After clicking on the link and seeing the pattern, I think the royal blue would work really well. It provides a great amount of contrast, while still pulling out some of the blue from the strips. Buuut, the same could be said for the aqua. I feel like the royal blue gives it a big pop of color and the aqua provides a more soothing, subtle breeze of color.
My vote goes to the royal blue 
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I like the royal blue as well! I also like the rust, but I think it would blend in more and not be as much of a contrast as the blue.
With all of those brown strips having plenty of color and pattern, I don’t think you could go wrong with most of the choices.
@Teachergirl --your pieced Mario quilt turned out great!
Now usually I’m all about the royal blue (my bridesmaids wore it), but I think the rust or aqua look great (go 1998!).
Wow! This Mario is really impressive! You did an amazing job of piecing him together! I’m curious to see the final quilt when you complete it!
What are the other quilts you’re hoping to finish for Christmas?
@marionberries I’m so sorry for your loss, your mom lived to a great age, I hope the memories you guys made will bring you comfort Inn the days ahead. X
I got these great fabrics from @Smmarrt for the hypothetical grandbaby quilt. So many great choices here.
I previously mentioned that I had taken a trip to visit Missouri Star Quilt Company in Quilt Town, USA. Well, now I finally have the chance to tell you all about it!
My mom, LittleBookLover, and I arrived at our hotel in Missouri on a Sunday night eager for the next morning. Our hotel was 15 minutes away from Hamilton, Missouri where MSQC is located. The drive into Hamilton was beautiful. We pulled into the town and were greeted by a quaint Main Street. It was like the perfect setting for a Hallmark movie with charming storefronts lining both sides of the road.
Quilt Town, USA has legitimately earned it’s name with 12 different quilt shops, all run by Missouri Star. Our first two stops were Florals and the Missouri Star Mercantile, which sold floral themed fabric and vintage & reproduction prints respectively. While in the shops we enjoyed the Christmas music playing through the speakers… It turns out it we were there for their Christmas in July week! Side note - while listening to the radio in the shops, I noticed that it was talking about Christmas in July at Missouri Star as well as informing us of different MSQC announcements. I later asked an employee about it and it turns out that they have their own radio station! Apparently, they used to play the regular radio, but sometimes inappropriate songs or songs with bad words would come on and they didn’t really like that, so they did what anybody would do and created their own stations. I say stations because some of the shops had their own themed music playing (like the batik shop that had island music playing), but it was still MSQC radio, complete with announcements and information.
So, after the first two shops, we then ambled (though in all honestly, I don’t know how much we were truly able to amble considering that LittleBookLover’s front stroller wheel had decided to stop working right before our trip and refused to pivot and turn. But, what can I say? Amble just feels like the right word in this instance 
) our way down to the main shop - Missouri Star Quilt Company!
The main shop was much larger than the previous two. There, we found sections highlighting all the other shops and showcasing a selection of the merchandise you could find in each. This is also where they sold various MSQC merchandise as well as wares being sold by local vendors. It was bright and cheery in this shop and the atmosphere was one of cozy comfort. They had a nice area set up with a couch and some comfortable chairs where you could sit and take a break (there was more than one husband to be found over here, lol).
As my mom and I went to check out, the girl working the cash register leaned in conspiratorially and asked if we were big Jenny fans. For those who don’t know, Jenny Doan is the face of Missouri Star Quilt Company. She and her family started the company as a small longarm quilting business back in 2008. Soon after, one of her son’s suggested that Jenny create some quilting tutorials for YouTube and a star was born! The YouTube videos led to people asking where they could buy the supplies, which led to Missouri Star offering the supplies, which eventually led to all the shops and Quilt Town, USA! Now, while I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a ‘big’ fan, I nonetheless answered that yes, we were big fans of Jenny’s. The worker told us that she wasn’t supposed to say anything, but Jenny would be stopping by in about 15 minutes. She then proceeded to say that actually, Jenny’s husband, Ron, was the one who was scheduled to make an appearance, but where Ron goes, Jenny usually goes too. When she spoke of Jenny, it was with such awe and reverence.
So, we were hanging around the shop when we noticed a hubbub outside. We made our way out and there, in the extreme heat of July was Jenny Doan in a stunning red velvet cape and her husband Ron in a Santa suit. It was so hot outside, but never once, did either of them complain or seem inconvenienced in any way. In fact, while taking pictures, Jenny kept checking that the person taking the pics had gotten enough and was sure that there was a good one. Now, I don’t feel like I’ve watched a whole lot of MSQC tutorials, but hearing Jenny’s voice was like hearing the voice of a dear friend - it was so familiar!
When it was our turn to get a photo, LittleBookLover and I stood next to Santa. While standing there Jenny commented on how LBL was looking up at Santa and that it made her want to cry. Ron was so kind and tender toward my son that thinking about it makes me want to cry. While meeting Jenny was a wonderful delight, our time with Santa was the unexpected highlight of the trip. Both, Jenny and Ron, exuded genuine kindness and warmth. After meeting her, I can now say that I am indeed, a big fan .
We followed our sewlebrity meeting up with lunch and then continued our shopping, maximizing our day and shopping until it was closing time.
The next day, we started our shopping at Penney’s Quilt Shop, which has solids and basics in every color you can imagine. This was super helpful when I bought some Halloween fabric upstairs in their Sew Seasonal store and wanted to find an exact match to a specific orange on the fabric. I was able to find the perfect match in a way that online shopping would not have allowed for! I also picked up some vibrant pinks to use as the borders in my niece’s I-Spy quilt (which I’m hoping to have completed in time for Christmas).
At one point in our day, my mom needed to take a break and we ended up in ‘Man’s Land,’ a lounge where you can sit and relax. It was full of super comfortable recliners and was the perfect place to rest in air conditioned comfort.
Later, in one of the shops, I struck up a conversation with the employee. She was a young worker of late high school/early college age. We were talking about Missouri Star and she said that they really have single-handedly revitalized the entire town. She told me about their warehouse that employs people to cut the fabric, to package the purchases, drivers to drive the trucks, etc. She said that there are three different shifts and it sounded like a 24 hour operation. On top of that, you have all the employees working in the various stores, the quilters working on the longarm machines, those working at the retreat center…and those are just the people on the MSQC payroll. It was really nice to hear and see how much the employees respect and appreciate the company. I felt that it spoke volumes about Missouri Star and their values as a company.
Overall, we had an amazing two days in Quilt Town, USA. The shops were full of beautiful fabric, the atmosphere was tranquil, and Jenny and Ron were wonderful and kind. If you have a chance to go visit Missouri Star in person, I highly recommend it. It is well worth the trip!
What a great experience!
What a wonderful story! I’m glad to hear you had such an amazing time. Sounds like Quilt Town, USA is certainly worth a visit should I ever make it across the Atlantic. The picture is also really lovely, it looks like LittleBookLover was impressed with meeting Santa!
I love this story of your trip! I love Jenny’s tutorials on YouTube.
Wow that town sounds amazing
I love this story and like you, I like Jenny’s tutorials but now I am a super fan!
I love this star block. The colours are fab!
I got these three perfect centres for the hypothetical grandbaby quilt. I particularly love the birds. Thanks so much @Cindy XXX
omg–I totally spaced out on mailing out fabrics to you!! Those are so cute! I will get on it as soon as I get back from my Vitamin B shot appointment!
Those are beautiful! I sent out 3 envelopes to you the other day. Then, after putting them in the mailbox, with thoughts of a future project in mind, I looked up putting multiple international stamps on a single envelope to mail more than 1 oz at a time (it turns out you can mail up to 3.5 oz in an international letter). Yet, it just occurred to me this morning that I could have done that with your fabric instead of sending out 3 envelopes 
, lol. I’m curious to see if they all arrive together or separately.
@AudiobookLover, what a fun time in Quilt Town. I would be so overwhelmed!
@Edel , what fun fabrics, those elephants are amazing. Awesome baby quilt in the making.
-I marionberries submit this as my July BOM entry.
Thank you so much xx I will let you know the arrival dates.
There were more in the envelope that @cindy sent me, but I was so rushed that I missed them when I took that photo. Thanks again Cindy, you brightened my day xxx
Awesome block @marionberries!! I am behind again. I will prob be playing catch up in September!
@AudiobookLover - your trip sounds so special and fabulous!!
I just can’t decide what to do for this BOM. Make it to go with my Halloween blocks? My black + rainbow blocks? Or go for a semi realistic color scheme and just have a completely random block in my stash?
This is an amazing block! The solids show off the precision of your points beautifully!
