Missouri, and Missouri Star!

Huzzah, finally made it to my first shop, in Missouri!! And here’s the kicker: my very first non-regional shop was the Missouri Star Quilt Co! How awesome is that?! It was an extended bday present from my hubby. We had to take an extra-long driving break and a cab ride from St. Joseph to get there. It wasn’t very logical or cost-efficient, but it’s the MSQC! It was just too perfect, especially as a bday present.

 So yeah, I’m 21 now! Ordered myself 3 girly drinks and I got a free shot at the bar that we went to last night, and I handled it like a boss. No hangover, and I didn’t even get drunk. Just a tad tipsy =P Everyone there was awesome, which was nice since we had to walk an hour to find an open bar.

Anywho! With Missouri Star, there were actually 5 total quilt shops in a span of a block or two. There was the main shop, the Merchantile shop (which specialized in civil war/1930’s reproduction fabrics), the Solid shop (which had tons of solids, polka spots, and chevrons – as well as all their Minky fabric), the Seasonal shop (which had all their seasonal fabrics along with fabric for every holiday), and the Batik shop – which, unfortunately, I was unable to visit because it’s currently still under construction. If I had been here just a week later, they would’ve been done! But beggars can’t be choosers, and those 4 stores were still fantastic to peruse.

To start, the main shop. This one had all sorts of fabrics, and while I did take a few pics, I really didn’t take enough to capture the whole store. They had a wall of Batiks here, so I still got my Batik fix. 

 

I was also very good about spending money, and only got a few ½ yd cuts! I couldn’t resist the ones I did buy. They were my absolute favorite color combo AND they were metallic! Best of both worlds! All of them except the purple one on the end, which I loved for other reasons =P 

And I also got this Helen’s Garden jelly roll, which was also too fun to pass up.

Next we went to the Solid shop, which was a lot more open and a lot less crowded. It was in the old, very first JC Penney building. There were only a few long aisles here, and I didn’t buy anything, but it was still awesome to see all the Minky and white-on-white fabric.

 

Then we went to the Seasonal shop, where I also didn't buy anything. It was smaller than the Solid shop, but they also had a ton of cute fabrics, including some that I purchased from them just a couple months back!

Lastly, we visited the Merchantile shop. It was also pretty compact, but they really used the space well. There was a gorgeous double wedding ring quilt in the window that also looked extremely old, as it had been hand-sewn and was falling apart.

 Behind the register was another old quilt that’s 120 years old! I couldn’t tell exactly what it was for, but according to the sign next to it, it looks like it was commissioned in 1890 and hand-embroidered by the church’s Lady Committee. It had been commissioned by the reverend of said church. If anyone knows any more info on it, I’m all ears!

I did get a charm pack from this shop, and I also maybe got another follower! Woohoo! If you read this, I’d love to follow your blog too so that you don’t have just your mom as a follower like me ;D

While waiting for the cab to show up, we also ate dinner at a new restaurant called Blue Sage, and got dessert from an awesome little bakery called Poppy’s Bakery. If anyone is ever in town, I definitely recommend both. The dinner was very modern but delicious, and the bakery was pleasantly small with a very friendly owner :) The desserts at the bakery were fabulous as well, perfectly paired with a nice cup of jo. Seriously, they were both fantastic, please go to them if you ever visit!

On our way to Missouri, we passed through Iowa, Utah, and Nebraska, where I took a few pics of signs and landscapes, etc. So far, this is the farthest East I’ve ever been, but I still didn’t take many pictures, haha. We didn’t have time to visit any quilt shops there, but I still saw some beautiful landscapes, especially in Iowa. We’re starting to window shop for a place to settle down already! Though I still think Oregon will be the best…

 

 

 

Sorry for such a long post, but hey, a lot has happened! My hubby wants me to finish one of his favorite books that I started a while back, so I haven’t been sewing much the past few days. But at least I got to a shop finally!

P.S. - Organizing pictures on this thing is incredibly annoying. I can never get them where I want them to go, and I can never put them next to each other unless they're tiny with lots of space between them. If anyone has any tips on that, please let me know, because it's really starting to get on my nerves =/

States I’ve purchased fabric from:

Oregon

Missouri