You've probably read my references to my 'forum friends' many times on this blog so I guess I should properly introduce you all. Blog readers, please meet the Missouri Star Quilt Company. If you are the least bit interested in quilting, you've no doubt already heard of this amazing little family business. What an incredible story they tell - from humble beginnings when the kids bought mom a quilting machine too big for their house (so they bought a building to hold it!) to the ever-growing, town-building, multi-store quilt empire they have become!
Missouri Star (or M*QC as we call it for short) is not only a brick-and-mortar collection of shops in Hamilton, but a wonderful on-line resource for all quilting-related fabrics and supplies. Therefore, it is open for business to everyone in the world and that helps explain the phenomenal growth the family has enjoyed. It is quite an amazing and interesting story, so much so that Missouri Star has been featured all over the place recently, from newspaper articles to the national news!
Jenny Doan is the heart of the company and the face of M*. Her natural and happy personality shines through in all her YouTube tutorials and that has generated a huge following of fans. I'm sure Jenny is responsible for introducing this wonderful craft to a whole new generation and has opened up the possibilities to those who are short on time (and maybe technique!). Momma Doan offers permission to take short cuts, use pre-cuts, and get the job done in the amount of time available in this day and age, i.e. not much!
The Missouri Star Quilt Company has pretty much taken over the entire town of Hamilton, Missouri, with 4 shops (and a 5th in the works), a retreat centre, restaurants, and I don't know what else! There is a magazine, sippy cups, and even lip balm for Pete's sake! This is becoming a quilter's heaven and a destination in itself for the fabri-holics among us. I haven't been but it's certainly on my list - especially when I see all the gorgeous bolts of fabric all lined up so nicely displayed. I have been a "senior member" of the M* 'family' since first joining in 2011. It's been fun to see the explosion of success over these three years and I wish the Doan family all the continued growth and prosperity in the future.
Most importantly to me, the forum friends I have made over the years are such wonderful, special people. Like any family, we've shared our ups and downs and have found love, support, advice, comfort, praise, and hugs from each other. Quilters in general are generous, caring people and the ones that have gathered to meet and chat in the M*QC forum are even more special. They are all a part (a big part!) of my day, every day, and I just wanted to give them a shout-out to say thank you!
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