Jenny Doan « The Backroads to Road to California

Posts Tagged ‘Jenny Doan’

Quilting Tips From Road 2018 Teachers

Tuesday, August 7th, 2018

Great takeaways and quilting tips from some of Road 2018’s popular Classes and $5.00 Lecture Series

Jenny Doan– Missouri Star

Quilting Tips: Take classes to learn new techniques. Use the ugliest fabric in your stash to practice what you are learning because you will make mistakes. Mistakes are essential to learning.

Michelle Flores-Hoffman Fabrics

Quilting Tips: Online retailers that carry a wide variety of Hoffman Fabrics: eQuilter, Batik Plus, Hancock of Paducah, and Nancy’s Notions.

Hobbs Batting-

Quilting Tips: How to avoid Bearding (batting that pulls up through holes in the fabric): Use a high thread count fabric; Check thread tension to make sure thread isn’t too tight; Use a new needle; and Make sure the batting is good quality.

Pat Simon-Quilting with Templates

Quilting Tips: Rulers are for measuring; Templates are for quilting. Do not use free motion, darning or other thin feet as they will slip under the template. Instead use high shank feet. Practice, Practice, Practice with a fabric sandwich and moving the fabric around while seated. Start out with smaller templates to get control.

Joyce Teng-Painting on Fabric

Quilting Tips: Kona Cotton and Tsukineko Ink are the perfect combination for the best results. Play around with the ink. Mix it with different mediums to create different effects. Use different tools to get the ink on the fabric. Experiment with different patterns.

Annie Unrein-Zippers

Quilting Tips: Always use zippers 2-3 inches longer than called for. Shorter than that is so much harder to work with. Use “Wonder Clips” to hold all the layers together. Flat on the bottom so they don’t catch on machine; They won’t poke you; They won’t make holes in vinyl; and They hold everything tight.

Jamie Wallen– Long Arm Quilting

Quilting Tips: Don’t wait until you’re ready to quilt to start learning quilting techniques. Print “contour line quilt blocks” from the Internet and come up with 3 different ways to quilt it yourself. Practice every day 30-45 minutes with a pencil to build muscle memory. Anything a pencil can do, a longarm can do. What is your favorite quilting tip you learned in a quilting class?]]>

Tags: Annie Unrein, Hobbs, Hoffman Fabrics, Jamie Wallen, Jenny Doan, Joyce Teng, Missouri Star Quilt Co., Quilt Show, Quilting Templates, Quilting Tips
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Jenny Doan’s Heartwarming Trunk Show

Tuesday, July 3rd, 2018

Missouri Star Quilt Company’s own Jenny Doan presenting her Trunk Show at the Doubletree Hotel on Saturday night. Over 1,000 guests came to learn and be inspired by Jenny and her marvelous quilts. While Jenny has given her Trunk Show many, many times, each presentation is unique. Before going on stage, Jenny ponders on what message of hope, creativity and support she wants to leave with the audience. Jenny shared that she learned to sew as a young girl in 4-H. She appreciated the women who were patient and kind and taught her a skill that her own mother couldn’t. Years later, their example instilled in Jenny one of her core values:

“Share the knowledge you have with someone or else it will die with you.”

Missouri Star Quilt Company began 10 years ago with Jenny doing long arm quilting for clients. The machine was too big for her house, so she bought a building to house the business. She had a dozen quilt patterns in her repertoire and thought that was enough to keep her busy and fund her retirement. But her son had more in store for her: YouTube videos.

Jenny’s YouTube quilting tutorial videos began when YouTube was in its infancy. She broke her leg just prior to her first episode so in the first few tutorials, Jenny was filmed in a wheelchair, heavily medicated. “It was just terrible,” she recalled. Today, she has done over 500 tutorials, with a new one coming out every Friday.

After one early episode, a woman called and inquired about the fabric used in the video and asked where she could get it. Jenny couldn’t help her because it was some random fabric she had in her stash. But that phone call gave Jenny the idea that maybe Missouri Star should start selling fabric lines. At first, they would purchase 60-100 lines of fabric every 4 months. Each line had 20-30 bolts and it was becoming cost and space prohibitive to continue. Then Moda came out with pre-cuts and Jenny discovered a more economical way to store and use fabric. Jenny shared that 99% of her work today is done from pre-cuts. “They have taught me so much.” Why are pre-cuts so popular with Jenny? First of all, they are precut– saving time and effort. Second, she is not a color matcher. She prefers to trust talented and gifted fabric designers to do the fabric matching. And third, using pre-cuts takes away the “overwhelm factor” because you know exactly how much yardage is in a charm pack, a jelly roll or a layer cake.

Adding to the fun of the Trunk Show was having Jenny’s husband, Ron, on stage with her, helping to show the quilts and tell their stories. Ron is a quilter too. He enjoys the technical and detailed aspect of quilting. “We quilt differently,” said Jenny, “But we do it together.”

Jenny referred to herself as a utilitarian quilter; she wants her quilts to be used and worn out. To Jenny, a quilt represents love, hope, warmth, ownership and kindness. “No other hobby can offer all this.” At the end of the Trunk Show, Jenny left her audience with this message of encouragement: “The stitches you take by yourself in your sewing room is changing the world. Never before have we needed your gift than we need it now.”

Thank you, Jenny Doan, for sharing your quilting journey with your Trunk Show at Road 2018.]]>

Tags: Jenny Doan, Missouri Star Quilt Company, Moda Fabrics, Pre-Cut Fabric, Pre-Cuts, Quilt Trunk Show
Posted in Other Quilting Events, Road to California 2018 | No Comments »

Jenny Doan And Her Love For Precuts

Thursday, April 19th, 2018

“Share the knowledge you have with someone else or it will die with you” –Jenny Doan

Jenny Doan has a lot of quilting knowledge and she never hesitates to share it. During her Trunk Show at Road to California 2018, she touched on a lot of quilt topics including why she values using precut fabrics in her quilts.

Jenny admits she is a utilitarian quilter. Whenever she makes a quilt, she intends the recipient to use and love that quilt and wear it out. If you make a quilt from precut fabrics, Jenny insists that that quilt will be used by its owner. A precut fabric is cut to a specific size shape and is often sold as part of a collection so that the designs work well. They include fat quarters, jelly roll strips, and squares in either 5” charm packs or 10” layer cakes.

Jenny shared that 99% of the quilts she makes is from a precut and that she has learned so much from using them. One reason they appeal to her is that she considers herself a matcher; she doesn’t do colors. “Being good with fabric is a gift and a talent,” declared Jenny. And she also noted that not many people – like herself – have that talent. She would much rather trust the designers who put the precuts together then her own fabric matching ability. Precuts also cut down on the overwhelm factor noted Jenny. “Your mind gets easily overwhelmed. It’s a lot easier to choose between 10 fabric precuts that have been coordinated in to one collection than try to match yourself from 40 different bolts of similar yardage.

Best of all, precuts save time. Time in cutting out fabric and time in sewing. “It only takes 1-1/2 hours to make a quilt from a layer cake pack,” said Jenny. Missouri Star Quilt Company offers a handy, spiral bound pamphlet, Quilter’s Precut Companion, that has everything you’d want to know about making quilts using precuts including a chart that explains how many precuts you will need to make a particular quilt.

Jenny cautioned (from her own experience) that if you like a particular precut design, buy all you need for your project at one time. Since precuts are only cut and packaged once, they probably won’t be there if you go back for more. Jenny will be the first to admit that “precut fabric is truly the best thing since sliced bread. They let you skip the hours of cutting and get right to the good part. Precuts help quilts come together like magic!” What do you like about using precut fabrics?]]>

Tags: Charm Packs, Fat Quarters, Jelly Rolls, Jenny Doan, Layer Cakes, Missouri Star Quilt Co., Precuts
Posted in Road to California 2018 | No Comments »

Jenny Doan’s Favorite Quilt Block

Wednesday, March 21st, 2018

the half square triangle. The classes were actually titled: Mystery Half Square Triangle because as Jenny explained, you can create literally 252 different versions of a half square triangle, providing limitless (and mysterious) possibilities for quilt top designs. Jenny says everything she does has to be “quick and easy.” If any of her classes or YouTube weekly tutorials look hard, “it’s a lie.” They are meant to show different methods to get you started so that you don’t have to “remember everything” when you are on your own. To create a half square triangle block, Jenny says to: 1) Take two square pieces of fabric (you decide the size) and lay on top of each other, right sides together. 2) Stitch along the outside 3) Cut on the diagonal 4) Press open and create!! Each student received a handout that shows the 252 different versions of the half square triangle that they could put together. In addition, all around the room were examples of half square triangle quilts to inspire the students. Jenny McKinsey from Porterville, California has been quilting for 7 years and was attending Road for the fifth time. She always comes to Road with four friends. They share the ride down from Northern California and a hotel room during the show. While Jenny regularly watches the Missouri Star Quilt Co’s weekly YouTube videos, she took the class because she thought “it would be fun” to experience Jenny Doan in person. A quilter for over 50 years, Linda McGregor has traveled from her home in Wyoming 15 times to attend Road to California. She started her quilting journey making tied quilts and today loves to make wedding ring and other traditional patterns. Like Jenny McKinsey, Linda has been watching Jenny Doan’s weekly tutorials for many years. When Linda found out that Jenny Doan was going to be a teacher at Road 2018, she “signed up as soon as I could.” Linda said that Jenny was “just as wonderful in person as she is on her videos. I haven’t seen a quilt in the classroom that I don’t want to make.” Linda likes coming to Road because “there is always something new. Everyone is warm and welcoming.” Also seen in Jenny Doan’s classroom was her husband, Ron. He says he helps Jenny at home and in the classroom, answering questions from quilters. Ron says, “I help wherever I can with the little things” whether it be working on quilt machines or in the warehouse. What did Ron think about his first experience with Road to California? He admitted that he didn’t know what he was coming and that he was surprised to see how big Road is.“ Road to California is pretty awesome.” And we would have to agree!! ]]>

Tags: Half Square Triangle Quilt Block, Jenny Doan, Jenny Doan YouTube, Missouri Star Quilt Co., Ron Doan
Posted in classes, Road to California, Road to California 2018 | No Comments »

Road 2018 Was A Huge Success!!

Wednesday, January 24th, 2018

How to describe Road to California 2018?

The sun was shining.

Teachers and their classes were creating.

The vendor floors were busy.

Guests kept coming.

And best of all, the quilts were amazing!!!

[caption id="attachment_5489" align="aligncenter" width="625"]

Best of Show, “Fractal,” by Claudia Pfeil[/caption] Not only was Jenny Doan, of Missouri Star Quilt Company, a popular teacher…

…her Trunk Show was inspiring.

Road’s Founder, Carolyn Reese, was honored by the Ontario Convention Center’s President and CEO, Michael Krause, for being a loyal business partner to the City of Ontario, the Convention Center, and the Community.

The new App, QuiltSpace, was enjoyed by thousands of users. The winner of the App’s Quilter Choice Award went to “Your Place or Mine” by Marva-lee Otos. She received $500 for receiving the most votes from the App users. [caption id="attachment_5488" align="aligncenter" width="482"]

“Your Place or Mine,” by Marva-lee Otos[/caption] And Road’s new owner, Matt Reese, still found time to give 5 month old son, Braden, a tour of the show.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to making Road 2018 “The Happening Place to Be.”

We can’t wait to start planning next year’s show!!

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Tags: Carolyn Reese, Claudia Pfeil, Jenny Doan, Matt Reese, Missouri Star Quilt Company, Ontario Convention Center, Quilt Classes, Quilters. Quilt Show, QuiltSpace, Road to California
Posted in Road to California 2018 | 1 Comment »

So You Think You Know Jenny Doan of Missouri Star?

Wednesday, January 10th, 2018

Missouri Star Quilt Company, teach a couple of quilt classes during the week and offer her popular Trunk Show on Friday Night. Are you familiar with Jenny Doan? Superfans of Jenny’s might think they know everything about her. But we asked Jenny some unique and unusual questions that you might be surprised to learn her answers. What do you like best about living in a small town (Hamilton, Missouri – Population 1,724) I love that there is no traffic! Also it is so nice to live in a town where everyone knows your name and watches out for each other. You also can’t beat the friendliness of our town! Missouri Star is made up of several themed buildings. Which one is Jenny’s favorite? I would have to say Penneys. It is our most colorful shop with all the solid fabric you could ever want! I love color! It’s all about family at Missouri Star, a family owned and run business. Jenny’s children and their spouses play major roles with Missouri Star. What about the next generation? The Doans currently have 21 grandchildren, ages 7-20 years old with one on the way, a baby boy coming this May. Jenny is a You Tube star!! t What is the hardest part of filming her show? To be honest, the hardest thing about filming is to only share 1 idea. I can see countless ideas in each tutorial I film. I see it doing so many things. Has she had an embarrassing moment when filming? I feel like my calling in life is to do something to embarrass my children. lol But that aside, I would say one of those moments was when the puff foam part of my microphone popped off and I couldn’t find it anywhere! Luckily, I learned long ago to laugh and just go with it! Missouri Star Quilt Company sells lots of quilting and sewing supplies. What is Jenny’s favorite sewing tool? The Splash rotary cutter. I love that you can use it with either hand and it has a quick blade release. I don’t like cutter with scissors. As a classroom teacher, what does Jenny want for her students? I will be teaching them to ask themselves… WHAT HAPPENS IF… I want them to try to think out of the box and start having fun creating. Road 2018 will be Jenny’s first time at the show. What is she most looking forward to? Sunshine What can Missouri Star fans be looking forward to in 2018? We will be opening 2 NEW SHOPS in Hamilton!! At the end of the day, what is Jenny’s favorite treat? I have 2 favorite treats. The first is frozen grapes. I love to pluck them off, pop them in the freezer and have them ready to pull out and eat. The second would be almost a daily favorite that my husband makes for me. Sugar Free Cook and Serve chocolate pudding! Tickets are going fast for Jenny’s Trunk Show. Remaining tickets are available at the Registration Desk at the Ontario Convention Center or at the door of the event.

Tags: Hamilton Missouri, Jenny Doan, Missouri Star Quilt Co., Road to Caifornia
Posted in behind the scenes, classes, Road to California 2018 | No Comments »

Meet Road 2016 Vendor: Missouri Star Quilt Company

Saturday, March 19th, 2016

Missouri Star Quilt Company, the quilt destination from Hamilton, Missouri, made its way for the first time to Ontario, California and Road 2016. Founded in 2008, Missouri Star was started as a way for Jenny and Ron Doan to earn a living after Ron lost a hefty portion of his retirement savings and his job as a mechanic with the Kansas City Star newspaper became vulnerable to layoffs. It was their children – Allan and Sarah – who came up with the idea for a quilt business combining their mother’s love of sewing and her quilting hobby. The first thing they did was buy a longarm machine and then they purchased a building in Hamilton (a town a little over an hour’s drive from Kansas City with a population of 1,500) to house it and a quilt store. With a shoestring advertising budget, Missouri Star got very creative with their marketing. Missouri Star began putting video tutorials online starring Jenny. Soon, the tutorials were the most searched for quilt videos on You Tube. Viewers wanted to purchase the same fabrics that were used in the videos so Missouri Star decided to make pre-cut fabrics (which revolutionized the quilting industry) and sell this core product in their online store. Pre-cut fabrics are bundles of fabric, cut in various shapes and sizes, featuring an array of coordinating prints from a designer fabric line. In less than four years, Missouri Star has grown to offer the largest selection of pre-cut fabrics in the world, processing 3,000 – 4,000 fabric orders a day!! [caption id="attachment_3899" align="aligncenter" width="610"] Photo by Brian Roberts Photography[/caption] As Missouri Star’s popularity has grown, so has their interest in the small town of Hamilton. They embarked on a project to restore from top to bottom many of the original buildings which were in pretty bad shape. Today, there are 10 quilt shops, each with their own theme, for fabric and merchandise. For instance, the old JC Penney building was restored and houses all of Missouri Star’s solid fabrics. There’s even Man’s Land which offers recliner chairs and a big screen television. It’s a great resting spot for those visitors who come to the quilt store town as drivers and/or shopping bag carriers. Always growing, Missouri Star currently sponsors three YouTube Channels: the original series featuring Jenny Doan which offers a new tutorial every Friday; Man Sewing with Rob Appell which has new shows every Monday; and their newest addition, Crafty Gemini Vanessa Vargas Wilson offering tutorials on the Crafty Gemini Creates channel, every Wednesday. It was a long drive from Hamilton, Missouri to Ontario, California. Missouri Star enjoyed meeting many of their trusted customers and making new friends at their location in the pavilion. [caption id="attachment_3900" align="aligncenter" width="516"] Photo by Brian Roberts Photography[/caption] We look forward to having Missouri Star return with its Midwest charm for Road to California 2017. Want to learn more about Missouri Star? Please visit their web site. ]]>

Tags: Crafty Gemini, Hamilton Missouri, Jenny Doan, Man Sewing, Missouri Star Quilt Company, Rob Appell, Vanessa Vargas Wilson, You Tube
Posted in Road 2016, Vendors | No Comments »