Thankful Thursday - November 16, 2017

I'm mixing things up a little this month with a Thankful Thursday blogpost.  It's good to be thankful in life!  This week I want to share how thankful I am for technology.  WHAT!  Technology.... said by the person who manages to hang up on everyone when a second call is waiting and who publicly asks at the AT&T store if they have a rotary dial cell phone! 

Yes, technology... after all, without it - you wouldn't be reading this blog post .... 

Earlier this week I was a  guest on the American Patchwork & Quilting Podcast hosted by Pat Sloan.  You can listen to the podcast as we talk about why I like teaching online classes.

And yes, without technology, we wouldn't have online classes, Facebook Live or any of the other video options that we have come to expect.

Online classes allow me to share my knowledge with so many more people than I could ever expect to reach if I were just teaching in person.  I would love to take a quick poll here - so give me a simple yes or no in the comments ... Have you taken an online class?  If you want to share more information about the class, that's fine. And if it's one of my online classes, then you get bonus points :)  - just kidding :)

I talk to a lot of people who are hesitant about taking an online class for a variety of reasons.  I love them not only as an instructor but also as a student.   You can see all my online classes available through Annie's Craft Store.  They are all professionally produced and some are even on sale right now!

Even though technology can be a big pain in the "you-know-where" some days, it is part of our lives and it is here to stay.  So we can either reject it, accept it or be thankful for it!  I choose Thankful!

Zippers - Cover Quilt of Annie's Quilting with Precuts

Zippers made the COVER !

Finding out that my Zippers quilt was selected as the cover quilt of Annie's Quilting with Precuts was the best Christmas present.  I actually found out a few days before Christmas but needed to keep it under wraps until the magazine went on sale to the public.

This quilt is made with 2-1/2" precut strips paired with neutral solid.  I selected a jelly roll of Bobbins and Bits designed by Pat Sloan for Moda.  I fell in love with the fresh color palette.

While I was working on this quilt late last summer, I had several quilts in progress all with similar publisher deadlines.  As the projects were attempting to merge together on my cutting table, I had to QUICKLY figure out a way to keep them organized.  I grabbed the first thing available - a vintage enamel wash pan.

I am avid collector of all things antique and vintage.  (That sounds much better than auction-junkee!)  So it only made sense that I had several of these pans at the studio.  And the best part - they work great!  I had enough room to put the yardage along with the unrolled jelly roll.  As I was cutting the pieces, I could easily toss the extra pieces back into the pan to keep them together.  I now have 4 or 5 of these pan in the studio with projects-in-progress in them!

If you make a quilt using my pattern, be sure to share a photo of it with me on my Facebook Page -   Masterpiece Quilting   I would love to see your version!