Thursday, January 22, 2026

Getting Lazy - But Still Crocheting

Today, I was up and Patrick was waiting to go golfing. I hate it when he ends up waiting to go. I like having my mornings to myself sometimes. He didn't leave till about 10:30 am. 

I had my game to play at noon, so I played getting a few things done on my war game. I'm getting closer to upgrading but it takes forever. 

After Patrick left, I turned on my audiobook and played for a while. 

Mom stopped by for some fabric to work on some blocks for QOV. She stayed a short amount of time. She wanted the bright colors that I have little of anymore. I need to get more bright colors to work with, but that isn't easy when all the donations are a little duller. We have darker blues and reds, but most look better with the bright colors. We will have to work on this in the future when we order fabrics to us. 

Then I decided I could do both playing and crocheting at the same time. 

I was able to get this much done in a short amount of time. I started it, got the cuff done and Patrick walked into the house. I was able to get most of the cable done while watching "Murder in Paradise" or something like that. British show. I'm wondering when this guy leaves. The don't seem to keep the same gay. I did see a newer series and the guy they have, I didn't care for, but haven't gotten to that series yet. 

I need to.......work on my genealogy........work on another quilt top.........work on my Hawaiian quilt.......my cat beading......etc. I can't seem to get my butt in gear and get stuff done! I will try and work on that this year. I need to see what I can finish and not get carried away to start something new. I did contact the Stitching Shop about the order I placed. I received the email saying it went out in the mail today! Woo Hoo! I can get back to my cross stitching when that comes in! I also need to get my beading out too......Oh, Crap, here I go again.....need to do this.....need to do that....and I'm still not doing any of it!! 

At least today, I did find a way to be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Wednesday, January 21, 2026

Crocheting Today & Casino

This morning, Patrick was up before me. He waited till about 10:30 am to go golfing. The weather is cold and the frost is out there in the mornings. The golf course doesn't want anyone out there before the frost is cleared. He ended up waiting till 11:30 am to go out. 

I enjoyed the morning by doing nothing important. I decided to listen to my book and enjoy the morning. So, I pulled out my crocheting and worked on the leg warmers. 

I finished the one leg, but don't care for the way it was put together. 


The left side is the finishing, and the right side is the work I started. I have an idea of what I need to do to fix it, but right now, it will do. I'm going to change it up and do another set of warmers, but this is good enough for now. I just need to make a matching one. Not too thrilled, but if it keeps my legs warm, won't complain. The next set will be better. 

Then Patrick got home and we went to the casino. I won $750 which was on the money we were given from the casino. We played on that for a while and then came home. We ate at the casino as well. I brought 2 turnovers home for tomorrow. They are really good! So, our trip to the casino didn't cost us a thing. Then Patrick said he figured the amount wrong, since he had a $1 in his wallet from the winnings. I gave him a dirty look! He wanted to play the drums game again, and I'm so sick of that game! The last 4 times we played it (costing a lot of money), we didn't get a bonus once! I told him I would never play that game again. He told me it happens on all the games, I told him, nope, just that one! 

At least today, I found time for Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!


 

Tuesday, January 20, 2026

Tried To Be Lazy

This morning, I was up after Patrick. He was waiting to go golfing. They were told it would be about 10 am before they could get out there. He texted me later to say it would be about 11 am. I just laughed. It was really cold today. I don't understand how they can go out in the weather!

I headed up the downstairs. I was going to do some work down there but ended up waiting a couple hours while I played my game. 

 

I first started with the 2" strip on the top and bottom to find that it wasn't big enough. So, took out the borders and put in 4" strips. That got it closer to the 80" that it needed to be but was still 2" short. I'm okay with that. The side borders are the 2" strips I started with. There is a binding strip of red that will work great for this. 

Came upstairs and played my games. Just wasn't in the mood to do much today. I listened to my books, and that seems to keep my interest. I need to get back to it. 

Tomorrow's sew days in canceled. We just didn't have enough people coming. Think it would have been just 3 or 4 of us. Not enough to get much done. I will have the pillowcases ready for the February 7th National Sew Days. We can work on them then. 

So, all in all, I was Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

Monday, January 19, 2026

Embroidery Today

This morning, I had a few things I needed to do before going to moms, but Patrick was kind enough to do them for me. So, I headed to Colleen's to pick up 3 quilts that needed the bindings done. Then I stopped at Dutch Brothers for tea. Got one for mom as well. 

Arrived at moms to drop off 5 quilts that needed binding. She had 4 others that she needed to do as well. She sewed on one that was Georgie's, so she could do her own quilt. There was another one that was Georgie's as well. 

I worked on my embroidery. I wanted to do a Pansy for the Round Robin, but I need to draw it on the piece in order to work on it. I will try and get it done this week. I need to get it in the mail. 

So instead of doing the round robin, I pulled out the rose pattern I have. I need to work on the center now. It's satin stich and need the flower drawn on the batting. I will do that later. I need my lines to help me with the satin stitching. There is a lot of detached buttonhole stitch, so I'm going to have to work on my stitches to get it right. It will take some doing. 

Came home and worked on my leg warmers. I really want to get those done. I'm close! 

BUT I have another one to make when this is done. Of course, we need 2! I will do another one, my way and see which one I like better. I think this doesn't show the cable like it should. So, I will have fun with the next pair. Right now, this is close to having one done. 

I posted on Facebook the veterans we honored. Now it's a waiting game to see how many quilts we can get done to keep moving. lol 

My days was a lot of fun with Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

 

Sunday, January 18, 2026

Signed Up For A Virtual Class

 Here I go again. As if I don't have enough going on, I signed up for another Brazilian Embroidery Class! Just what I needed. But I do love the Stumpwork Glads that Loretta Holzberger designed and is teaching! She's so much fun. 

Today I was working on the laundry. Then forgot about it. I was playing my games and then decided it was time to get moving on my leg warmers. I seriously had trouble reading and seeing the pattern! The more I did what was told, the more it didn't look right. Once I figured out what and how I was trying to get the twist, it was easier to do. I don't like the "back" stitch method. So, I'm thinking I will do it the "normal" way next time and see which I like better. I can use a couple leg warmers and as much as I don't like the yarn, I have enough to do 2 sets at least. 

It took me a good hour just to figure out my stitches and where they went. When I started it didn't do what it was supposed to. I think if I did the double stitch again, it will be the front way and not the back way. I think it would look a lot better. 

While I was trying to stitch, I had a visitor that decided she wanted me to pay more attention to her than my crocheting. She even got a part of it wet for me. UGH! 

She had to relax on my yarn I was using. I keep it in the plastic because of this. Of course, she had to sleep on the plastic! Purring the whole time. 

The stuff I put up with! lol 

So, today was working on my leg warmers. I need to get the last round robin piece done but haven't gotten there yet. Which doesn't keep me from saying I was Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Saturday, January 17, 2026

Getting A Few Things Ready

 This morning, Patrick was up early. I'm betting it's because he gets up early for golfing and now it's hard to break the habit. 

I heated up downstairs, thinking I would go down there. I played on my tablet for a while and Patrick watched his western shows. 


I cut and got pillowcases ready to be sewn. We will be doing them on Wednesday. I will need to do a few more. It was fun getting fabrics that will work better than the fabrics we were getting. 


After putting pillowcases together, and calling it done, Patrick asked if I needed to get the kits ready. So, we went downstairs - again - and he helped me pick colors for 4 quilts. One is complicated but the others are pretty easy. We did 2 panel ones as well. They should be easy enough to work on. That was going on while the first set of football games went on. 


My yarn arrived yesterday, so I decided to work on the leg warmers. I pulled out the instructions and got started while the Seahawks game was going on! WE WON! But then it wasn't hard from what I saw. I am so ticked!! I ordered Lion yarn and it's CRAP! I couldn't believe the yarn was so loose and is easily broken or split! I have had better yarn when I was growing up and the Lion yarn was supposed to have been better than Red Heart, but NOPE! I'm going to keep making this, but it's going to take a lot longer than I normal do, because of the yarn splitting. A major pain in my rear. I like good quality, but this isn't it. I will go to the Ewe & I shop next time and get what I want. It will cost more but will be worth it. This isn't cheap in price, but it's cheap in quality. I will know better next time. 

The good news is that my day turned out pretty good. I worked on a few things to be prepared. AND I was actually Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!


Friday, January 16, 2026

Quiet & Busy Day! All In One

 This morning, Patrick went golfing and I just cleaned a few things. Then I played my games. I was listening to my audio book and didn't want to do anything else. BUT I did go out and walk 2 laps around the neighborhood. I will try and get back to making it a habit. 

Patrick got home and we had to head out to Olympia for his blood tests. I was waiting in the car for Sherry, since she was delivering the last quilt, we had up there. It's a panel, so I'm happy about that as well. Things are looking up with the panel quilts and quilts in general. Debbie sent me a text about the message Mossyrock put out there for donations. I don't know why they spend that much money on their stuff when we pay half of what they do and our donations go a lot longer. But then it's not my worry. Sherry and I chatted till Patrick came out from having his blood drawn. Then we headed over to Costco. 

It's interesting when you go to Costco. One can spend a ton of money without realizing it. We spent $300 and I remember giving dad a hard time when he spent that much. Ours was mostly food - go figure! We picked up stuff we needed. And we always get cat litter. Anyway, some of the stuff was on sale and yet we spend more than we used to. Guess prices are going up faster than I thought they would. 

Speaking of prices going up! We are now going to be part of Chehalis, so we will be paying Chehalis prices. Plus, our water is a well. So, the city is looking into taking over the well. Not only that, but we have also been in a "sew district" since we moved here. We pay $35 a month. When it goes over to the city, we will be looking at $100 or more a month. BUT that is usually water and sewer. They will have to figure out how we only pay sewer. It's really going to be a pain in the butt! More money out of our pockets at this rate. 

Once everything was put away, we had supper. Then we sat to watch TV. I had to order my floss and stuff I needed to finish my cross-stitch piece. Once I had that, I ended up paying $10.95 for shipping!!! OMG, it should have only cost me about $5! BUT then again, postage has gone up as well. UGH UGH UGH!

I decided to balance my stuff for QOV and it took Patrick and myself over an hour to figure out what the mistake was! They put my recent expenses into 2025, when it was supposed to be 2026. That kicked my books in a tailspin! Patrick had it all worked out and now I need to contact them to get that fixed as well. My days aren't getting any easier, but they are moving along. 

Today, went from slow and quiet to fast and busy! Now, I'm sad because I didn't get the chance to be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!



Thursday, January 15, 2026

What A Day!

 This morning, I woke with a sinus headache. Not my favorite thing to wake up with. I thought last night when I went to bed it was a migraine, but NOPE it was a sinus headache! Lucky me!

I took the day easy. I didn't feel in the mood to do much, so I enjoyed the morning watching my shows I had recorded. Patrick came home when I was done with the first 3 and he watched the other 2 with me. Now, I'm caught up. 

After my tablet died with 10% energy left, I decided to sit and work on my cross stitch for a bit. 


I added the white area on the top left. Then I went looking for more of the threads to find that every online site I went to was out of the thread. Apparently, it's popular and is sold out. I must have looked everywhere, including Etsy and eBay. All sold out. 

I think went to the right bottom area to find I needed to use my 730 DMC floss. Of course! It wasn't in my box, and I couldn't find it anywhere - yet I used it when working on this last time!! What the HECK! So, tomorrow I need to stop at Micheals to find the thread. At least I hope they are still carrying the floss! Could things get any worse?! So, I stopped working on it. 

Patrick had a meeting to attend, so I decided to try again and work on this. 

I started working from the top, down. I was able to get some more done. Just not as much as I would have liked. At least I'm getting there. I will need to roll the fabric again soon. I'm frustrated that I didn't have enough of the white area to do this piece. I'm not sure what I'm going to do to be able to finish it. Not much luck at this point. May have to take it all out and find another color that will work. But DANG, that's a lot of work!

We'll see what tomorrow brings. At least I was able to be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Wednesday, January 14, 2026

Casino Day

This morning, was not a good morning. Around 4 am, I woke to an upset stomach. Which meant I needed to get to the toilet fast! After about 3 times, I was feeling a lot better. I wonder if it was something from the potluck or just something I ate yesterday. 

I was able to sleep again, so I slept till about 9 am. Patrick went golfing and I stayed home. I got the Roomba working down the hall. I also got some laundry going. 

I waited for one of the quilters to drop of 2 quilt tops. They are pretty. I will work on them tomorrow. She wasn't able to get a couple more kits because I didn't have them ready. She told me to text her when I have more. 

Patrick came home and wanted to know if I felt up to it to go to the casino. I was up to it. We left shortly thereafter. We were at the casino for about 4 hours. Stopped to eat there before coming home. Didn't want to cook and wasn't sure I could eat much. I had the Chicken Noodle Soup. It was good but couldn't eat it all so brought half home. 

We relaxed when we got home. I took the quilt tops downstairs and had to check my panel that I have to do next. 


That is where I will need to use the Army material I have. There are different colors there to work with. I will see what I can do. I have a couple patterns I need to print out too. 

Because I wasn't 100% today, I didn't do anything that would make me Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!


Tuesday, January 13, 2026

Meetings

 This morning, I wanted to enjoy a few minutes of time to myself. Then I had to get a few things done for the meeting at the museum. 

I left around 10:10 am and stopped at the post office. I was able to get the package out in the mail. Then I went to Dutch Brothers. 

Next stop was the museum for our meeting. A few were there before I got there. I was a little late, considering I wanted to be there around 10;30 am. It was a good meeting. We ate and then talked about what's going on with the group. We decided on a few things, and we also decided to have another meeting in March on a Saturday. Actually, my daughter's Birthday. We got a lot done but it wasn't until 1:30 pm that we were done. 

Before we left, I took a picture of the quilts I put in the museum for later. 

McLaughlin made this one. It was from the kits I had done. I think it's okay, but Patrick picked the colors. I haven't showed him yet. 

This one is one Colleen and her sister did together. It's different and works. 

Came home with a quilt for mom and left it in the car. Then I went downstairs to clean up a bit before Jo came with her quilts. 

The table was packed, and I was able to get a few things done. I took the bigger fabrics we had and rolled them on the bolts. I have more to roll on bolts, but it did get a few fabrics off the table. I may have more to do as well. I need to work on the panel I have on the wall, but Jo showed up and we got her set. 

She brought back this quilt. It's all hand quilted and ready to give out. I told her we will be doing the panels with the active-duty veterans in February and she marked the dates. I hope she has another quilt done by then. 


This is one of my favorites. It reminds me of my father when he came back from overseas. I love this quilt! She did an awesome job on it. 

We worked on getting the backing and batting for 2 other quilts. AND I gave her one of the QOV panels to work on as well. She's set now with 3 quilts. She asked about the garage sale we are having. Said she has some stuff to get rid of. I told her we did too. I think our garage sale will have a lot of stuff!

After all that, I call it done for the day. I was working on stuff but not what I would count as Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!


Monday, January 12, 2026

The Day Wasn't Mine

 This morning was for Brazilian Embroidery. At least I was looking forward to it. 

First things first, needed to go to the bank. I decided to go through the drive-thru because in the PAST, it was quick and easy. They have since changed the bank to a credit union. That's okay, but not when I go through the drive thru and I have to sit and wait while they hand over the deposit to get given to the gal in the lobby. Then, wait for it to come back. Which means, wait, wait, WAIT, okay, here you go. UGH

Then I had to go to Colleen's to drop off quilts. I chatted for a bit, and she gave me another quilt. Then I headed to Dutch Brothers and ended up going to the window because of the line. WRONG choice. I ended up waiting there, but at least I could chat with the guy that works there. He's going to college up north soon. I will miss him. Next, I THOUGHT I could go through the bank outer box. I drove up, put my card in, and punched my pin numbers in. NOPE, try again. I put in the next set of numbers I had, NOPE, try again. Then the third time I did it, I got a ticket saying it's DENIED. So, I drove around the credit union and went into the lobby. She asked what I needed, told her my pin didn't work. She called from her headset to the main office for support to reset my pin. The headset wasn't working, so she had to go get another phone. She called again. Then she got it all set so I could put a new pin in. AGAIN, a waiting game! I was 15 minutes late because of the stuff that happened. 


I finished the block for Bob's grandson. It's ready to go. I gave it to mom. Then when everyone left, mom asked me to go to WinCo with her to pick up some stuff. I said, fine. Thinking she was back to driving and no clue why she asked. We shopped and got to the counter. I boxed everything up and mom was TRYING to use her debit card. NOPE, wasn't happening. AND I FORGOT MY WALLET IN MY CAR AT MOMS! She tried 5 times, no luck. They put the stuff off to the side, while mom and I went back to her house. I told her I had to get to the post office, but we were going to get my car and she could follow me there. Afterwards, she could go to the bank and work it out. She wanted me to go to the bank with her because this is the 5th time they have changed her card. I said, no, I need to go to the post office. She followed me to WinCo, where I told her to stay in her car and I would be back. I went into the store and paid for mom's stuff. Then took it out to her car, where she proceeded to re-bag everything I bagged. I took what I bought, not much. Then I headed to the post office to drop off my fabric for Barbara. I get in there, get a bag to send it in, and then go to the counter. The address I had, didn't work. He tried 3 times. Okay, so I paid for the bag, then brought it home. I sent a message to Barbara that I had it wrong and she told me what it is, so I can mail it tomorrow. 

Came home and wasn't in the best of moods. But I did get the salad ready for tomorrow and I worked on the water stuff, forgetting to pay a bill by the way. I will do that tomorrow and drop it off Wednesday. 

Even though it really was not my day, I found time for Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!


Sunday, January 11, 2026

Cleaning Today

 This morning, I was trying to play my game but realized it was our day to clean. So, I got busy. 

I did laundry, cleaned the kitchen, and bathroom. Then I realized I needed to get my backing and batting done. I had to go and cut the backing and batting for our quilts. Then I had to wash the backings. I was surprised at how much batting I've used so far. I just opened the batting last week and it looks like we have used half of it up so far. I'm good with that. Means we have quilts out there getting done for QOV. 

I pulled out another panel and will try and decide what to do with it before the group sew day. I also need to register myself for the National Sew Day. 

I received my Smart Watch today. I wanted to keep track of my walking, but this has everything! I don't even know the real extent of it yet. 

Patrick and I went to the store today so we could get a pork roast for supper. We picked up some water as well. I have a few things for me. But all in all, it was a quick shopping trip. 

My Smart Watch will be keeping me busy for a couple days till I get it where I want it. OMG! I have now got a Smart Watch - which I swore I wouldn't get. But now it's back to a watch, and I have to learn to use it on the right wrist, when I have always worn it on the left. Being left-handed doesn't help, because I prefer my watch on the left side. Now I have to get used to this way.......ugh. 

In otherwards, I was not Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!


Saturday, January 10, 2026

Finishing Up The Quilt Top

 Today, I slept in. I realized I have been sleeping till around 9 am anymore. Guess I don't want to get up. 

I decided to go downstairs and finish up the quilt top. 

It took most of the day. When I had it done, I noticed the size was not where I thought it was supposed to be. Then I realized, I missed a white border that was supposed to be there. Oh, well. It's a good size and I'm going to leave it at that. 

I made the mistake of putting the red on the wrong side of the quilt, so I had to remove the red border and resew it where it should be. I took too long for my liking. Oh, well. 

When it was all done, I show Patrick, then I came upstairs. I needed to get my box back upstairs that has stuff I use for my projects. 

I took an hour going through the box, putting stuff I needed in my embroidery backpack. I wanted to make sure I had all the stuff I needed for when I go on Mondays for embroidery. Plus, I needed to clean out the box and put a few things away. I had cross stitching, quilting, and embroidery stuff in there. I put away the stuff I don't need in there. Then I went through all the pens and throw out the ones that didn't work. I love pens that feel good, but when they stop working and I try to get a refill, that never works. So, I when ahead and throw them away. I won't know they are gone. I have tons of pens. Patrick thought I was hoarding them, and I think he was right!

That was my day. I gave up after an hour of cleaning out the bucket. I made for a good day of Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

Friday, January 9, 2026

Time For Sewing

Patrick went golfing and I went downstairs to work on the quilt.

I thought I might be able to get it done today, but then I realized when my stomach decided to act up, I couldn't stay down there to finish it. But I did get a bit done. I should be able to finish it tomorrow. Then I will think about doing another one. I won't have 2 done for Colleen by Monday, but we did get 2 quilt tops from Val to get ready for quilting. 

The sides are sewn on it. I just realized I cut some of the strips that were for the border, so may have to cut another strip. Oh, great! 

Patrick thought a green or light blue would work great for the last border, but I was thinking there is a rhyme to this and the borders are part of that. I need to do 3 more blocks and then I can put the top and bottom together. It was fun to work on today. I had the room warmed up for me to go down there. 

I sent a message to both mom and Georgie to let them know I needed 20 - 10" Finished or 10 1/2" unfinished blocks that are all the same. I got a phone call asking about that. I don't know how they couldn't figure out what I wanted, but I told them. They wanted to know why, and I told them it's for the panels. Georgie was looking for 10" blocks to work on. She's also thinking of the log cabin. I told them it was up to them as to what they wanted to make. I just needed that size. Then mom wanted to cut down the 13" stars to fit. I told her not to touch those and to leave them alone. We can use them. 

I worked a little on QOV stuff. I had to get some emails out.

Then I gave it up for the day. So, at least I can claim I was Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

Thursday, January 8, 2026

Presentation Day!

Today, I was all set for the presentation. It's been almost 2 months since we had a presentation, and we all were looking forward to it. We have our meeting next week and the following week is our sew days. We will see what we can get done. 

But today was a good day for presentation. Mom knew 2 of the veterans personally, so she was excited about giving at least one of the quilts away. We had 6 quilts that were brought down from Bellevue and presented by the gals that made the quilts. I let them know they were more than welcome to become a member of our group. They liked that idea, so I think I will be getting more from them.

We had the honor of honoring these veterans today. 

David Wiggins - Air Force
John Wilcox - Navy
Michael Mozzone - Army
Mel Wedvik - Marine Corps
Neal Maas - Army
Richard Espen - Navy
Donald Bartley - Army
Andrew G Graham - Navy


Since I was having trouble getting my photos to the computer, I will do what I can. Gmail wouldn't let me transfer from my phone to my email. So, I had to use my second email - hotmail - to get it to go through. Took a lot longer than I wanted. lol 


Mom had to give David Wiggins a big hug! This was the one she wanted to honor herself. You can tell they are close. They attend church together. It was an honor to meet him as well. 


This is the 8 Veterans that we had the honor to honor! Mr. Graham (second from the right) is the husband of a good friend a quilter of ours. I will miss not seeing her on Fridays. He is a sweetheart and a lot of fun to be around. 

Came home and just took the rest of the day off. it was fun and I love doing it, but it does take a lot out of me. I did talk my brother into coming and honoring the active-duty group next month. He's got it scheduled and he will help in presenting the quilts. 

As for today, I had more fun giving the quilts away than I did being Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!


Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Trip To Olympia In The Rain

 Today, we had to be up and ready to leave. We needed to get mom to her appointment by 11 am. So, we went to pick her up at 10 am. 

We picked her up and had a few things we needed to do when we dropped her off. So, we took her to the dentist in Olympia that could take care of her root canal. They checked her out, then they came out to let Patrick and I know it would be an hour. I played on my phone for a bit and then got into my bag, that we have just for cases like this. I pulled out my embroidery. 


It's the hummingbird piece. I worked on the leaves. I needed to get the leaves done before I could move on to the next part. I worked on the leaves at the tip of the nest and then worked my way up where they were needed. I realized I should have done the top middle one first but thank goodness it doesn't look like I had it on top and not the bottom. I was working on the leave near the needle but didn't get much done. I will work on it more. I was surprised at how much I like this piece. Maybe I should move it to the embroidery bag and not the "just in case" bag. 

Took mom back home and took down her tree for her. Patrick boxed it up and has it ready to go up in the attic. I got the certificates from Nancy for tomorrow and was able to pick up my embroidery backpack I forgot at moms. 

Came home and started right away to get Patrick's cake done. He wanted his Chocolate Chip Date Cake that was his mother's recipe. Complaining he doesn't have anything to eat and yet, we have cookies, chocolate, popcorn and other stuff that was given to us for Christmas! Go figure! After the cake, I had to get the Chicken and Rice in the oven because it takes about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. 

At that point, I was done! Cooked and done! I was cleaning up the kitchen as I went. Then I put the Roomba 105 together. Katt got that for us and I set it up. App and all. 


Sophie wasn't too sure of it. She followed it as it mapped out the house. Then at 7 pm I had it running to clean the floors. It did a good job. It's a lot better than what I have been doing lately - nothing. It works great for what we need. 

I have been working on my game to get the rewards they have that end today. So, with about 8 accounts, it keeps me busy. I will get rid of a few if I can't transfer them where I am now. 

So, as much as I would have loved to do more embroidery, I'm happy with what I was able to do. I'm also enjoying myself by being Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Tuesday, January 6, 2026

A Cold Day! BRR

This morning, I slept for a bit longer. Patrick was up and waiting on me. He wasn't in a hurry, but he was waiting for me to get up and get ready to go to the casino. 

We headed to the casino around 10:30 am. We played on their money for a while. Then we played on ours. We didn't spend the money we took, so we have more for next time. For the first time in a while we got tired of playing. So, we were home by 3 pm. I didn't mind not staying. Even when we both were doing good playing. 

Since it was so cold and I couldn't warm up in the car, I told Patrick I missed my leg warmers. I think I got rid of them a long time ago. So, I looked on the phone to see if I could find a pattern I wanted to use. When we got home, I went on the computer to look for a free pattern for the warmer. Then I went downstairs to see what yarn I had. I got rid of a good amount of them. I went on Amazon and ordered the yarn I wanted. I should be good. I am looking forward to making my warmers. My feet and legs are tired of being cold all the time! 

Tomorrow, we are taking mom up to Olympia for her dental care. She has to have a root canal. So, it's going to be interesting to see if she loses the tooth or not. 

I played on my games. I wasn't in the mood to try and find something to do for about an hour. Which put me in the not so good mood of not being able to be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!



Monday, January 5, 2026

What A Day!

Today is BE day. At least we meet at moms, so if no one comes I can spend time with her. Today we had 4 of us. Geralyn couldn't make it but will be there next week. 

I arrived after going to get my car washed and some tea. I got tea for mom as well. She had tea in her hand when I arrived. So, she didn't get to it till after they left. I worked on the baby block that needs to get done. I will leave it at moms after next week. 

 I have more to do, but it's coming along. I will tie done the tongue later. I forgot my backpack at moms, so I didn't bring it home to work on.  

Mom wanted to go get a chair for her bedroom but that didn't work out. She called the dentist, and they got her in right away. I went to Colleen's to drop off quilts for her. Mom gave three that were finished. Colleen gave me one that was finished as well. We chatted about the quilts, and I told her right now I need the panel quilts to get done first. She said she will do that. I think she said she had a panel on the quilt frame but not sure. I gave her two of them - the ones I did. I showed her I have another one on the wall and will get that to her in the next week. Mom called while I was there. I didn't answer, so she called Colleen and since she didn't know the number, she didn't answer it. Mom called again and I picked it up to find out she has to have an emergency root canal done on the tooth. She may lose it. Told her to schedule it. They wanted her today, but she didn't want me to go back and get her to go up. Thank goodness, because it's in Olympia. So, I told her to let me know. 

Came home and told Patrick. He said he would take us up there. I called mom to find out when and she didn't know yet, so after about a half hour she called and was scheduling it with me on the other phone. We take her up on Wednesday because tomorrow is full. 

We ate pizza for supper, and it was early enough. Patrick told me I could go down and work on the quilt for a bit. At least it would help get it done sooner. So, I went down AFTER I put names on the four quilts and put them in the stack to go to the museum. 

These are by Tri Cities QOV. 

Which are really pretty. 

Once I got downstairs, I cut the fabrics and was wanting to sew them more than cut the fabric. Go figure, that from a person who doesn't like to sew. I even told Colleen that the flying geese was way too much work for me. 

I cut more fabric and then got three more blocks done. I have those done and will work on the others when I get the time in the next couple days. Every little bit of time helps. I may have to cut more fabrics as well. We will see. At least it is coming along, and I really do like the blocks. They are so easy to do! I may have a couple sets of these blocks ready for sew days later this month. Everyone will like how easy they are to do. I am actually having fun with this one and may do that same block on another panel. Too much fun for me! 

That's what really makes me Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

Sunday, January 4, 2026

Finishing Quilts

Today, wow, today. Let's see what I have been up to. Enough to keep me busy till about 4 pm today for sure. 

I went downstairs to work on the quilt that was on the wall. I finished the borders and got it ready to go to Colleen tomorrow. 

It is now done. I like how it turned out and is a lot prettier in real life. It turned out a lot better than I thought it would. 

Next, I worked on doing my backing and battings to get them ready for quilters. I had to wash the backings and then get them ready. I also had to open a new roll of batting and get it ready to cut for the quilts. We are going through backing material fast, since quilts are coming in more. While I was doing that, I got confused on which backing went to which quilt, so had to stop and get the backing finished with washing so I could figure out which quilt needed a backing. I have one more to do, but that can wait. I'm taking 4 quilts to Colleen as it is. 

Then I pulled another panel out and got to work on it. I need to get a couple more panels done to get to the quilters, so we can have them for February. I just hope they get quilted fast. I need them for next month. 


This one was on top of the pile, so I decided to work on it. The blue/white fabric is blue with white stars. They come out as dots. This pattern is the pattern for the QOV panel quilt. I will do that with the QOV quilt later, but since this is quick and easy to do, I decided to make this one. The panel is a little bigger than the QOV panel, but that works for me. It will be fun to see how it comes out. I may use that pattern more on some of the panels, because it's already done for me, I just have to cut the fabric and sew them together. We will see how I do with this one first. There are different ways of doing the blocks, so they all won't look the same.

All that took all afternoon. I'm having to deal with our presentation on Thursday. We have enough quilts for that one. I'm just working towards February right now. I know we have the quilts but really want the panels for the active-duty members. 

I took the night off and played games. I was thrilled and tired by the time I realized it was a day of Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!


Saturday, January 3, 2026

Shopping Today

Debbie and I left for Yelm to go shopping for fabrics that will work with the panels. 

We left around 10 am and were in Yelm by 10:45 am. We shopped for a while getting as much fabric as we could for the panels. It cost a lot to get what we needed. We are starting to run out of fabric that was donated. I did get a lot of yardages as well. Trouble with that is that the fabrics where $15 a yard. So, for what we bought, it too a good amount of money. 

We stopped at the museum to see how many quilts we have and to see if we could have a few panel quilts to give out in February. We are tight with that. I will need to get a couple more panels done in the next couple weeks. Then we stopped at Safeway. 

We were home by 1 pm. Then I went downstairs to put the fabric away and give Debbie 2 quilts to be quilted. I will get the other 4 ready tomorrow and try to finish the panel quilt I have on the wall. 

I pulled out the quilts ready to go to the museum and started putting names on the labels. 


This one will work for panels, so that gives us one more quilt for February. I just hope we can get 10 of them in time. 


This one can work too. That would get us 4 right now. I'm hoping there is another panel in the quilts I gave mom but betting not. I will need to make a few more to get there. 


This is the group quilt. I have the pillowcase for this one. 

I put names on 9 quilts today and have them ready to go to the museum for presentations. I will take them out when we do our presentation on the 8th. Which is this coming Thursday. I also need to schedule out meeting for the following Wednesday. 

Even though I wasn't actually doing quilting stuff, I was enjoying buy enough to be Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!


Friday, January 2, 2026

Interesting Day!

We have now entered into the New Year! And I'm doing pretty good so far, let's see how long that lasts. 

Today, I got up shortly after Patrick headed out for golfing. Then I went downstairs to try and get another border on the quilt. 

I was able to get the 3 borders on - the one for the bottom is on the left. I will add that. Then I need to add a blue border on the last part. It will be about 5 or 6" to make it the size we need. I was listening to my book and sewing till Patrick got home. I found myself making a mistake, and at the point I called it done. Once I start with mistakes, it keeps going. It actually looks better in real life than it does in the photo. 

Tomorrow Debbie and I are going shopping for fabrics to go with this panel. We have 6 panels, and I have this one almost done. That leaves 5 more, and we don't have enough fabric to do them all. It's very hard to find the fabrics that go with this. I'm thinking if there is any of this fabric left, I will buy the bolt or what's on the bolt, just so we have enough. 

We headed up to Patrick's doctor appointment. I was going to meet with Sherry from Olympia. She had another quilt for me. We must have chatted for over an hour. When Patrick came out of the car (didn't see him get in it), and came towards us. He had been waiting on me for 30 minutes. I didn't see him get to the car. We laughed about it. Sherry and I chatted about everything! We get together and get caught up. Which takes forever! I found a couple of the women I knew at Stars and Strips have since passed away. Heard Judy's granddaughter passed away recently. She didn't know much about that. We had a long chat. Poor Patrick was getting cold in the car, so he popped out to let me know he was there. lol 

We then went to the Cedar Distillery in Ground Mound. To our shock, the menu was cut in half and the foods we liked to eat there, were gone. Patrick wanted to get the French Dip and I wanted the Chicken Fried Chicken, but both of those were off the menu. The main course only had about 9-12 items and 3-4 of them was salads. Plus, the prices were doubled. So, we left and explained to the waiters that we didn't find anything on the menu we wanted. They were nice and we were nice about it. Just said what we were hoping to get, that they didn't have. 

So, we ended up at Country Cousins in Centralia. I was really happy with the food. I remembered being unhappy with the food the last time, but they had Chicken Fried Steak, which I haven't had in a long time. So, I ordered it. Patrick decided he wanted eggs. When we were done, that meal cost us half of what we would have paid at Cedar's. I couldn't believe it. Plus, this food was perfect to me. Their menu changed but they kept the favorite foods everyone one likes to eat. Including me!

We came home and watched the Holiday Baking show (Great British), which I enjoy watching more than the American show. 

Sue called and we must have chatted 2 hours. She was in the hot tub and in a chatty mood. It worked out for us. Now it's time to call it a day. 

Interesting? You say. Yep, interesting in the way it worked out. Things could have been different. We enjoyed today, and it could have turned out completely differently. I'm just surprised at how well I handled the changes for today. 

Tomorrow we (Debbie and I) will be shopping. I hope to find a few minutes to a few hours to work on something, but time will tell. We have an hour drive to the shop. Then we may end up going even farther. Hard to say. AND I'm driving! 

Interesting because I found time for Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

Thursday, January 1, 2026

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Today, another year has passed. We are now in 2026. Hopefully, life will be good and looking forward to having an awesome year ahead. 

Patrick went golfing while I stayed in bed. Then I was up and ready to get moving. I heated up the room downstairs, and I was ready to go. 

I want to have the 2 quilt tops done for Monday. I need to get moving on the panels. I received a pattern from QOV to use with our panels we ordered. I will do that next and it will give me another panel completed. Colleen wants 2 panels on Monday as well. 

I started putting this together. I had the two sides done and wanted to at least get the border done today. I also had my game at noon, so I had little time to goof around. 

I was able to get this far and then had to quit and finish the border on the other quilt I did a couple weeks ago. 

I was able to get this far before I headed upstairs to play my game. Once that was done - an hour later, I finished this top by adding the white on the bottom and top. I folded it up and have it ready for quilting, so I didn't get another photo when I finished it. 

I got to work on the QOV panel quilt when I finished that top. 

I realized I did the flying geese wrong with the red. I couldn't believe I messed up - but then again, I'm good at that. I tend to mess up and have to figure my next steps. I yelled at Patrick to come down and check our my mess up. We talked about it, and I'm going to put the geese in the corners as planned, using these geese with a red border. Then I can put a dark blue around that. I don't know how it will look, may have too much red, but I'm going with it. 

I checked with Debbie, because we need to go get more fabric for these panels. I will try and find a dark blue that will be close to what I have. I used what I could of it up. The red is almost done as well. I will be able to border it, but then there won't be much left of it. It will be close. I want it done for Monday, and we aren't going shopping till Saturday. In the meantime, I can finish this last border and go from there. 

When I realized I "screwed up," I decided to call it a day. I was able to get a lot done, so I'm not complaining I didn't get anywhere near being lazy. It was a good day for Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

Getting Lazy - But Still Crocheting

Today, I was up and Patrick was waiting to go golfing. I hate it when he ends up waiting to go. I like having my mornings to myself sometime...