Little Bits of Progress Here and There -

This is where things stood over the weekend.

Sometimes it feels mindlessly good to just chain all the pairs of triangles -

All caught into one long chain that seemed to reach from here to eternity.

But then the fun of having to press everything comes to mind, and that chain gets tangled quickly into the realm of "WHERE IS THE END?!  I CAN'T FIND THE END!"

Sigh.

There has to be a better way.

As a consummate chain-presser (I don't cut into individual units first, but leave things in a chain to press) and as hindsight is always clearer than the moment I am in - it hit me while untangling and pressing that I should have been trimming workable ironing board lengths of triangles off of my chain as they went through the machine.

You know - feed 9 pairs through, cut off the first 8 leaving one under the needle?  And continued on.

Why 8?  Because 8 was a workable amount that would keep sets together for this unit.  Depending on what I was making, it could be 10, or 12 pairs kept in the chain.

But nearly 500 pairs in one long chain?  Insanity.  Yes, it was mindless, but now I'm paying the tangled-web price.

As it stands now, I'm only about half way done with the pressing of nearly 500 pairs, and that will continue on today.

Revisiting one of my early quilts.

I thought I'd throw this in here today - it truly is more interesting than my visit to the doc for my physical yesterday. 

All I'd have to say is what I was told. "All looks good.  Lose some weight."

Okay, it wasn't that bad, but being told to get at least three 30 minute sessions of cardio a week when winter is coming on is just something I don't want to deal with on my "must fit this in to my way too busy life" list.

I've had two bad falls that have kept me from being cardio-active this past 6 months.

So let's talk about this quilt, shall we??

Oh those lovely 1990s VIP prints!

I always loved things that chain, and stars - of course.  And throwing in absolutely everything made me happy even "in the 90s."

I hand quilted this one...and yes, it was the 90s so it has poly batting that has gone flat over time.

This quilt was used and loved to nearly shreds.  Bit it was also deemed to be super-soft by my boys and was the one they would always grab for couch snoozing, or if they didn't feel well.

No pattern.  It's a simple sawtooth star and a puss-in-the-corner block.  I believe the block size is 8'' finished.

I have re-bound this one once already.  And I found some more Sadie chews on close inspection.

(That red paisley was one of my favorites, and the color never held up well!) 

I'm going to just fold this one and store it away.

And if a day arises where I am couch bound and feeling kind of punky, I think I'll pull it out for a good snuggle myself.  Just because.

What's funny for me is that though fabric styles and prints and colors may have changed, my love of all things scrappy and how I tend to construct things has not.

Last night's Potato Soup dinner in the Instant Pot.

Recipe HERE.

With The Hubster needing to eat gluten free, I hadn't made potato soup in a long, long time - our favorite family recipe included a roux made with bacon drippings, flour and milk.

This new-to-me recipe, however was fabulous and a new favorite! 

I did make a couple of changes based on ingredients I had on hand.

Where it calls for chopped onion, I used dried onion.  It cooks down to nothing and just adds flavor. The hubs isn't an onion fan.  I didn't have to peel and chop an onion and according to him "smell up" the kitchen. Win!

I used "Better than bullion" to make my chicken stock instead of broth.

Instead of leaving the bacon crumbles for just sprinkling on top of the soup as a garnish, I stirred them in as the soup was thickening with the cornstarch slurry.

I used the bacon drippings instead of butter.

Oh, and the retreaters left a container of half-and-half behind, so instead of using milk AND cream, I just substituted the half-and-half for both.

This was super yummy and I'll be doing it again through the winter.

"Lose weight" be danged!

Oh and this was exciting!

The trail cam at the top of the mountain caught this Big Buckster wandering around at 3am on Sunday morning.

When I returned from my doc appointment yesterday morning Lori and the Quiltville Q's had already departed.  The house was empty - and spotless!  Thank you, ladies!

I dug in and started the laundry, which will finish up today.

Nola's Bonniacs are soon to be on the way from Indiana, arriving tomorrow evening.

Which reminds me - I need to take the Indigo-a-Go-Go quilt with me as we are having a workshop when they arrive!

I am just so amazed at how quickly this year has flown by.  We are 10 days from the start of Rhododendron Trail.  Are you excited?

(Which reminds me, I unboxed another shipment of the Simple Folded Corners ruler and Simple Folded Corners mini so they are back in stock if you need either of them for the mystery!)

I have placed the printable PDF pattern for Pine Tree Point at 25% off - only $9.00 in the digital pattern section of the Quiltville Store. 

Sale price good through 11/24/21 when it will return to full price at $12.00. No coupon code required.

It's time to pull out those languishing holiday fabrics and sew yourself into the holiday spirit!

I made the runner in blue, too!  Good for having out all winter long!

Okay - laundry awaits.

And design wall thread removal.

And new freezer paper on the ironing stations so each retreat gets a clean surface.

And anything else I can through in there to avoid detangling that long long chain of triangles hat needs to be pressed and de-dog-eared so i can continue on to the next step.

What's up for your Tuesday?

Quiltville Quote of the Day -

Scatter sunshine not rain clouds everywhere you go...

Have a lovely day!