"Have it to the Full"

It's the night before pre-planning and I am panicked.  It's the end of the summer for me.  Did we do it all?  Did we soak up the summer and enjoy it to the fullest?  I took a minute to peruse my collection of pictures and breathed a little sigh of relief.  

We made cookies...

And danced at a wedding...

And swam...

 And hung out with Nana...

And grilled out...

 And got some hair decor...

 And played in the sprinkler...

And visited with friends...

 And went to birthday parties...

 And had backyard barbeques...

 And s'mores...

 And made a rainbow cake...

 And swam...

 And ate the rainbow cake...

And went camping...

 And bowling...

And rode go-carts...

 And swam with the dolphins...

And made cupcakes...

And sang Happy Birthday...

 And went to DOZ camp...

 And made a quilt...

 And sang Happy 1/2 Birthday...

 And learned to sew some stuff...

 And went square dancing...

 And had a lemonade stand...

 And cleaned...

 And happily served...

 And celebrated...

 And felt deep joy...

And welcomed new friends...

 And enjoyed old friends...

 And sewed...

 And created new things...

And dressed like cows...

And quilted "vintage" style...

 And got yogurt with friends...

 And had a party...

And taught swimming lessons...

 And shot the gun...

 And enjoyed family...

 And quilted...

 And caught some fish...

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;

I have come that

they may have life,
and have it to the full.
John 10:10

So grateful for a summer full of "Joy-Making Days."

Joy-Making Quilts

A few weeks ago, my daughter's dear friend asked me if I would teach her to quilt.  

(Twist my arm.)  

Her mom and I looked at the calendar and figured out a few days for lessons.

On day one, we made a little mug rug.  Rebecca and Mabry chose fabrics from the scrap basket and we went through all the steps for a miniature version of a quilt.  

I gave them two rules... (1) Measure precisely and (2) Iron well.

On day two, I took them to my favorite fabric store in Greenville 

and they each got a little stash of fabric.  

We came home and made pinwheels.  They worked until midnight.  

It is so much fun sewing with them at this age.  They load their own bobbins and pull out their mistakes and fix their machines when they give them a little "fit"... ahhhh.   And more than a handful of times did I hear this, 

"Mrs. Alisa, this is so much fun!"  (Be still my heart.)

On day three, we made a real quilt!  

They chose a collection of fabric and a pattern they liked and I cut all their pieces while they put their squares together and tried not to "fight" over the iron.  

 

And these two munchkins were around most of the time.  Maybe I will teach them to quilt one day....or better yet, maybe Rebecca and Mabry will!

 

Then they laid out their quilt squares to make their quilt top.

On day four, they put them all together!  

Teaching my first "quilt class" was SO MUCH FUN!  Now my pupils are ready to soar!  

Recently Mabry bought a vintage pink and yellow sheet at a flea market.  

(Confession:  I have been coveting it!)  

Imagine my delight when she cut a yard of it and tied it up for me with this sweet note.   

It IS such a "Joy-Making" quilts!

Looking forward to our next project!