gory: The live broadcast had simply run out of time. How’s that for an illusion falling flat!

This week, Jenny has a trick up her sleeve that’ll earn you big “oohs” and “ahhs” without a single hiccup!

“Wallah!” – or voilà – is a magical layer cake quilt pattern from Material Girlfriends. With ...

If you wish upon a star, your dreams might come true…but be ready for a wait!

The closest star is 26 trillion miles away. That starlight magic won’t reach the earth for 4+ years! (If my calculations are correct, wishes from 2017 are just starting to arrive!)

Of course, if you’re short on time, you can whip up your own lucky stars in a jiffy! 

The Brightly star quilt was designed by Allison Harris for Cluck Cluck Sew. It’s a stunning layer cake pattern that is timeless and modern all at once.

(Watch to the end ...

Mamie Irene Crisp met a handsome young Coast Guardsman in 1942, just as the U.S. entered the war. In 1945, they were married.

For 55 years, Jack and Irene traveled the country in their motorhome, stopping at fishing holes all along the way. They wowed friends and family with their jitterbug skills. They adored their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. And then, in 2000, Irene was lost to Alzheimer’s Disease.  

Alzheimer’s Awareness Month is a tender time for Jenny. You see, Irene was her beloved mother-in-law. This year, Jenny has created a beautiful new quilt in Irene’s ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

In the olden days, tumbler quilts were often made with scraps gathered from friends and neighbors. A bit of paisley from Aunt Maude. A stripe or two from Granny.  A pretty toile from Jane next door.

Four Patch Tumbler

These quilts represented community and the magic of sisterhood. It’s little wonder they came to be called “charm quilts!”

Patchwork Tumbler

For this month’s Triple ...

A while ago I received a comment from a reader inquiring about this quilt top:This is my Farmer's Market quilt top that I posted about when I listed the quilts I hoped to complete this year. Sue wrote:Anonymous said:I absolutely love your blog. Your life on the ranch is so interesting and I look forward to each new post. Could you answer a question for me? On your Farmer's Market quilt (see your

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 ...

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 ...