Day 34--Missouri Star Quilt Company

Missouri Star Quilt Company

We stayed in Cameron, Missouri, last night because it was the closest city to Hamilton with a motel. And those of you who are quilters know about Hamilton, right? Home of the Missouri Star Quilt Company, a small-town success story.

Inside MSQC

I happened on their website a year or so ago when I was searching for some quilting "must-have" or other, and I signed up for their daily emails because of the really great "deal of the day" they have every day of the year. Those emails peaked my interest in this company, so I looked more closely at their website. I read about how the company began in 2008 as a local quilt shop and how it grew from there to one of the most successful on-line quilting businesses around. I watched some of the YouTube video tutorials posted by this family featuring Jenny, aka Mama Doan, and I loved reading the stories that Jenny posted each day with the daily deal. I was hooked.

Beautiful fabric

When we planned this western adventure and I saw that we were going to be driving very close to Hamilton, Missouri, I told Smoky this was one place I really wanted to see. Today was the day! I wondered what I would find. I've visited quilt shops everywhere we have traveled. Some are good, some are just OK, some are a real disappointment, but rarely have the shops been great. This one was great!

MSQC Mercantile, for reproduction fabrics

Actually, what started as one physical location in Hamilton has now grown to several--the original shop, the warehouse (from which internet orders are shipped), the Mercantile Shop (where reproduction fabrics are available), Penny's Quilt Shop (for solids, chevrons, and marbles, and named after J.C. Penney who opened their 500th store in that location), a Seasonal shop, and a gorgeous new retreat/class center. This last building just opened last fall. We went for a tour of the facility and found a huge room for lectures and sewing, a complete modern kitchen available for participants to use, and rooms, mostly upstairs, to house participants who are attending retreats. This facility is available for quilt clubs who want to plan and hold their own retreats or you can sign up for one of Jenny's retreats. 

Penney's Quilt Shop, for solids, marbles, chevrons 

Obviously these people are doing something right! It was apparent to me when we first went in that Missouri Star Quilt Company employees are focused on the customer. Their service was excellent in all the locations we visited today (and we went to each one except the storeroom). Each shop was bright, full of cheerful colors, and extremely neat and clean. And there were lots and lots of absolutely beautiful, high-quality fabrics. I could easily have spent hours here.

Inside Seasonal Shop

Inside Mercantile Shop

We arrived before 10, not too long after they opened. There were already several customers in the store. By 10:30, the number of customers had grown significantly, and before we left around noon, the main store was full. This is Hamilton, Missouri, folks, where there is one main street and the Missouri Star Quilt Company is the largest employer. Quilters from all over the country were in the store. 

Smoky says the next building they need is a "man cave" for all the spouses who are there with their quilting partners. I asked him what the man cave should provide. Here's what he suggests:

One corner should have comfortable chairs for those people who want to just rest.
One corner should have large screen TVs for sports fans.
One corner should have DVDs of old movies (like John Wayne classics).
And in the last corner classes for learning to repair sewing machines should be held.

These sound like great ideas. Missouri Star, are you listening?

We had lunch at Poppy's Bakery and Cafe just down the street from the quilt shop. Most of the visitors to this lunch place and a small hamburger and ice cream shop next door were people like us who had come to the quilt shop. The food was great!

Statue to Mark Twain

After lunch, I waved goodbye to Missouri Star and Hamilton and we headed for Hannibal, childhood home of Samuel Clements. We said early in this excellent adventure that crossing the Mississippi River was the real beginning of our journey. Now we were back at the Mississippi, and we are considering today to be the end. Sparky and Lucky were happy to get out of the car and have a chance to breathe in some good ole river air. 

Purple martin, most wanted bird

Purple martin condo with 562
apartments, Griggsville, Illinois

Our next stop was the small town of Griggsville, whose claimed to be the purple martin capital of the nation. We've tried for years to entice some martins into houses on our property, and Smoky was hoping to get some tips on how to accomplish this. Plus, he had heard they had a purple martin condo in town.

Griggsville is hot and muggy in the summer, which means lots of mosquitoes. One enterprising resident realized that Griggsville was on the migration route for the purple martin, who was reputed to be able to eat 2000 mosquitoes a day. He converted his antenna factory into a factory for building bird houses and the community placed lots of houses in the area in hopes of convincing the martins to stay for the breeding season. Sadly, we learned that the bird house factory was recently sold and moved to Chicago, leaving Griggsville without one of its main sources of employment. The martin houses, including the condo, remain.

We crossed the Mississippi into Illinois and then followed the Illinois River south for a short while on Highway 100, crossing it at Hardin. From there we followed River Road into Alton, where we'll be staying several nights and visiting with Smoky's mom and other family.

--Shann