My trip to Missouri Star

We arrived in Hamilton in the afternoon, and I was able to go to a few of the quilt shops before we left for dinner. 

We spent two night in this beautiful bed and breakfast. The first day and night, we were there all by ourselves.  We woke up in the morning and our hostess Terri had a lovely breakfast waiting for us. This is the front of the house.

This is the side back of the house.  The floors were creaky because it was old, but everything was in outstanding shape!  The carpet was very soft, and the bathrooms were so well done! We were so comfortable there.  The second night, another couple arrived, but we never heard them and didn't meet them until the morning at breakfast. Terri was a wonderful host! She doesn't live at the house anymore, they have a beautiful home in the country, about 20 minutes away.

One side of the street had these shops. There are 16 total shops, each one having its own theme.

These are the shops on the other side of the street. Jenny and Ron Dean were struggling to raise their 7 or 8 children and make ends meet.  Their son Alan suggested that Jenny get a long arm machine and start quilting people's quilts to make money. Their house wasn't large enough for a long arm, so they rented a small shop. I should say that the population of Hamilton is only 1800 and hasn't grown in years. Alan also got his mom to do a YouTube channel with tutorials. They began with a few bolts of fabric. Jenny has a magnanimous and great personality, so people loved her tutorials. She found her own way to make quilt blocks which was a simplified way.  Slowly, they started to grown and now I think they said they employ 500 people. They have also become millionaires with all their hard work and dedication.

Missouri Star just celebrated their 16th year. I love all the painted murals on the walls. 

I bought some fabric, doesn't take long for the tab to grow!  The fabric was $11.95 per yard, and there was some sale fabric too.

I loved this staircase!  It led me to one of my favorite areas, the halloween and modern and children sections.

This shop was so unique!  It was all designed and laid out like a grocery store, so cute!  Fabric Market :) 

All of the notions were separated and sold by color.

This section had colored fabric, it was all Riley Blake.

I loved this button and clip bar too!

Jenny and her husband Ron are leaving this week for a two year church mission in northwest Africa. There have been lots of teary farewells.  Jenny says that she will only miss on Birthday Bash! Her daughter Natalie and daughter in law Misty will keep the YouTube tutorials going and Jenny said that next year's Birthday Bash will be better than ever!

I'm very grateful to my husband for taking me to Missouri Star. He was very patient and supportive of me. I love him dearly :)

My Quilt Retreat

I went on a four day quilt retreat with these lovely ladies ❤️

We had a lot of fun! Lots of sewing, talking, laughing and eating!

I made Reindeer Xing by Lella Boutique. I was sewing like mad to get the blocks done.  I think in the future when I bring a cut quilt project to a retreat, I will sew a few blocks before the retreat.  It would be less stressful to not be in such a big rush :)

I made binding pincushions for my gift for everyone, along with two binding clips that color coordinated, and a little pair of scissors.  I had a lot of fun making them!

See you next week ❤️

The Power of a Quilt

• I am very particular about who I give a quilt to......they take so much time to make, I put so much love into them, and they cost a lot of money!  So far, I've only given my quilts to family, because I love them and they know what it takes for me to make a quilt. I became friends with a lovely lady about 6 years ago.  She was bedridden, had two types of cancer and was always in extreme pain. When I visited her, I always left so much happier.  She always lifted my spirits. I kept wondering what I could do for her. The thought came to me to give her a quilt. I chose the yellow one because it was cheery and sunshiny. Time passed and I would visit less often. I felt badly, because it was a huge effort for her to get up. One day recently, she went to the emergency room by ambulance. I went to visit her there with my son and daughter in law who were also her friends. A week later, she was home and hadn't eaten in seven days. I went with my son to see her, she was deep asleep from medication, and expected to pass away. I took her hand in mine and told her that every time I visited her, I felt like I was in the presence of angels. I told her I loved her. The next day she returned home to her Heavenly Father. I went to her memorial and went to the front of the chapel to give her husband a hug.  When I looked up, I saw the quilt I made for her, draped over the pulpit. I was filled with emotion! Tears welled up in my eyes and I couldn't speak. Her family told me that she  loved the quilt I made of her and always had it with her. When she passed, her husband kept hugging the quilt, almost like that was all he had left of her, in his emotional state. Various family and friends thanked me for making the quilt for her, it made her so happy and that's all she talked about. I didn't realize a quilt could give someone so much comfort and have so much power.

I hope you enjoyed this story, it really touched my heart ❤️

Doll Clothes

 I made some doll clothes for Sabrina's 3rd birthday.  It's a lot of fun making 18" doll clothes. They're not too tiny and all have velcro to close the backs instead of zippers, buttons or snaps.  

I use these patterns when they go on sale at Joann's Fabric store.

I may make her some more clothes when she's four if she really loves them and still plays with her dolls 💗

I've made lots of doll clothes, here are some that I made for Lucy.

I made these clothes for Izzy's doll.

I made these clothes for Charlotte's doll and here too!

Clothes for Kennedy's doll.

An incredible fashion show for Kennedy's doll ❤️

I bet there are still more doll clothes in my future! Thanks for following me and see you again next week.

Boo! quilt pattern

I went on a four day quilt retreat in Scottsdale, an hour from my home.

I had this quilt all cut out, and about 9 of the ghosts done.  Even so, I finished the quilt just in time for our show and tell.  I love it! It was so much fun choosing the fabric from my stash, I even had the orange print :) 

The ladies in the pink shirts were in my group. Each morning we had a delicious complimentary breakfast at the hotel and then we went to the ballroom to sew, sew, sew! I love seeing what everyone is working on.

There were over 40 women at the retreat, they're all such nice ladies.

Thanks for following, and see you next week!

Maileg mice

I discovered Maileg mice about a year ago and fell in love ❤️

They are made in Denmark and can be found online too.

I am gaining a collection, my family have gifted some of them to me for my birthday! I decided to make little Hallowe'en costumes for my mice.

I made this teeny dress, it was a little difficult, and made a glittery cape and witch hat. She's a nice witch!

I made a little ghost dress :)

This little guy is my favorite ❤️

I had some time on my hands and was so happy with these little costumes that I was able to make! 

Thanks for following, I'll see you next week!

Birthday banner

I've made over 30 of these fun birthday cake blocks!  It's designed by Lori Holt and she designed it to celebrate the first anniversary of her first quilt book, Quilty Fun.

You can see the post on her blog here. 

You can find the free block at Fat Quarter Shop here.

I add an extra 4" at the bottom of my block and appliqué 3" letters at the bottom. Then I add a 2 l/2" border around the whole thing. I outline the entire cake, plate and bow and then do staple quilting around it.

Here's a closeup, the background fabric looks like sprinkles :)

Here's Sabrina who will be 3 years old in a couple of weeks. Isn't she the cutest?

The banner idea is that it's put in a prominent place during the child's birthday month, so they can know that they are special!

Take a look at Riley's birthday banner.

Here is Kylie's, she's 11 years old now!

Here is Taylor's.

Here's a tutorial and Reagan's.

Here is Bridger's and Maisie's.

Here is Paisley's.

Here is Rebecca's and Isabel's.

Here is Charlotte's.

Here is Jacob's.

Here is Neo's.

That's about all I can find, but you see that I've made so many of them! Truthfully, I love choosing the fabric for them from my scraps, usually. They're fun to make for my children and grandchildren!  

Thanks for following and see you next week ❤️