March Road Trip!

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On March 25th and 26, four of us went on a major road trip to Hamilton, MO., home of Jenny Doan and the Missouri Star Quilt Company. We stopped at Blue Top Quilt Shop in Lamar, MO for a warmup, since you never go into any athletic endeavor without warming up first! We then traveled northward to Hamilton, which is a little northeast of Kansas City.

Hamilton is a small midwest town whose major claim to fame in years past was that it was the boyhood home of J.C. Penney. Now it is better known for Jenny Doan and her efforts in revitalizing the small downtown area with quilt shops.  Currently there are 6 shops within a 2 block area, and another building is being renovated. She has stated that her ultimate goal is 12 shops.  Signs already are proclaiming Hamilton as Quilt Town, USA.

We all appreciated that the original storefronts were pretty much unchanged, just spruced up with new paint and signage. The interiors are also kept true to the original stores.

 Sew Seasonal is the place to go for holiday fabrics, from a large stock of Christmas fabrics to smaller selections for Easter, July 4th, Halloween, etc.

 Batik Boutique is self-explanatory. We all could get in some real trouble in there.

The old J.C. Penney's store retains the name.  It now contains two stores; one sells licensed fabrics such as Disney, Pixar, Marvel Comics, etc. The other carries Civil War reproduction fabrics and similar lines.

The old tin ceilings and wood floors are complemented by the freshly painted walls and quilts hung over the shelves of fabric bolts.  Although most of the shops are small, each carries different notions, patterns, and specials which makes it fun to browse.

 Each store is spacious and just filled with eye candy!

Each wall sample has a notation of what pattern was used, and whether it was published and in which magazine so you could find it easily.

The fifth store is the Mercantile, which carries solids and blenders. There are also full sized quilts displayed at floor level here for close-up examination.  They encourage visitors to take photos wherever they please.

This quilt was a favorite of ours.

The sixth store is the main store, which carries a mix of fabrics, and other supplies, including batting and interfacings. The longarm quilting machines are there as well.

 Unfortunately we did not get to meet Jenny, as she was teaching a class in their retreat center down the street, but we did have our photo taken with her representation! It stands inside the main store, along with a screen that continuously shows her tutorials.  Chairs are provided so you can sit and watch if you choose.

Every employee is extremely helpful and friendly (many are Jenny's family members.) One nice employee even took our photo outside the main shop--several times.  We had a wonderful time there!

We stayed in nearby Cameron, MO, where we also visited Crossroads Quilters, a very nice shop, well worth a visit. The proprietor was very friendly and helpful, and offered us cookies and coffee.  She had a lovely fabric selection, a room of purse patterns and notions, and lots of books to choose from.

We also stopped in Quilter's Harvest in Higginsville, MO, which was a small shop chock full of women sewing at a day retreat.  It looked like they were having a lot of fun, and greeted us warmly.

We then stopped at two stores in Springfield, FM Store and Fabric Outlet, where we put the biggest dent in our wallets! Those two stores alone are worth a day trip.

We enjoyed supper at Fazoli's--delicious pasta and breadsticks. We stopped for dessert at a DQ in Bella Vista, AR. before making it home as darkness was falling.

Susan's vehicle was groaning with our purchases!  We had so much fun together, we wish others had been with us but we really had a blast!

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