Day Trip to Hamilton

I had the pleasure of taking a day trip to Hamilton, Missouri, also known as “Quilt Town USA.” I had been eagerly anticipating this trip for weeks, as it was organized by the Northland Neighborhood ASG Group, which I’m a member of. Instead of our regular meeting at one of the members house, we decided to have a field trip to Hamilton.  You see, Kansas City is about an hour away from Hamilton so it’s quite easy to make the trip. This makes for a perfect day trip to Hamilton for quilters.

Shopping in Hamilton is a dream come true for any quilter. One always hopes to run into Jenny Doan, but since I just spent time with her (as a Juki Educator in Paducah), I wasn’t going to press my luck! Since we were only planning this to be a simple day trip to Hamilton, we decided to speed through the town and make the most of it!

So much to see and do!

There are so many fabric and notion options available, and we went to just about every store in town.  The town is simply charming. There are beautiful Quilting murals painted on many of the buildings which add to the atmosphere.

It is a small Missouri town, and the hustle and bustle is definitely on main street with all of the quilt shops. The rest of the town seem to be sleepy and quiet. They had a charming little grocery store, and some really cute gift stores as well. But the main attraction is of course all of the Fabric stores. And boy howdy, there are many to choose from!

We started in the Penny’s shop (which is named after the founder of JC Penny).  That is a solids and blender shop. You can also find a large selection of Minky there as well.  Next door is the Licensed Fabric Shop, which is full of the novelty prints we all love. 

Look at this cute scissor fabric that I had to have, which was designed by Deborah Fisher of Fish Museum + Circus and named Sew Good for Windham Fabrics. I also picked up a complimentary fabric that was navy with white scissors, which is called Sew Much Fun by Echo Park Paper for Riley Blake.  I am amazed that this is the only fabric I purchased! I’m sure I could have made a bigger dent, but since this was only a quick day trip to Hamilton – I was happy with my half yard treasures!

Shopping, Shopping and more Shopping!

In addition to the fabric, I got some notions including a Dritz Ceramic Thimble Container, a tiny pair of scissors with a connected sheath, an enamel pin, a couple of embroidery patches, a collectible thimble, and a mini dust-it made from genuine sheepskin.

The ceramic thimble container comes in a variety of colors, and I chose the light aqua one. I plan to put my pencils and paper scissors in it and keep it on my desk. As for the tiny pair of scissors with a sheath, I am happy to have them as I often lose the sheath that’s on my scissors around my neck on the lanyard during trade shows. I think these little scissors will come in handy.  I’m looking forward to adding the enamel pin, and the embroidery patches to my Jean jacket. I have quite a collection, and these are going to look great amongst them. Lastly, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to purchase a thimble for my collection. The Missouri Star Quilt Company had a cute collector thimble available.

I also picked up a couple of rulers that I’ve been meaning to purchase for the longest time, which are called Bloc-Loc, and can’t wait to use them for some half square triangle quilts that I am making. There were only 2 sizes available in the Missouri Star Shops, but I know there are many more sizes available. You can check out one of my favorite online shops to see all the different options right HERE.

Next, we took a quick detour to a relatively new retreat center, in Hamilton. The retreat space was enormous, and I plan to make another trip to learn more about the facility. We had the opportunity to peek inside one of the hotel rooms, which was very nice.  I am looking forward to learning more about this facility and all it has to offer.

Seeing more Quilty Friends!

As luck would have it, Annie Smith was checking into the hotel when we arrived. Annie and I had briefly met at the Houston market, and it was a pleasure to see her in my neck of the woods since she lives in the Fort Worth area. She was in Hamilton because she recently spoke and taught at the Blue Valley Quilt Guild in Kansas City, and had never been to Hamilton, so it was a treat for her. I invited her to join us for lunch!

After the quick stop at the retreat center, we headed to Eggo’s, a local diner on Main Street, for lunch. We met up with the Northland Neighborhood, which is part of the Kansas City Chapter of the American Sewing Guild (ASG). We all shared a nice lunch together, and Annie was able to join us!  It was a beautiful day, so we ate our lunch outside. The food was delicious, and it was a great way to refuel before our next activity.

Inspiration found at the Quilt Museum

Our last stop was the quilt museum, where we enjoyed looking at all of the different collections on display. It was a pleasure to learn that the new retreat owner is also the owner of the museum. The museum, both an amazing collection of Doll Quilts and an impressive collection of Thimbles. In the front of the museum, we posed next to the the world’s largest spool of thread! What a sight to see!

This trip to Hamilton was a delightful experience, and I can’t wait to go back. The town has so much to offer, and I would recommend it to any quilter looking for a dream destination.  Just make sure you let me know when you are coming – maybe I can meet you there!

I would love to know if you have ever made the trip to Hamilton! Tell me about your favorite part (there is so much more I didn’t not include in this article!)