Veteran quilter Jenny Doan has become a household name thanks to her popular YouTube tutorials for the Missouri Star Quilt Co., a company founded by her family back in 2008. A former costume designer, mother of 7 children and 21 grandchildren, Jenny is beloved worldwide for her approachable demeanor and contagious enthusiasm for quilting. She works tirelessly to create patterns and tutorials that help to convey the shop’s personality and has truly become the heart of the business. Partner that with the innovation and business savvy of a few of her children, and the Missouri Star Quilt Co. has quickly turned into one of the most well known Quilt Shops in the world.
We were so thrilled to partner with Jenny on her debut Aurifil Thread Collection, The Heritage Collection. She hand-selected the colors to represent her traditional meets modern quilting sensibilities and the resulting range is absolutely perfect.
THREAD COLLECTION DETAILS
The Heritage Collection
12 Large Spools – 100% Aurifil Cotton 50wt, 1422yds each
Colors included:
5002 – 1103 – 2145 – 1135 – 2730 – 1148 – 1320 – 2865 – 2835 – 2026 – 2310 – 2610
To view this info on our website, click the images above. For purchasing, please click here to visit Missouri Star Quilt Co or contact your local Aurifil Dealer.
THE INTERVIEW
How did you first get started in the quilting industry?
My background is in musical theatre and costuming and when we moved to Missouri, no one really needed a costumer. But someone suggested that I take a quilting class and from the moment that I took that first class, I was hooked!
Do you remember the process of creating your first quilt and how you felt once it was finished?
In my first class we made a log cabin quilt. The thing that amazed me the most was what happened when you turned those blocks—a whole new pattern would appear! I truly couldn’t believe I did it. I was a seamstress and made clothing; I thought quilting was too hard for me.
What do you love most about running the Missouri Star Quilt Co?
What I love most is that I don’t run it! My children own the company and I get to talk and sew. But hands down, what I love the most is the people! Quilters are awesome and every quilter and quilt has a story!
Who or what has been your greatest creative inspiration?
My greatest inspiration has to be antique quilts. It amazes me what quilters could do without all the tools and helps we have today!
When did you first discover Aurifil threads and what do you love most about them?
I discovered Aurifil thread once I started quilting and I love all the colors! There’s so many choices! It’s really wonderful, high quality thread to work with.
Do you have a favorite color/weight?
I use both light and dark thread in 50wt when I am piecing, so any of the beiges or grays are great, but for top stitching, all the colors!
How did you go about selecting thread for this collection?
Since I don’t have a fabric line, I thought about what makes me choose fabrics for my home. I am Swedish and tend to decorate in that style, so I decided to make my thread a heritage pack. They are all the colors I regularly decorate with and come from the colors on my cherished Swedish Dala horses.
THE GIVEAWAY
To enter-to-win The Heritage Collection by Jenny Doan, click here to head to the Rafflecopter entry page, or simply click on the image above. You do not have to complete all the options to be entered but the more options you choose, the more entries you have! Entries will be accepted from now through 11:59pm Eastern Time on Thursday, September 15! Winner will be randomly selected and announced here on Friday, September 16. Good luck!
Update: This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to Laura Deleski!
ABOUT MSQC
Website — Facebook — Instagram — Twitter — YouTube — Pinterest
When the Doan family moved from California to Missouri over 20 years ago, they never imagined that they’d start and build a successful business there. In November of 2008, on a shoestring budget, they bought a building in Hamilton and started the Missouri Star Quilt Company, selling a few quilting supplies and primarily offering machine quilting services. It soon became apparent that in a town of 1500 people it would be difficult to produce enough revenue to make a decent profit. This was the impetus behind growing the business online.
Spending very little on advertising in the first few years, the company relied entirely on its creativity to grow. They started a YouTube channel with Jenny (aka “Momma Doan”), as the instructor, teaching quilting techniques and ideas to beginner and advanced quilters alike. Jenny, who had a background in theatre, had always wanted to be a star. It wasn’t long before Missouri Star became the biggest quilting YouTube channel and she became a quilting celebrity. She has also taken part in a series of professional tutorials from another company and is now working with Fons & Porter Magazine as well. They also developed the Quilter’s Daily Deal, a constant flat-rate shipping, and made the excellent decision to offer pre-cut fabrics. Missouri Star has grown to offer the largest selection of pre-cut fabrics in the world, pretty cool for a tiny company in rural Caldwell County, Missouri.
The company now ships thousands of packages every single day to customers all over the globe. Due to our popularity on YouTube, the brick and mortar shop has become a quilting destination attracting quilters from all over America and around the world to the small town of Hamilton, Missouri. The company now employs more than 150 people, which is the largest employer in Caldwell County, including single and retired mothers, students, and others. What started off as a family business has now grown to include an entire community, and even though not everyone who works for Missouri Star is related, they consider each other family.
MSQC IN THE NEWS
Missouri Star Quilt Co. has a wonderful and inspiring success story. While it began as a way to help a family, it grew to help a whole community… a whole county, really. The story has been picked up by many a news site and we couldn’t help but share a few. Keep up the amazing work, MSQC! The quilting community applauds you;).
Content Marketing Institute – February 25, 2015
Yahoo News – April 8, 2015
Business Insider – May 15, 2015
NPR – May 21, 2015
Help Scout – July 16, 2015
Diary of a Quilter – May 2, 2016
KMBC – July 31, 2016
Want to plan your own visit to the MSQC? Check out this fabulous site for more info!
[For more, please visit the MSQC website]
** Images and all biographical text are courtesy of Jenny Doan and MSQC.