Hope your Halloween was Happy

October flew by with more happening in and around my home.  My husband continues to do well health-wise and the monthly Boston trips are becoming even more routine.  Typically I try to have a picnic or quick touristy stop nearby with the clinic visits, but didn't scope any out for October as we had so much already going on.

Our first focus for the month was repainting the outside panels of the above ground pool.  CHECK!
Years ago we used "water-filled" gallon jugs to hang off the winter cover (that's what we were told to do to keep that winter cover on).  It didn't work and those water filled jugs just rode up and down on the outside pool panel walls destroying the finish all winter long.  At that time, we used a recommended Epoxy paint to resurface the exterior pool panels.  Because we used a deeper grey tone then we noticed a 5 degree increase in water temperature.  It made make sense when you think about it as darker colors attract and keep more heat than the lighter reflective colors.  Fast forward 25 years later, that surface was getting sun fade and some smaller area blights. So with every thing else going on I thought it best to get it done this fall rather than trying to complete one more spring-time chore and who knows what we'll be dealing with health-wise at that time besides.  My philosophy of taking care of it now rather than later.   DH wasn't too keen on the idea but he slowly warmed up to it after I moved many stones to let the lower part be exposed.  Walls were washed and primed, taped off then painted with an Oil based paint.  The medium darker grey color wasn't available or offered so I thought, okay....we'll use the lighter grey and mix 2 parts of it with one part of black.  It worked and it's a very dark grey -almost too dark but now it's DONE!  Even the landscaping of returning the rocks back to the bottom edging.  Looks good and feels great.  We only have to trim paint the top rail after opening the pool next year.  We also had to replace the pool liner this year as the other one which started leaking dh destroyed it by poking holes allover it so it could drain through the winter which shredded it to pieces.....  long story, but thankfully it's over now.

On a personal focus I had planned to finish the Autumn Medley this past month, a needlepoint kit I started last year while Hurricane Irma was attacking my Mom's neighborhood in The Villages.  And sweet success, I just  finished the last stitches on it this past week.

Autumn Medley designed by From Nancy's Needle on 18 Zeigart Sandstone Mono Canvas
with the called for threads.  Caron Collection Snow- 14 -Mango, Caron Collection Watercolours #137-Copper and #255 Cornflower blue, DMC#5 #435 Very Light Brown, 437 Light Tan, 935 Dark Avocado Green and 3371 Black Brown, Rainbow Gallery Gold Rush 18 GD109C Bronze and Rainbow Gallery Overture V122-Caravan

Since attending my quilt guild in Glens Falls by myself, (I usually travel there with a friend or two) it was a great time for me to travel to KC Frames and Fabrics in Saratoga Springs to check out the framing that she could do on it even though it wasn't completely stitched at that time, I still had the two smallest leaf design elements to finish. They're both in the center areas of the top and bottom.    KC's offered an idea of one mat/frame available that I don't mind but I'm not sure if I'm in love with it after all my work if you know what I mean.

With using a mat, I noticed that just at the edge you could see the mono canvas slightly behind the last row of stitching just beneath the mat edge.  So I used a black magic marker to color three rows of the  mono canvas borders not yet stitched and then decided to stitch one more row of stitches in the same border thread used (Bronze Rainbow gallery GD109C) around the perimeter to counterbalance any loss of design by the matting and framing.

We'll see and I need to stop by some more framing shops before I "pull the trigger" on what I select.

Step one of Secret Santa sew along

The last week end was an annual quilt retreat I love doing with my friend Trudy.  It's become a pilgrimage and I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it despite the weather happening along the St. Lawrence seaway.  Thankfully was able to get to the many bits I brought along to get done.  What's that you say..., well I was able to cut out the Prima Diva Clutch with all of it's parts of cloth, fusible batting and interfacings, also got part one all cut out for Temecula's Quilt Secret Santa Sewalong  and all those nine patch blocks are sewn now ( the only change made was using a black Grunge for my center square instead of browns), Step two soon.  Then was able to progress on preparing Homestead Hearth's BOM for my "go to bag".   I only have 3 more blocks to prepare and the border pieces - boy I'm  always amazed at how much time this takes!

I also took two different classes besides all the projects I brought for prep work.   One of a folded star taught by Debbie Baldwin and the other a wool project with Phyllis Acres so I felt really accomplished in getting to all I did besides the talking and reconnecting with friends.  The latter is now a current WIP now being focused on.  lol




While I was doing that dh got to enjoy some quality time with the grands.

Signing off but not before I share a pic of the grand dog with his Halloween costume.


TTFN
Jane

Much going on....

 Back from camping and a wonderful time was had. 

 

What a perfect sentiment!

 

 

This little pillow was my gift to Mom years ago when she was living her dream of having a Class A camper. When she and her boyfriend sold it, she gave the pillow back to me so I quickly put it on the Master bed in our camper.  

THE NILE, 1999

I pulled out this older quilt I made about 15 years ago to use since I didn't have the new camper quilt finished.  I really like how cozy it made you feel when you walked into the camper. The pattern is One Thousand Pyramids designed by Deb Tucker of NH using a 60 degree ruler and includes the leftover triangles trimmed into 1-1/2" squares to make that second border finishing in a row of 1" squares. 

I kept looking at it and saw that even at that time in my quilty life, I used the same fabric as either a dark or a light depending on the fabric neighboring it.  You can see where I placed them next to each other in the center bottom seam, pictured above, giving the illusion of a parallelogram in a medium rose fabric.  The only rule I kept was  for dark triangles to point up and the lighter triangles to point down.  It also was the time that I realized that I tended to stash fabric in the mediums and needed to extend my eye to lighter and much darker fabric choices. 

For the label, I did try a new to me technique and designed a perspective border surrounding a triangle.  Though it may be hard to see I drew lines from a center point radiating out past the triangle I wanted to use as the center and paper pieced it  successfully.   I just snapped this photo and it was 14 years ago when it was finished. 

 

 

 

 Thank goodness for the camper's Air Conditioning too, since with all the rain and heat, the humidity was kicking my Asthma's butt. But Ahhhh AC- what's not to love!

 

Camping was wonderful despite the weather.  It was great to walk and ride the bikes. 

 This scene depicts our little corner of Cumberland Bay Campsite for a whole week.  Our daughter's family had an adjoining campsite so the grandchildren loved playing at the beach, in the water and we were privileged to watch fire works  on three different nights besides gathering together for meals.  The second week we moved the screen tent more on our site since we had several different neighbors come and go after Thera and her family left.  Even PGS#2 (age 16) was coerced into staying with us for one of the nights since he promised his 4 yr old cousin that he would.  He also enjoyed the lake and we made even  more fond memories while he with his electronics stayed with us. 

I wasn't quick enough with the camera to capture his fall.  In the picture above you'll notice him laying on the ground after his fall.   So during another siesta shows this shot with him actually still in the hammock(of course with his iPhone.  lol 

BEFORE

AFTER

All of us giggled like fools.

I enjoyed and willr emember fondly some key points during this camping trip.  One that comes readily to mind that I'll share is when I brought him to Blockbuster.  Since the weather was continuous rain that first week I brought him to blockbuster to pick out a couple of movies that he'd like to see besides something else for later in the week for his younger cousins.  While driving there his iPhone kept tweeting softly.  With me not being used to hearing this "tweet"  I was looking around to see who wanted my attention at each stop light with that whistle.  By the second set of street lights I finally realized it was his phone!  I fessed up about it and  Oh how we laughed at that too.    Another time he'd be eating a meal with us and call his grandfather sitting across the table from him who was completely oblivious.  DH kept answering his phone but never realized the culprit who kept calling was Joshua who was sitting across the table from him.  We laughed more and  more until he finally fessed up what was going.   We really had too since we were both in hysterics by this point.  Way Too Funny but I guess you had to be there . 

Concrete boardwalk just in front of our campsite and Plattsburgh, NY in the distance. 

When we returned home we only had a few domestic concerns.

First  was our hayfield, oops... I meant our lawn. lol  Our daughter and her spouse attempted to  mow it for us  2 days before our return but with their schedules between work and ball games with their children, they ended up starting to  mow it the night before we returned calling us at 9:15pm to know which gas can to use and they left, I kid you not, cornrows that you get when you rake a hayfield.  I'm sure the neighbors couldn't have been too thrilled about the noise that late either.  The grass was so high with all the rain we had that first week while away and then the subsequent heat and high temperatures during the 2nd week, that one cut wouldn't fix it and it looked absolutely horrendous!  I thought DH's heart would stop when he saw it, but to his credit I only heard a small gasp escape his lips. 
The second need happened just after our friend John disconnected our camper from his truck.  While we were having a beverage in the driveway and we heard a loud Ka-POW!!  All of us looked at each other and discerned that it came from the backyard, perhaps the pool area not a truck that just happened to be going by at the same time.  Going back to investigate we found that the pool heater was leaking from the front corner.  That can't be good I thought to myself.  Then came the smell of propane gas was apparant making it an even three concerns. 
That's when I started thinking, what came first the chicken or the egg?
Did the propane leak cause the heater to blow! Or did the heater blowing cause the propane leak?

After many phone calls to the respective companies we deal and dealt with it, reasoning the how and whys it actually was a knob turned off on one of the propane tanks that caused one tank to be at 120% capacity while the other tank was at 30% making the tanks blow off.  DH found the tank caps out in the lawn while mowing the next day  so we're not even sure when they started leaking.
The HAYWARD POOL HEATER was only 13 months old and though our pool season had  only 4 months of use, no warranties would cover that expense or replacement via where it was bought, IN THE SWIM or with Hayward Manufacturing directly.  I told the Representative at Hayward that I was not a happy camper though just in the previous two weeks I truly was.  It's thought that with all the rain we had, {can you say "ACID RAIN"}  it turned the water too acidic and that's what wore out the heating elements out inside causing a bad baffle or /and the heat exchange unit to blow then leak.  Major bummer and can you say ouch and ka-ching!  Thank goodness Lake Champlain Pools where we do our business, was so helpful.  Many water tests were done, chemicals added and they came out within 2 days to replace the heater but couldn't fully hook it up since when Amerigas came the day before for the leaks, locked the tanks and couldn't come until today so the heater can finally start doing it's job. 

Of course there are other items on our to do lists (Not to mention the mail, gardens, etc..... ) but we're content with all so far and we'll plug along.  I still have to  finish unpacking the camper and cleaning it  thoroughly and will continue to get it ready since my Mom will be back North next week and is staying at her little home away from home here then. 

It was so nice to get away and even nicer since while I was camping, I managed to finish off 2 more items from my UFO and project lists. 

First, that Ironing Caddy is totally done. 

Detail of button closure using 2 funky hair bands cut in half  for the elastic over the shank button.
Also the cording used for the handles instead of making cloth ones to eliminate any bulk while actually using it to iron hopefully.

 

I didn't care the way the fold piece went on the pattern so I did a different button and loop attachments.  Like how it looks and is unobtrusive with this fold.

Then my Kumihimo bracelet I started last month in a beading class I took with my good friend Trudy was also finished.    I attended another WRAP IT UP class this past Friday at Ali's Beads and was able to get 2 pair of earrings repaired  besides the 2 additional Kumihimo bracelets finished that I did the  beading/weaving on while camping. 

 

First Kumihimo using size 8 beads.

 

Second Kumihimo braided also size 8 but an assortment of finishes and colors.

Third Kumihimo with another assortment of beads also size 8.

Luckily Alison, the owner of the bead shop actually does the manipulating of finishing them for me.  With my neck and back issues my left hand dexterity is nil and when I try to finish it they look like a three year old got hold of some wire and had a great time though the finish is terrible.  With Alison so graciously finishing them, I love them all. 

 

 

 

Was also able to finish reading 2 books too!  The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs and September's Book Club choice of The Wild Girl by Jim Fergus.   I do so enjoy reading at night just before bed, it seems to reset my spirit.   Something about me is that  I love reading at night in bed but not as much in a chair.  Strange isn't it?  But I know what I like and more important what I don't.  And a couple of thimble hooks I bought awhile ago on clearance were a Gothic gold color so I wanted them to be shabbied up abit and not so glaring.  Now they are finished and put to good use in the sewing room.

That's all I have time to share for now, dinner must be attended. 

Salad, Skampi and perhaps a pistachio meringue with fresh fruit for dessert if I can manage.  DH has duties at the Fire Station tonight and has to be out of here by 6:30. 


Maybe I can make the time to sew on some of my quilt projects while he's gone!