The Disneyland of Quilts!!

The main purpose of our jaunt to Kansas City was to see the Dutch art exhibit at the Nelson-Atkins Museum.  But a quick look at the map showed that the Missouri Star Quilt Company was just an hour away.  You can’t pass up the opportunity to see this amazing quilt store complex, can you??

We picked up our car at the gloomy old airport and were surprised to find that they had given us a bright yellow Mustang.

Of course, all we wanted to do was to ride around (Sally), so it was good to have an hour-long trip ahead of us.  We took an almost deserted highway to a two-lane road that wound up and down rolling hills, some of them rather steep, with rich black soil in the newly plowed farm fields on either side.  Another highway, another two-lane road, and we were in Hamilton, Missouri.

It’s a typical small town (pop. 1800), with incredibly wide streets (presumably so you could turn a horse and carriage around), head-in parking, and not a whole lot going on.  But Jenny Doan and her family have created eleven quilt shops here, and their empire has become the biggest employer in town.

We had lunch at the Blue Sage restaurant: a huge side salad of romaine, blue cheese and bacon for me, tomato soup for Alison, and a delicious shared lamb burger with fantastic home-made potato chips.  Thus fortified, we started next door at the Florals shop.  Brightly lit, nicely laid out, and an enticing beginning to two hours of browsing, yearning and actual shopping.

Here’s a peek at what we saw.

The Modern shop had fabrics from Cotton + Steel, my fave Marsha Derse, and, as you can see, lots more.  Fabrics are arranged by manufacturer or designer.

Each shop is beautifully staged, with the Modern shop featuring this mid-century modern tableau.

The solids shop had colorful display windows and a rainbow of mostly solids inside.  This is where I found the Pepper Cory shot cottons from Studio E that I had not been able to find anywhere!  Now I know – everything in the store is also available online.

Quilts and inspiration on the wall.

Non-quilters are not forgotten.  While many quilt shops have a couple of chairs for non-quilting friends (face it, usually husbands), this one features an entire “Man’s Land.” Leather recliners, two big-screen TVs, and bookshelves featuring sports-related books and equipment.  Two guys were there, one reading a copy of Guns & Ammo, the other snoring mightily, and both covered in quilts.  Alison retired here with a good book.

I didn’t break the bank, but I did come away with some project-related fabric, some hard-to-find IBC pins (recommended by Judith Baker Montano), and some random beautiful stuff: blues for my Sarah Fielke BOM, William Morris and neutrals for the hexie quilt, binding for the baby quilt, the shot cottons, and the Potting Shed Daily Deal which I just could not pass up!   46% off!!

On the way out, we stopped for a few more photos of the main drag.

We tootled back the way we came, stopping only for a picture of this clever Trump sign.  Hate the sentiment, love the inventiveness!