I recently attended the Missouri Star Academy (MSA) at Missouri Star Quilt Co. in Hamilton, Missouri. This was the first year since Covid that they have had it and, let me just tell you, it was fantastic!! If you ever get the chance to go, you totally should. It was two days full of classes by well-known teachers and educators, plus loads of shopping. What more could a gal like me want?
I led a busload of 35 women and we started in Illinois and ended up in northwest Missouri. We shop-hopped our way over on a Tuesday. We hit Rosie’s Quilt Shop in Highland, Illinois and the Quilted Fox in St. Louis, Missouri. Both are fantastic shops! Rosie’s is ran by Rosie and I think she is around 90 years old. She is darling and so is her shop. The shop is in a large three story brick home in a historic neighborhood. The whole shop has a cozy vibe and great fabric choices. The Quilted Fox is also a great shop, but with a totally different vibe. It’s set into a modern style building and offers a very interesting choice of fabrics. They have a spectacular selection of fabric from other countries and continents (Africa, Australia, Europe, etc). Their fabric is just gorgeous and their shop samples are spectacular.
thought this was cool!
After that we headed straight to Liberty, Missouri to shop at Quilting is my Therapy (Angela Walters’ shop). My group loved that shop and the adorable town square it sits on. We saw a bank that Jesse James robbed in broad daylight and I bought a pair of bamboo cotton pants that I have worn nearly every day since. They are the softest pants I’ve ever had in my life. I could write a whole article on these pants, but I’ll try to stick to my point here. The MSA.
You can read more about my jacket here.
On Wednesday we arrived bright and early in Hamilton, Missouri for the MSA. We literally walked in on a red carpet and had our photos taken like celebrities. Next we were given the best swag bag I’ve ever seen! (I’ve never been to the Oscars. I’ve heard theirs is good too.) From there, we had opening ceremonies and went to class. There were so many great classes and teachers! Misty Doan taught a class on curved piecing. Jenny Doan taught a class on precuts. I watched a great demo on sewing with Cuddle® fabric from Shannon Fabrics. I listened to Aurifilosophy by Karen Miller. She taught a great class on Aurifil thread. These are just a few examples of the classes.
I also shopped. A lot. I now have everything for my next few projects. I can’t wait to get started on them all. The best part of all though was the comradery. When you bring a few hundred quilters together, you just have a good time. Everyone was so kind and thoughtful and cheerful and happy and creative and inspiring and cool. You get the idea. That is truly what makes events like that so special. Because, think about it, if the classes were the great and the shopping was great, but all the people were grumpy and mean, it would all be ruined. So, thank you Missouri Star for making it great and for all of your hard work and thank you to all of the attendees that were there, as well. If the whole world was as nice as all of you, our world would be a much better place!
On Thursday night, after closing ceremonies and our graduation from the Academy, we all boarded the bus back home. We were sad it was over, but all of us were very eager to get home and get started on new projects. I’m sure there will be an MSA again next year, so if you didn’t make it this year, start planning for next year! It is such a great event. I’ll see you there.
(and pssst… there’s a coupon code for them in this week’s
Nancy’s Notions Newsletter.)
Want to attend a similar event at Missouri Star? Their big Birthday Bash is coming up in September! I’ll be there as well. Read more about that event here.
‘Til next time,
Beth
