My Star Collection

It's that time again, where we're getting ready for our next My Stars book. We're up to Volume III already in the series! People just love collecting the old Kansas City Star patterns - can you imagine how cool it's going to be when we have these books all complete?! It will be the official guide to the historical patterns - you will have them all!

I have attached a pdf of the next patterns we're seeking. Please send pictures of the quilts you have of these patterns. We'll go through them, and hopefully yours will be picked to be published in the book! If it is selected, we'll send you a free copy of the book once it's complete!

Please send your photos to me at dmclendon@kcstar.com. I can't wait to see all the beautiful quilts again!

I love Kansas City Star patterns — I always have. As a quilter, I can't even imagine how exciting it would have been to get a FREE pattern each week in the paper. Almost as exciting as getting fabric from the chicken feed bags!

Mexican Star, my favorite, redrafted for My Star Collection.I'm sure I would have been like my Grandmother — clipping each one and pasting them in a three-ring binder for "someday." You never know when you might need that pattern. Having been born 50 years too late for that, I've had to collect them here and there — from my mother-in-law, from strangers and from the Internet.

Finally several years ago, I broke down and bought copies of them all — neatly collected in spiral-bound books organized by year with an index. I have spent a lot of time flipping through these books, daydreaming about this quilt or the other that I might make. I'd love to make them all — even the ridiculously hard ones that no one in their right mind would make!

The past couple of years have flown by – and I credit that to my job as Kansas City Star Quilts’ marketing and sales manager. My job sort of exists in a cycle: books come out four times a year, quilt market is twice a year, and then boom, another year is gone and it starts all over again.

Well, we’re in the short lull between quilt markets, and our July books are making their way to the printer, so I have taken the time to get my ducks in a row!

Mrs. Bobbins' General StoreFirst order of business: For you Mrs. Bobbins lovers, it is your lucky day! We have just opened a store site dedicated exclusively to Mrs. Bobbins! Get your favorite cartoon printed on a t-shirt, mousepad, notecards, apron – the options are innumerable! And here’s the great part: If your favorite cartoon isn’t there, but yet you want it, say, as a wall clock, let me know, and I will take care of that for you. Click here to shop the store. For custom orders, email info@pickledish.com.

In May, we plan to release a book that includes a selection of 25 of the first patterns offered to My Star Collection subscribers. The book, called "My Stars: Patterns from The Kansas City Star, Vol. I," will include redrafted patterns that were published in The Kansas City Star newspaper sometime between 1928 and 1961. Each pattern will include templates, fabric requirements, and assembly instructions, as well as the history of the block. But we’re missing one thing – quilts made up of these blocks!

This is where you come in! If you have a quilt made up of any of the blocks listed below and would like to have it published in our book, please email us a sample picture. If chosen, we’ll ship your quilt to our studios to be photographed and then back again – we pay for shipping – and we’ll give you a free copy of the book once it is released.

Below are the patterns we'd like to see quilts made of:

Broken Sugar Bowl
Caps for Witches and Dunces
Carrie Nation
Christmas Tree
Coffee Cups
Cog Wheels
Contrary Husband
Contrary Wife
Crystal Star
Economy
Flying Colors
Four Patch Fox and Goose

I can’t believe it’s been over a year since we launched MY STAR COLLECTION, our pattern subscription service. It hasn’t always been the smoothest of rides, or at least it seemed so on our end, so we decided to survey our subscribers as renewal time came around.

Since many of you participate in the program, and also participated in the survey, we thought you’d like to know the results. About half of our subscribers filled out the survey. In marketing terms, that is an unbelievably successful turnout! So thank you! (And by the way, MY STAR subscribers, be sure to read to the end of this blog for a thank-you offer just for you!)

Sample Survey ResultsTo summarize, we learned that:

• 91.4 percent of you have enjoyed the patterns offered thus far.

In September, we will release a DVD about the historical Kansas City Star patterns. While we have all of the information regarding the patterns, we’re missing one key component – YOU!

We want to hear your stories about the Kansas City Star patterns, whether you collect them, have old quilts made of them, however they’re important to you. We hope to pick a few memories and feature these stories in the DVD.

So please, leave comments about your stories (so all can enjoy), or if you prefer, email them to dmclendon@kcstar.com. And please, let me know how I can get a hold of you!

Be sure to check back next week to see what Edie McGinnis has been up to! We’ll give you a hint… it starts with an R…

brought to you by Kansas City Star Quilts

Between 1928 and 1961, The Kansas City Star published over 1,000 different quilt patterns in the newspaper. These patterns have become world famous and will remain favorites for generations to come. To continue this tradition, in 1999, The Kansas City Star began publishing quilting books that include new favorite, beloved patterns.

For the first time ever, you can start collecting all of The Kansas City Star quilt patterns, old and new!

Sign up for MY STAR COLLECTION and download a Kansas City Star quilt pattern once a week for a year! The annual subscription is ONLY $20! Each pattern has been carefully redrafted to eliminate inaccuracies and includes rotary-cutting instructions. In addition, you will also receive: