2-Cent Tuesday & A Leaders/Enders Sew-Along!

QUICK PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT – please note that I will be responding to your questions/comments in the comment section from now. Due to time constraint, I won’t be responding via email. So, if you ask a question, do check back on the comment section in this post for answers!

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Hello Friends, Happy Tuesday to you! I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving.

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I often work on more than one or two quilts at one time, and in between, I always have another project that has easy units to make as my leaders and enders units. For those who aren’t familiar with leaders-and-enders units — here’s how they work. They are just simple units for a “side” quilt that you would make while working on chain piecing for your main quilt project. That way you don’t have to cut off any threads as you sew.

So, it’s like getting an extra quilt pieced while you are working on your projects. It is a GREAT way to make charity quilts that generally have simpler designs. And that brings up the leaders-and-enders quilt that I will be working on for the next few months.

I am going to do a sew-along between mid-December 2021 and April 2022 with this Aunt Grace Sew Charming Hearts quilt. All are welcome to join!

Click HERE to purchase the kit from Hancocks of Paducah. Picture below shows exactly what you are getting with the kit — a FQ bundle, background and binding fabrics! These 30s’ prints from Marcus Fabrics’ Aunt Grace Sew Charming line are absolutely adorable. Click HERE to see the individual prints.

This is supposed to be a stress-free sew along because you will just be sewing the blocks as leaders-and-enders when you work on your main quilt! It’s never a race. And you are more than welcome to join in if you just want to make the quilt at your own pace, or make the quilt a main quilt project. I will, however, have a few dates (12/16/21 – 3/21/22) where I check in with you on your progress. Our first date is 12/16/21. You will have some time to get the kits in the meantime. So check back on 12/16/21 for our first assignment! With the assignments I will share with you as time goes on, you will find that these heart blocks are great as leaders and enders blocks!

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Now for my 2-cents this week — one way to ensure you actually finish a quilt you start is to grab a friend or two or three to work on the same quilt. That way, you can spur each other on to finish the quilt!

Recently, Bronwyn of New Zealand had a friendly sewing contest with my Stomping Ground design with her friend Helena who lives across the globe in Sweden! They picked a pattern, determined the number of blocks they were going to make in a week, and had a contest to see who was first completing their weekly assignment. The end result: they completed their quilt just after a few weeks.

Then, both Jenny Doan of Missouri Star and her friend Cherry made a quilt with my Go Big or Go Gnome design. Again, sewing with friends = completed quilt! [The pattern for Go Big or Go Gnome is in the book Quilted Gnomes for Your Home HERE.]

Both sweet sewing-with-friends stories is proof you can sew along with your friend(s) whether you live close by to each other or not — and have lots of fun — AND complete lots of quilts!

So, why not grab a friend and pick a quilt you would like to work on for 2022, and then cheer each other on while working on the quilt? How about making that Aunt Grace Sew Charming quilt with your group of quilting friends?

That’s my 2-cents this week. Now it’s your turn to share your 2-cents!

Have a great rest of your week!

p.s. I will be doing “A Christmas Quilt A Day” series on Instagram starting December 1, and you will see my Go Big or Go Gnome quilt there!

Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ivory_spring/

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My Etsy Shop (THREADS SHIP FREE to continental US): https://www.etsy.com/shop/ivoryspring 

My Online Machine Quilting Classes: https://www.anniescatalog.com/onlineclasses/instructor.html?id=16

Find all my stand-alone patterns: https://shrsl.com/337dq

2-Cent Tuesday

Hello Friends,

I hope your week got off a great start — I can’t believe we are well into November already! I am going to delay my posts on the Christmas quilts I made this year because I still have fall-ish things to share! This is a quilt I made from a block exchange organized by Carolyn Beam, editor of Quilters World. You may read her column on block exchange HERE.

And then, if you are up to some stress-less stitching, my daughter Gwen has something cooked up. These mini pumpkin pillows are actually from last year, but certainly fit in our current season. You may read about how Gwen’s thoughts on 12wt versus embroidery floss for cross stitching, and download the FREE cross stitch chart HERE. Gwen’s Woodland Spool-en-dids is available for purchase HERE.

I have shared these two quilts with you in previous posts. They are featured in the Autumn 2021 issue of Quilters World.

And that brings up the third project featured in the same magazine issue – Snowing in October table runner – that I will use for my 2-Cents for this week. You may purchase the magazine issue that HERE. It has complete instructions for all three projects.

I tend to merge my decorations for fall and Christmas! Sure, I would put up all the orange/brown silk flowers etc after Thanksgiving. But anything that has red/green accents in my fall decorations, I keep through Christmas. Less work for me keep up that way. You can see the tablecloth I use for my dining table for Thanksgiving. It’s actually a Christmas tablecloth – but it works great for my fall/Thanksgiving table.

So my 2-Cents for this week is: Choose a color palette that will work for fall/Christmas for your seasonal projects – that way you will be able to display, show off, and enjoy your quilted projects longer! Adding red and green in your fall color palette is a great way to bridge the fall and Christmas colorways!

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I want to also let you know that my fat-quarter-friendly Pick of the Patch pattern is now available in my Etsy Shop. The fabrics I am using to make the quilt are my Jo Morton’s upcoming line called Rose, by Moda Fabrics. You may view the fabric line HERE.

And that’s it from me, Friends! Feel free to share your 2-Cents for the week. I love reading your 2-Cents because I always learn something new! Have a lovely rest of your week!

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Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ivory_spring/

My Etsy Shop (THREADS SHIP FREE to continental US): https://www.etsy.com/shop/ivoryspring 

My Online Machine Quilting Classes: https://www.anniescatalog.com/onlineclasses/instructor.html?id=16

Find all my stand-alone patterns: https://shrsl.com/337dq

2-Cent Tuesday is BACK

Hello My Friends — LONG LONG time no chat! How is it that it’s been three months since I last updaetd my blog? My apologies — the last few months have been extremely busy with work and life. All’s well at my end, and I hope all’s well at your end too!

I do stay in touch with my quilting friends on Instagram, and upate my feed almost everyday. So if you are on Instagram, look me up. Just do a search on my name “Wendy Sheppard”. I have found Instagram to be a really fun platform for quilters — lots of inspirations, interesting discussions, and friendly back-and-forth!

My Fall Leaves quilt was featured in American Quilter’s September 2021 issue this year. I love making leaf quilts. The fabrics are I used are Bristol Belle by Marcus Fabrics. Click HERE to purchase the fabrics.

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SO, I have been working with precuts lately. Here are my 2-Cents for today…

Before you unpack any precut bundles, rub the fabric raw edges gently with painters tape. THEN, if you are working with a jelly roll (or 2.5″ strip bundle), go over the fabric raw edges a hand held vacuum. That will make the unpacking process so much cleaner!

Stay tuned for my upcoming 2022 projects using precuts. This is one of them!

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Also, I never shared the news here about my new thread collection “INDIGO” that is inspired by my love of British blue and white china! Click HERE to order/reserve your INDIGO thread collection while they are available.

You will get 5 small spools of 50wt, as well as 5 spools of embroidery floss with INDIGO to cover a whole range of projects.

Click HERE to order/reserve your INDIGO thread collection while they are available.

Can you believe Thanksgiving is in just a few weeks, and then Christmas will be upon us? Some years I don’t make any Christmas quilts, but some years I have quite a few made. This is one of those years I have made a few Christmasy projects. I will share them the next time I post.

Thank you for stopping by! I shared my 2-cents for today, now it’s YOUR turn. Or you can just tell me what you have been up to, since it’s been a while since we visited.

Take care, till next time!

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Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ivory_spring/

My Etsy Shop (THREADS SHIP FREE to continental US): https://www.etsy.com/shop/ivoryspring 

My Online Machine Quilting Classes: https://www.anniescatalog.com/onlineclasses/instructor.html?id=16

Find all my stand-alone patterns: https://shrsl.com/337dq

A Double Dose 2-Cent Tuesday

Hello Friends, I hope you have been well! Before I forget, there is a chance for you a win a Stomping Ground Kit from Hancocks of Paducah! Click HERE for details and to vote your favorite version!

Summer came to an end, and my daughter started 7th grade this past week. Many of you had known her as Miss Baby since she was born. How time has flown by, and now I have a 7th grader in the house. This quilt I am sharing with you is inspired by my daughter’s love for the Little House on the Prairie books when she was much younger. I titled it “Little Village on the Prairie”. There is ONE block in this quilt that is not like the others…. can you spot it?

Little Village on the Prairie is featured in Quilters World Autumn 2021 issue. You may purchase the issue HERE.

The fabrics I used are from Warm Winter Wishes fabric line by Moda. I like this fabric line because the prints fund little accents that are versatile in any quilts. You may purchase the fabrics HERE.

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Since I missed our regular 2-Cent Tuesday last week, I am sharing my 2-Cents x 2 today!

#1. If you like to use as many fabrics as you possibly can in your applique projects, charm pack (or Fat Quarter bundles) could be your best friends. Since the applique pieces in many classes are small, charm squares make the perfect size to cut and prepare your pieces.

#2. If you wonder what background fabric to use for your quilt, color cards are really handy — especially when a color like white comes in different shades. It could be bright white, antique white, creamy white etc. Sometimes the colors shown on a computer screen for a solid is completely different in real life! That happened to me recently. I thought I was getting a dark navy indigo, and the actual fabric showed up as purple. That’s why a color card comes in really handy when you are trying to decide what shade you need for your quilt background.

And that’s my 2-cents in double dosage for this week and last! Now it’s your turn to share your 2-cents!

Have a lovely week.

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Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ivory_spring/

My Etsy Shop (THREADS SHIP FREE to continental US): https://www.etsy.com/shop/ivoryspring 

My Online Machine Quilting Classes: https://www.anniescatalog.com/onlineclasses/instructor.html?id=16

2-Cent Tuesday

Hello Friends, it’s Tuesday again! I hope you have had a lovely start to your week. It’s time to think about fall — and I have a couple “colder months” fall quilts to share with you today!

#1. Autumn is Calling – featured with complete pattern in Quilters World Autumn 2021 issue. You may purchase the issue HERE.

#2. Autumn Leaves kit – purchase kit HERE.

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And my 2-cents for this week: USE YOUR PHONE to take pictures of your blocks before you sew them together, or even after the quilt top is sewn together, but BEFORE the quilt is quilted!

[Ask me how I know this is an important step! I recently turned in a magazine project where I didn’t realize one of the blocks was turned incorrectly. The project was quilted and bound and sent to the editor — before I realized the error! Fortunately the project is a small project, and it took me a day to re-make the project to resend to the editor.]

The picture you take doesn’t have to be fancy — following is one I took of Autumn is Calling before it was quilted!

That’s my 2-cents for today. Now it’s your turn to share yours with other quilters! Thank you for stopping by. I hope you have a lovely rest of your week!

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Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ivory_spring/

My Etsy Shop (THREADS SHIP FREE to continental US): https://www.etsy.com/shop/ivoryspring 

My Online Machine Quilting Classes: https://www.anniescatalog.com/onlineclasses/instructor.html?id=16

Find all my stand-alone patterns: https://shrsl.com/337dq

(Late) 2-Cent Tuesday & World Elephant Day

Hello Friends, Happy Thursday and World Elephant Day to you! It’s time to re-read a poem about elephant written, by my daughter.

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The Elephant

by GKS, Jan 2021

Oh, creature of colossal height!

Oh, creature of such stately might!

Your trunk is like a garden hose

But bigger. And, as for your toes

They are huge! Oh, Mighty One,

When most see you they want to run.

Your trumpeting is louder than

An orchestra. And, having no fan

You slop black mud between your ears

Which takes care of your sweaty fears.

Your tusks! Well, they’re something to see!

For they are made of ivory!

Oh, wonderful! Marvelous to behold!

What a brave creature and bold!

I think we overlook your tail.

You show it off, but to no avail.

So I will help. Oh, lovely tail!

It’s quite thin, quite as thin as a rail.

And your legs! Oh, gracious, they’re like trees!

And just look at those giant knees!

Oh, how could I forget the ears?

With them, one most assuredly hears

Things that us humans do not know

Such as ‘Elephants know their friends from foes!’

Your physique is clumsy, I’m afraid.

It is the truth, it must be said.

However, you can run, if needed.

Your wise advice is quite best heeded

Because of your great memory

And because you are quite, quite free.

And now, my poetry must relent –

Goodbye, my friend, the elephant.

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You may remember the quilt-along Pat Sloan did with my Stomping Ground pattern last fall. I have certainly enjoyed seeing the different elephant quilts made with the pattern.

There are two kits available that I know of at the moment —

Click here to purchase this kit using Moda’s Tochi fabrics:

Click here to pre-order this version with Moda’s Jungle Paradise fabrics:

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And here’s my 2-cents for this week: I keep an inexpensive and small handheld vacuum close by when I am trimming my block pieces to keep my cutting mat clean. That keeps my trimming debris (aka fuzz and lint) to a minimum on my cutting mat! The vacuum works much better than me trying to scrape fabric debris off with my quilting ruler off the mat!

[And yes, I need a new cutting mat. I am still researching what I should get next…]

That’s all I have for my 2-cents this week. Now it’s your turn to share your 2 or 3 cents!

Thank you for stopping by! I hope you have a lovely rest of your week.

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Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ivory_spring/

My Etsy Shop (THREADS SHIP FREE to continental US): https://www.etsy.com/shop/ivoryspring 

My Online Machine Quilting Classes: https://www.anniescatalog.com/onlineclasses/instructor.html?id=16

2-Cent Tuesday

Hello Friends, I hope you are doing well. I do apologize for missing last week’s 2-Cent Tuesday. Too much happening at the same time. But here I am today — we are less than 3 weeks before the new school year starts for my daughter. And we are busy getting things done before school starts again.

Two weeks ago, I shared with you my Farmhouse Comfort quilt in the Quilts for Autumn book.

I actually have a second quilt included in the same book, Acorn Juggling! The squirrel block looks hard, but it really isn’t.

You may purchase the book HERE.

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Meanwhile, fall is just around the corner, and I am not JUST KITTEN AROUND!

You may purchase the kit and/or paper pattern HERE.

Or you may purchase the fabrics HERE.

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And for my 2-cents today… You know how sometimes when you are trying to draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of a square for making half-square-triangle units, and the square would go wobbly a bit, and then that causes the diagonal line to go wonky? That happens to me especially when dealing with small squares…. to solve that problem, I have a mini tiny cutting mat right by my machine where I place the squares and then draw my diagonal lines. The cutting mat keeps the squares in place, and my diagonal lines accurate!

This is my mat HERE – except mine is quite well worn now! At 5″ x 8″, it is just a really nice size.

So, that’s my 2-cents for this week! It’s your turn to share your 2-cents. I hope you have a lovely rest of your summer. See you next time!

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Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ivory_spring/

My Etsy Shop (THREADS SHIP FREE to continental US): https://www.etsy.com/shop/ivoryspring 

My Online Machine Quilting Classes: https://www.anniescatalog.com/onlineclasses/instructor.html?id=16

2-Cent Tuesday

Hello Friends, I hope you had a lovely start to your week, and that you are still enjoying your summer. Our summer weather seems milder than years past, and I have enjoyed the fact I am still able to walk outside and not feel like I was going to vaporize!

But for those who are enduring the summer heat as best as you can, just know that autumn is coming soon! I am happy to share with you one of my newest published quilt, Farmhouse Comfort. It is in Annie’s new book Quilts for Autumn. You may purchase the book HERE. I actually have two projects in that book.

I have heard from quilters who expressed that they are looking for quilt designs that use fewer fabrics. Farmhouse Comfort uses 3 fabrics!

And that brings up my 2-cents for this week:

Quilts made with solid fabrics are in a class by themselves. Solids are great for striking visual effects in that the colors of the fabric are not “broken” up in anyway as in prints, plus quilts made with solids are perfect for showing off quilted texture! Next time you are at your quilt shop, you might spend a few extra minutes in the solids section?

That’s it from me today — now it’s your turn! Tell me which company (companies) makes your favorite solids!

Thank you for stopping by. Have a lovely rest of your week!

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Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ivory_spring/

My Etsy Shop (THREADS SHIP FREE to continental US): https://www.etsy.com/shop/ivoryspring 

My Online Machine Quilting Classes: https://www.anniescatalog.com/onlineclasses/instructor.html?id=16

2-Cent Tuesday

Hello Friends, it’s Tuesday again! I hope you had a great start to your week. It’s been a busy sort of week, but I did manage to get Scissors & Spools pattern listed in my shop.

Scissors & Spools is a Layer Cake (10″ Squares)-Friendly pattern. The quilt finishes at 46″ x 61″. Click here to purchase the pattern in PDF format. Or, if you prefer the paper format, Fat Quarter Shop has them.

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Did you know this past Sunday was National Sewing Machine Day?

I am often asked what machine I use — I am a Bernina girl, from the very beginning.

But here are my 2-cents on purchasing a sewing machine:

Always test out a machine at a local dealer before you make the purchase. While you are at the dealer, ask as many questions as you can think of! Sometimes, ALL your sewing needs might be met in a mid level model instead of the schnazziest model.

BUT a friendly note of caution – in purchasing a sewing machine, just know that the machine will determine the level of sewing enjoyment. If you end up getting a machine with which you constantly fight, you won’t enjoy sewing as much as if you had gotten a machine that is more collaborative!

It’s your turn to share your 2-cents on purchasing a sewing machine!

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you have a lovely rest of your week!

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Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ivory_spring/

My Etsy Shop (THREADS SHIP FREE to continental US): https://www.etsy.com/shop/ivoryspring 

My Online Machine Quilting Classes: https://www.anniescatalog.com/onlineclasses/instructor.html?id=16

2-Cent Tuesday

Hello Friends, it’s Tuesday again! I hope you are well.

I have another magazine featured quilt to share with you today – Split Decisions in Quilts and More Summer 2021 issue. This one is a little bit out of the box as the quilt only uses 3 fabrics. That almost never happens. But do stay tuned, in a few weeks I hope to share with you another quilt that will hopefully make you laugh when compared with Split Decisions.

This quilt uses my triangle tricks that I had share with you in a previous 2-Cent Tuesday post HERE.

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I had shared with you I have a hobbit-hole sized sewing room where I cram every thing sewing/quilting-related into the room so they don’t spill to the other areas of the house. So I have a rather small cutting area. Small cutting area means small cutting mat. Small cutting mat means smaller rulers. Two rulers I can’t live without are: 8″ x 8″ square, and 6″ x 12″ rectangle! I find that I can almost cut any pieces with those 2 rulers. Even when I have to cut a strip that is, say, 3″ x 14 1/2″. I would fold my fabric in half, and cut 3″ x 7 1/4″ using my 6″ x 9″ rectangle. My two cents today is to find your favorite rulers, and use them to fit your circumstances!

That’s it from me today. It’s now your turn — what size(s) is/are your favorite rulers?

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Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ivory_spring/

My Etsy Shop (THREADS SHIP FREE to continental US): https://www.etsy.com/shop/ivoryspring 

My Online Machine Quilting Classes: https://www.anniescatalog.com/onlineclasses/instructor.html?id=16

2-Cent Tuesday

Hello Friends, I hope your week got off a stupendous start! I am catching up on my rotations of quilt projects this week. Click HERE if you hadn’t read my two cents on UFOs.

I often receive questions about if fat quarters can be substituted for the yardages listed in my patterns. I often use FQs for my for-sale patterns when possible, mainly because I like that the use of FQs is an easy way to make a quilt look more scrappy. The other reason is that FQs are much easier to store than fabric yardages.

If you ever wonder about the feasibility of using FQs in any patterns, my two cents on that are to either:

#1. determine first the pieces needed for a particular fabric as indicated in the pattern. Then, use pencil and paper to map out a cutting strategy, and see if all the pieces can be cut from a FQ (18″ x 21″). The following cutting diagram used in some of my patterns gives an idea what you can do:

#2. You can also tape pieces of paper together to make a rectangle of 18″ x 21″, and cut out the pieces as if you are cutting from fabric. That way, you don’t waste an actual fabric FQ!

Well, those are my two-cents for today! Happy Quilting, and I hope you have a lovely rest of the week.

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Here are a few FQ-friendly patterns from my Etsy shop if you are interested. Click HERE to purchase the pattern pdfs.

Stomping Ground:

Basketful of Blessings

Tiddlywinks

Fanciful Floor

Just Kitten Around

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Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ivory_spring/

My Etsy Shop (THREADS SHIP FREE to continental US): https://www.etsy.com/shop/ivoryspring 

My Online Machine Quilting Classes: https://www.anniescatalog.com/onlineclasses/instructor.html?id=16

2-Cent Tuesday

Hello Friends, it is 11.30pm my time on Tuesday, and it looks like I made our 2-Cent Tuesday party in the nick of time! I hope you have had a good day. First off, a new magazine feature in the Summer 2021 issue of Primitive Quilts and Projects! So often browns are used as accent fabrics in blocks. I set out to give the various browns the major role in this quilt design.

And here are my two cents for today: I never cut all my block pieces at one time before sewing. AFTER COMPLETING A TEST BLOCK (always do a test block!), I only cut enough pieces to do the number of blocks in one block colorway. That keep things from being too boring and monotonous for me.

For example, in the brown house quilt above — I would cut enough pieces for one light brown colorway, and sew the pieces together to make the blocks. Then, I cut the second round of fabrics – enough to make blocks of a different colorway, and so forth! I find that I keep my concentration better that way and make fewer mistakes.

And those are my 2-cents for today, now it’s your turn! Happy Quilting, my Friends!

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Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ivory_spring/

My Etsy Shop (THREADS SHIP FREE to continental US): https://www.etsy.com/shop/ivoryspring 

My Online Machine Quilting Classes: https://www.anniescatalog.com/onlineclasses/instructor.html?id=16