Spending The Morning At Moms

This morning, I didn't sleep well. So, I was up and ready to go. I got a few things done before heading to moms. It's quilting Friday. Mom's Friday group is an applique group. Normally I don't like taking a lot over and having to bring it back so I decided I would work on one of mom's Block of the Month quilts. 

Mom ordered this in 2018. She falls in love with some of Debbie M's quilt designs and orders the block of the month. She ordered her most recent one. So, we chatted and I told her I would work on one of her block of the month quilts when I come over on Friday's meetings. Which means I need to get it ready. I pulled it out today and got started. 

I copied the block pattern, then I had to make templates for the block. Mom had the hard plastic pieces for the pattern. Then I had to mark around it on freezer paper. I will need to cut these out, but I will do that later. I didn't want to bring it home and do it. I also cut 6 14" blocks for the applique work to go on. That way, I have at least 6 blocks I can get started on. I didn't cut the fabric, because about that time I was wearing down. I ended up sitting down with marking the templates. It will be fun once I get everything cut out and ready to go. Time will tell. NOT like I don't have things downstairs I could work on, but like I said, I don't like trying to find them and then taking them with me. 

Came home and took my walk. I couldn't do 3 laps but I could do 2. I played my game and then while I was waiting on upgrades, I worked on my beading. 

I took out the black wire I had. Then I went to get my beading threads. I was able to get about 9 rows done. It's a start. Not happy with the center, but then it's on the bottom, so one won't see it as much as they see the sides. I remembered how to do it once I took the first one out. Just takes a few minutes to figure it out. 

Bryan, my distant cousin called. We chatted because I hadn't talked to him since I went to the hospital. We talked about my health and his. It was good to hear from him. Being in prison has been a wake up call for him. Not really sure why he's there, but when he's ready to tell me, I will listen. 

Now it's time to call it a night and I am going to try and get a good night sleep. I need one lately. I guess it might help that I was Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

An Early Start

This morning, Patrick was up at 6 am. I followed around 6:25 am. lol We were ready and out the door by 7 am to get to Patrick's oncology appointment in Olympia. While he was there, I was getting my blood tests done. Then I walked around the facility. It was pouring rain today, so we were limited to where I could walk. I walked inside the building. 

We were heading home and stopped to get my Chai tea and Patrick's coffee. Then it was to get gas. 

Surprisingly, we were home by 10:30 am. We did stop in Olympia to see if we could see the new Buick's out there. They no longer sale the new Buick's, the sell older models. So, we came on home. 

I went downstairs to work on my labels. 

 I sat and sew them. The ones on the right are ones I'm doing for mom. She's going to saw the left and bottom into the binding of each quilt. The ones in the middle are ones I have to do with the quilts here at the house. I believe there are 8 of them. We have presentation on the 2nd. Next Thursday. Then the ones on the left are sewn and needed to be flipped and ironed. 

Once that was done, I came upstairs and worked a little on the puzzle before supper. 

I was able to figure out a few things on this puzzle to put a few pieces in. I'm getting there. I'm not sure how to put the legs in there, but I will figure it out. 

While I was waiting for my game to upgrade a few things, I pulled my beading out to work on a box. I used the black wire and I'm not liking it, so I may have to use my white thread instead. I will redo it tomorrow night. I was trying to remember how to read the instructions and will do it again tomorrow to remind me. 

So, as busy as it was, I was thrilled to be back to being Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

Trying To Do More

This morning Patrick headed to golfing and I got laundry going. I was in pain this morning, and all through the day. I just let it be. It's skin pain not heart or chest pain. 

After finishing up with laundry, I pulled my beads out to get them organized. I needed to get them out of the boxes and into the tubes. 

Three months worth of beads. It's from my monthly surprise boxes. High Street Beading Company in MS has some wonderful beads. 

These are some of the other beads that came in my boxes. I can use those for other stuff. I was actually thinking of making another box. I might start that, since it's small and I don't have too much to work with. I really would like to get back to Sophie's piece, but that will have to wait. (I need to finish the puzzle so I can have room to bring it out again).

So, while I was checking my beads, I filled what I have and made more tubes for the ones I didn't. I was working off the computer. I have this all on excel so I know how much of the beads I have. That way when I find something I want to do that shows the numbers, I can go to my list and see what I have. It works great. Today I did find one tube of beads that I mislabeled and had to find the right bead color. I knew I had it, and I did. Now I have 3 tubes of it. lol Each of the rows has the bead number, 1 oz, 5 oz, 7 oz, 10 oz and 25 oz. I usually have 25 or more oz's of black (010 or 310). Those are colors I use all the time. It takes time to fill the tubes and check the list, but it's worth it for me. Otherwise, I would buy the same color over and over with tons left over. 

I was having fun doing that and playing on the computer with my game. I went back and forth getting stuff done. Spend the afternoon working on the beads. When Patrick got home, he watched TV and the next thing I saw was him asleep in the chair. At least he's active and I know it tires him out when he walks on the course. Think today he was in the cart but not sure. Naps are what help with the chemo to work. 

After all that, I called it done. I did get a few pieces in the puzzle. Then I just decided to sit and enjoy playing my game with wonderful friends. Again, today I was organizing, not beading. So, it doesn't count as being Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Getting Back To My Sewing Room

This morning, I decided to get back to working on my quilting stuff.  First I needed to clear off my table top to make room for cutting. I turned the fire on downstairs, because it was cold. Weird when it was 70 degrees today. I put my embroidery floss away. Took my kit and put everything away, since the project was done. Stacked all the quilt blocks up. 

I was shocked at how much I have! I need to get these into quilts. Every time mom brought me blocks, I put them on the table. I ask quilters if they wanted to work on them, but no one took any in the last 5 months. So, they all ended up with me. Now I have to figure out what I'm going to do with them all. I have panels that need designed and hopefully I can use them in that. I have a different panel on the wall right now and will do that one first before I try and figure these out. 

After all that, I cut the backing for the labels. We are going to do them differently, so I called mom to see if I could leave the 2 sides open for her to sew into the binding. We decided we needed more secure labels, as they are easy to take apart when I sew them down. I have about 6 quilts that need me to sew them down, but from now on we will do it differently. I have about 20 labels to sew when I go down there again. Maybe tomorrow. 

After an hour and a half, I came back upstairs. I didn't want to wear myself out. But I'm sure I did. We went walking and my shoulder was telling me I did. 

I have been playing on the puzzle as well. I kept adding a piece here and there today. I will probably go and do that when I'm done with this. 

I really wasn't able to work on the quilt, but I was able to clean up a little bit. Still doesn't make it a day of Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Visiting With Friends

Today I was up with Patrick. He headed to golfing and I wanted on Gerilyn to pick me up. We had our embroidery meeting today. 

We arrived on time with Sandy and Cindy there. Sandy 2 from Ocean Shores came today as well. It was so good to see everyone! We sat and chatted. Then mom called and asked if she could visit, told her I was at the grange and she could come over. She did. 

I worked on my goldwork. I'm so close to finishing this now! 

 I finished the greenery and buds. I found by looking at the photo, that the bud on the top left was supposed to be by the berries. I wasn't going to take it out. I showed Sandy the mark, and told her it's supposed to be by the berries not the leaves. She can decide if she wants to do the mark that's there or put it by the berries. I left mine. 

Now I'm putting the goldwork vines on. I have a lot more to go. If I decide later that they are too long, I can clip them off. It's fun stretching the goldwork out. Not crazy about the one between the leaves, so will work harder to do a better job. It's close to being done. I have to finish that part, then put the flower on, and lastly bead the center. 

I left with mom because she wanted to give Phil his quilt. She stopped at the junk yard and recycled the scredded papers she's been doing. It filled her trunk. She had them in brown bags. So, it was easy to throw them in the bin. 

Next stop was to see Phil and give him his quilt. 

This was the quilt my daughter picked for Phil when they were picking quilts after my father passed away. Then Phil gave mom her Christmas gifts. lol They both had a late Christmas gift to each other. 

Mom brought me home and gave me 3 quilts that need labels. I will work on the labels this week and get them done. First I need to clean off my table downstairs. UGH

It felt really good to be with friends and be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Movie Day

This morning Patrick slept in. I was playing my games. 

Decided I wanted to play on my puzzle today and got some done before it was time to leave. 

We decided to go to the movies. I wanted to see the new Panda movie. It was at 1:30 pm. At first I thought we would be the only ones watching it but a family of 5 showed up as well. It was really good. The graphics were better than that one previously. I enjoyed the movie and knew the voices of at least 4 of them. 

Then we walked around the building before heading home. We chatted with Patrick's brother and wife as we walked. It was great. 

Came home and I sat to put more pieces in on my puzzle. I'm really having fun. Before I started, I put a few things downstairs to put away. I will go down there later this week and clean off my table. I'm hoping to get some sewing done this week. But first I need to put a few things away. 

I'm getting more done on here. I keep putting pieces on the puzzle area, thinking they are ones I need. I'm finding that they are ones I haven't started yet. I will get there. I'm having fun with this. The more I sit and work it, the faster I find the pieces and put them where they belong. In the lower bottom, I still haven't found that piece that goes to the border. It must be an odd shaped one. I will work on it. So far, it's coming along great. 

My day was more of laundry and working on my puzzle than anything I actually worked on. I did get the trinket jar the other day, so I seriously need to work on getting my piece done. I will work on it tomorrow with the group. Gerilyn is picking me up to take me to our meeting. So, till then, I'm still not Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

One Appointment After Another

This morning we were able to sleep in, but of course, I couldn't. I let Patrick sleep in though. Then I played on my games. 

I received a call from St. Pete's regarding a referral for me to go through rehab. I chatted with the gal and said I could try it for a week, but didn't think I needed it. Around 11 am we headed back up to Olympia. Had to stop at St. Pete's to get an X-ray. The gal was awesome! She let me see my X-ray. It was interesting to see the wires down my chest. They zig zagged on my chest. Then I had to go to my surgeons PA to chat about how I'm doing. All the pains I have are normal. My chest looks good and I have plenty of room between my "zig zags" and my skin. It helps so that the stitches (or whatever) don't pop out some on the skin. That would really drive me crazy! I got the okay and good bill of health report. My final appointment there. 

Then we headed back home to stop at the bank. Once that was done we went to Dutch Brothers for a drink. Safeway was the last stop, picking up a few things we needed - and didn't need. Patrick filled himself up with sweets so he can work on gaining weight. Trouble is, he's one of those that eats all he wants and it goes out the other end. Not gaining any weight! Wish at times I had that. 

Got home and I was enjoying my Ancestry magazine. Then I got back to playing on my tablet. My friend and I decided to start the game over in another kingdom. So, we started our own alliance. It's a new kingdom, so we should do really well. 

Now I'm tired and hurting, so going to call it a night. Not a day for Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Woke In Pain

This morning, I woke in pain. Actually, had pain all night. So, I pretty much didn't do much all day. 

 I think the pain is from moving around. It's pulling on the seams. It's something I need to do and will continue, so that it's not tight all the time. It takes a lot of getting used to. Pain is pain and I have learned to deal with it. 

I did get my walking in. AND I did work on my puzzle a little bit today. 

I did find one of the border pieces that's missing. I have one more. I like this puzzle. It's fun. I worked on connecting the top and side together today. It's getting easier to find the right pieces. This is a fun one to work on. 

I've been playing games today. We decided to change kingdoms because of the one we were in. They were getting pretty bad. If they didn't like what someone said, they just went after them. I didn't care for the way they did things. So, we went to another kingdom and started our own group. We are going to have to be careful though, because it's a small group compared to the larger ones. 

And no, it wasn't a day were I could be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Worn Out

 Today I slept a little longer after Patrick went golfing. I was wide awake when he went for his shower, but I made myself go back to bed. 

When I did get up, I was hurting a little. I was also in the mood of just not interested in much. I was more worn out than anything. And I slept pretty good. 

Connie came over to get some backing material. 

She needed some beige fabric for the backing of a couple quilts. She cut one of each of these. I couldn't help her. She brought her own marker and ruler. She marks it then she cuts it. I just cut it. I gave her some scraps that were on the table as well. She left with bags and fabric. 

Then I went to work on my puzzle. 

I just couldn't decide on what I wanted to do. So, I went and sat down to work on my puzzle. I still have 2 pieces in the border I haven't found yet. I'm hoping they are there somewhere. I finished one book on audio and started another one. Both are good. 

Then I played on my tablet and called it a night. I'm just not there today. I couldn't even get 3 laps in on walking. I'm hoping to get a good nights sleep and get back to being able to do stuff (even though I can't lift 10 lbs for another week). 

I'm hoping things will be better tomorrow and I can be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

A Day In Olympia

 This morning, we were up early. We wanted to relax before heading up to Olympia for our doctor appointments. 

We were there by 10 am to get to my cardiologist appointment. I really like Dr. Waggner! He's straight forward. I learned a lot more about what I went through. It was pretty much, if I hadn't gone up and had a heart attack, I wouldn't be here right now. 

Then we headed over to Kaiser, where Patrick needed to see the pharmacist. Once that was done, then we went up to get his port flushed. After that, we got some food from the stand and went to the car to eat. When that was done, we walked about a half mile around the building. Came back to the car to wait. We had a good hour and a half before my next appointment. We got blood before the port being flushed. When it was time we went in to my oncologist and I'm back on the preventative medication. Everything looked good and they were very happy with the way I was recovering. It's still going to take time, but I think I'm doing good. Patrick even told them about what I've been doing to help me along. 

We stopped at the car wash. Then we headed to the museum to pick up the money I forgot to get on Thursday. We have a money box there. 

Came home and I was beat. I have another phone visit tomorrow with my PT cardiologist.  Dr. Waggner was happy to see I was doing that too. I can start doing my back exercises as long as I'm not on my hands and knees. 

Played games for awhile. Now I'm ready to call it a night. I'm sorry I wasn't in the mood to be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Enjoying Embroidery Today

 Patrick went golfing and I got a few things done before Sandy came over. We decided to get together today even though the others couldn't make it. I didn't want to drive to the grange, so I asked her over. 

We sat and worked on our Goldwork. 

I was surprised at how pretty this is coming. I worked on the beads in the first berry and then the goldwork on the second berry. Once those were done, Sandy and I liked the idea of using the goldwork in green for the stems.  I think it looks a lot better than if I worked in embroidery. Once I get the stem stuff done and one more set of buds, then I can work on the main flower. This will really be pretty when done. I don't think I will have to wash it, since the goldwork is wire. 

After Sandy left, I sat and played my games. Patrick took a nap. Then when he was up, we went for our walk. I was getting ready for my doctor appointment tomorrow with the cardiologist and then the oncologist. It's going to be a busy morning. I also have to do my blood tests. 

As it turned out, I was just happy that Sandy came over and we could be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting.