Antebellum Album

Is done....at least the top is finished.

The photo is a bit wonky..  I folded the top border so I could fit the entire quilt in the photo.  This was such a wonderful sew along.  Barbara Brackman did a wonderful job with the directions for each block.  I chose a different setting for the blocks.  The border fabric is a Patek/Brannock design.  It's years old.

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a safe and  Happy New Year.

Hugs, Cathy

Antebelum Album and more

The final block is done.  All the blocks are sewn together and that is needed is to add the border.  

Here is my block 12.  I don't know why when I take a photo of these blocks the background looks pink.  It's not.  It is tea dyed muslin.  Oh well...  I will take a photo of the quilt top once I add the borders.  I did a different setting than the one suggested.  


It was a quilty Christmas in the Buel household.  Hubby did good.

He went to an estate sale and found this Signature quilt.

It is dated 1953.

He also found another quilt.

This is a pre-printed quilt.  Probably a Chinese made quilt.  But it is cute.  It has cat paw prints around the entire quilt.

Here is a close up.

I had mentioned to him that I really liked a quilt I saw in the Connecting Threads catalog.

I was quite surprised that he ordered the kit.  He also got me an eight pack of white, grays and black threads.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.  We didn't have a white Christmas but it was nice.  We had a family get together with family.  It was good to see the grand kids.

Thanks for stopping bye.  I wish you all a very Happy New Year.

Hugs, Cathy

Antebelllum Album and a Win

We are so close to the end of the Antebellum Album BOM.  Here is my block 11.

I'm thinking I need to add something in the center of this block.  The fabric I am using in all the blocks is a tea dyed muslin.  It looks like it is pink.  I started to putting the blocks together.  I really love how it is looking.

Last week Katy at Katy Quilts celebrated 10 years of blogging with a mini quilt giveaway.  She gave away 10 mini quilts.  I entered the giveaway and won.

Isn't it adorable.  I love it.

The weather is cold here but luckily no snow.  Checking out the weather this morning I see there is some winter storm warnings all over the norther part of the country.  My son in the Upper Peninsula is expecting 3 - 6 inches of snow.  I'll keep our cold, sunny weather.

Thanks for stopping by.  

Hugs, Cathy

Dearest Boy and More

It's that time again to reveal another block in the Dearest Boy saga. Block 3 D. If you read Julie's blog today she posted her problems with this block.  I too was disappointed in the instructions.  Where we were supposed to put 4 hexie flowers for the block...the template was way off.  Four wouldn't fit so I did....

just one hexie flower.  It's just going to have to do.  Be sure to stop by Karen's, Carole's, and Julie's Blogs to see what they have done. 

I am going to take the month of December off.  So I won't be posting photos of Dearest Boy blocks until January 15.  See you then.


A couple of weeks ago I entered a giveaway on Kathy's blog for a chance to win an Olfa product.  This giveaway was sponsored by Jacquelynne Steve's for her Save the Bees BOM.

This is the biggest Rotary Cutter I have ever used.  I love that I can cut more layers of fabric.  I was so excited to win.  Thanks to both Jacquelynne and Kathy.

The weather has been a mix of rain and snow and cold....  Good sewing weather.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Stay warm and get some sewing done.  

Hugs, Cathy

A Challenge Quilt

While going through blog posts the other day I saw Wendy at The Constant Quilter did a challenge quilt with members of her quilt guild.  She posted photos of her given fabrics and her challenge quilt.  I personally loved her quilt.  She wasn't goo fond of it.

This made remember a challenge quilt I had made years ago.  I've mentioned that I was a member of Interquilt (an Internet quilt guild).  They always had block swaps, mystery quilts and a Squishy Challenge.  They also had an Interquilt gathering planned at a different location once a year.  I only managed to go to one of these gatherings.  It was in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  

This meeting also coincided with the Squishy Challenge.  I had always wanted to do this challenge and since I was going to the gathering I decided to do the challenge.

Everyone who was participating in the challenge were sent a piece of the same fabric by the judging committee.  Then you received 3 ugly fabrics from one of the contestants.

This is the back of my quilt.  The hanging sleeve is the fabric that everyone was given.  The three backing fabrics were the fabrics that were just sent to me.  We were allowed to add 2 additional fabrics.

This is the quilt I entered in the challenge.  I added the black and red fabric.  The pattern I used was a Jeanna Kimball pattern.  I fused the pieces down and then hand button holed stitch.  I hand quilted it in a cross hatch design.

I'm happy to say I won first place.  When we got home I entered my little quilt in my quilt guilds Quilt Show.  It was a NQA judged show.  I took first place in my division.

We have another snowy day in Michigan.  So I am off to get some sewing done.

I hope you have a great weekend.

Hugs, Cathy

Dearest Boy Update

It's time to share the next block in our Dearest Boy sew along.

This is block 3C.  And thank goodness it was a fairly easy block.

Be sure to stop by Karens, Julies, and Caroles blogs and see their version of the block.


The weather here has been cold.  We have snow one day...it melts the next day...and it repeats.  At least we don't have any accumulation.

This cold weather has given me time to get some sewing done.  Today I cut out a quilt using 10" squares.  I found the cutting instructions on YouTube.  It's a half square log cabin block.  Hopefully I'll have some blocks to show you next time.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  

Hugs, Cathy

P.S. I totally forgot to post this earlier.

Antebellum Album plus a Finish

Wow...I can't believe we only have 2 more blocks for the Antebellum Album BOM.  I have to admit that this was not my favorite block to make.  Y seams make me crazy.

It's not perfect but it's done.  I have plans on redoing this block before I put the quilt together.


And I have a finish.  I made the top over a year ago and finally got it all quilted.

I made this quilt using my Accuquilt Go Cutter and my Half Hexagon die.  I used a bunch of browns that I wasn't really fond of just to use my new die.  Once I got the top put together I really loved it.  So now it's finished and it's mine all mine.  


I went to the eye doctor's yesterday to check if I did any damage to my eye when I fell.  My eye has been watering badly the few weeks.  Good news there is no damage.  Bad news I have extreme dry eyes and my allergies are causing problems.  So now I use "Refresh"  eye drops 4 times a day.  Drops for itching 2 times a day.  And an allergy prescription drop 3 times a day.   I need to write up a chart for what time to do the drops.  But at least there is no damage.

The weather has changed.  It's windy, cold, gray and cold.  I swear I saw some snow flakes the other day.  Good quilting weather.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Have a great upcoming weekend.

Hugs, Cathy 

Time Flies

When you're having fun.  And this quilt has been fun.

It's already the 30th of October and time to share the next block in our Dearest Boy Sew along.

This is block 3B.  I'm really love this block.  It was so much fun to make.  In case you are wondering this is a ring of trees.

Be sure to stop by Karen's, Julie's and Carole's blogs to see their version.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Have a great week.

Hugs, Cathy

New Project

Since finishing up my Sweet Land of Liberty quilt top I've felt I needed a new project to take it's place.  So I started to go through some books I had lying around.  I came across this book.

The flash makes it hard to see the entire cover of the book.  The quilt in the background is the one I am going to make.

Here is a better look at the quilt.  I'm not going to using the black fabric.  Instead I am using a print fabric the same color as the background.


Here are the first 3 blocks.  They are 6 1/2" unfinished.

I'm having with these blocks.  Of course I had to order new fabric...but oh well we all have to suffer sometimes....lol

I'm feeling so much better.  Still have a slight headache and my nose is still sore.  I had Xrays taken on Monday and and they showed no broken bones.

My daughter called the other day and asked me to go to Frankenmouth on Saturday.  Both my daughters and my oldest granddaughter are going.  It should be a good time.

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great day.

Hugs, Cathy

Antebellum Album

I've been meaning to share a photo of this block with you for a while.  This is block 9.  3 more blocks to go.

I need to think about how I am going to put this quilt together.  I have a couple of different settings in mind.

I went to the Doctor's on Monday.  I was told that my sugar levels were high.  I had to start eating better and get more exercise.  She said walking would be good.  I started out walking on the treadmill because our weather was raining and cold.  Thursday it was still cold but the sun was shining and the sky was clear.  We decided to go to Metro Park by the lake.  

We took our dog Sammie with us.  She loves the park.  She gets so excited.  Usually early in the morning the park has few walkers.  Thursday however they were hosting a Cross Country event for all the local High Schools.  Sammie doesn't do well with lots of people.

She started running and barking and going one way and then the other.  And ran right in front of me and I fell.  Well not just fell....I slammed down on the ground, just missing the paved walkway.  My head hit the ground.  Broke my glasses.  Skinned my nose, cut my cheek and bruised my lips.  Oh and I had a nose bleed.  Needless to say yesterday I had the mother of all headaches.  But today I woke up feeling so much better.  Didn't even have to take any pain pills this morning.  So hopefully I can get some sewing done.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Hugs, Cathy

Dearest Boy Continues

It's the 15th of October and time to share our versions of Block 3A.  Time is sure flying.

This has always been a difficult block for me.  I drew up the block on EQ8 and printed up templates on freezer paper.  I ironed these on the chosen fabric for the star points.  This worked out really well.  I think I will do that again if I ever make this block again.

The weather is getting crisper, the skies sunnier and the air cooler.  This is my favorite time of year.  Yesterday was my birthday.  I turned 23 (times 3...lol).  It was a really beautiful day.  We went for a walk at St. Clair Metro park.  It was a good day.

Thanks for stopping by.  Be sure to visit Karen, Julie and Carole and see what magical blocks they have made.

Hugs, Cathy

A Journeys End

What a wonderful journey we have been on for many months.  Cheri Payne's Sweet Land of Liberty was a joy to work on.

The first half of our journey had some challenges.  But I loved how it turned out.

The second half hand some challenges of it's own.  Mostly getting it to be the same width of the first half.

I am so thrilled with the finished top.

This is one long quilt.  My final challenge was to find a place to take a photo of the the quilt top.  I ended up having my husband stand on step stool and hold it up for me.

This journey couldn't have happened without the guidance of Lori and Denise.  Thank you for help.

Thanks for stopping by.  

Hugs, Cathy

Dearest Boy Update

I usually write my posts the day before...oops...I forgot.  Then I over slept this morning.

So here it goes.  This looked like a very complicated block.  And it was.

However, I figured that I could easily applique it.  I found a similar pattern on EQ8.  I made one copy on paper and 2 copies on freezer paper.  I cut out the templates of freezer paper.  I traced the paper pattern on my background fabric.

I appliqued the beige triangles first, then the large circle, then the red and blue spires, then the small circle in the center and faintly you can see the design in the circle.

I'm very happy with the way it turned out.

Hugs, Cathy

It's Time

To show the next block in the Dearest Boy saga...

What you say...it doesn't look like the block in the book.  You are right.  Life is too short and too busy and I don't have the patience for all that technical work.  So I found a block in EQ8 and used it for my baskets.

I truly admire those who did the block as it was in the pattern.  I just wasn't up to it.  I am very happy with my little baskets.

Thanks for stopping by.  Be sure to visit the blogs of the sew along quilters,
Karen, Julie, Carole, and Doreen.

This coming week I am staying at my daughter's house keeping my granddaughter company while her parents go to Las Vegas.  They go once a year and I go to her house.  Luckily she lives 5 minutes from my house so I can run home for a change of clothes or get a little sewing done.

Hugs, Cathy

Show and Tell

I started a new quilt.  16 patch blocks made using jelly roll strips.  I'm trying to make 2-4 blocks a day.

I am slowly working on my Simple Summer Sampler quilt from last year.  Blue seems to be my go to color.

I finished another quilt top.  It was made using a jelly roll.  All the jelly roll strips were cut into 6 1/2" pieces.  Definitely not the fabrics I tend to use.  However I had this jelly roll and a new pattern and tried it out.  It is a lap size.

In between working on Sweet Land of Liberty and Dearest Boy applique blocks I prepped another block for my Red and Green quilt.  I'm happy with the way it looks.  I'm not sure how many more blocks I want to make.

Well here in Michigan our weather has been a roller coaster.  One day the temps have been 90 - 100 degrees.  The next day it was 69.  We had a few days of beautiful sunny 76 degrees.  Then we had a few days of rain.  Today it looks like more rain.  And the weekend is bringing the temps up in the 80's.  I guess that is why they say when in Michigan if you don't like the weather...wait a day, it will change.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Be sure to come back on the 15th to see the latest Dearest Boy block.

Hugs, Cathy

Antebellum Album Block 8

I finished block 8 today.  I am so happy with this sew along.

I had a scrap of fabric with some Civil War motifs on it and used it for the center.  My husband is a big civil war buff and is loving this BOM as much as I am.


I got my Walnut Grove quilt top sewn together.

Here it is on my bed (a full mattress).  

This is a close up of some of the blocks.

Now I'm working on the next block I have prepped for my red and green quilt while enjoying some cooler weather.  At least for a day....lol

Thanks for stopping by

Hugs, Cathy

Dearest Boy

It's that time again.  Time to reveal the next block of the Dearest Boy sew along.

Here are blocks 2 C and D.  I'm doing a simpler version of the blocks.  I'm working on so many different projects.  I just have time to keep it simple.

It has finally started to cool down.  The forecast is temps in the 70's.

Be sure to check out Karen's, Julie's, Carole's and Doreen's blogs to see what they have been up to.

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great day.

Hugs, Cathy

Slow Sewing

I finished up this months blocks for the Land of Liberty quilt along.  I have all the pieces cut for the Freedom Angel and will applique them later.

I was checking all my project boxes and came across the box containing all the blocks for my Walnut Grove quilt.  I pulled out all the blocks and put together the first 5 rows.

Today I plan on sewing these rows together and try and get the next 5 rows done.  This quilt is going to be 80" x 90".  I'm glad I have air conditioning in my sewing room because it is going to be hot and humid today.  It's going to be even hotter tomorrow.  Good time to get some sewing done.

Thanks for stopping by and stay cool.

Hugs, Cathy

Dearest Boy Block 2B

It's time to share another Dearest Boy Block.  Today's block is 2B.

I really like how this block turned out.

It's coming along.  

Be sure to check out Karen's, Julie's, Carole's and Doreen's blogs to see what they've been doing.

Stay cool and enjoy the rest of the summer.  Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs, Cathy

Antebellum Block 7

Here is block 7.  I am so enjoying this sew along.

Here are the first 6.

Block 1

Block 2

Block 3

Block 4

Block 5

Block 6

Now to catch up on some more projects.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs, Cathy

One Down

Many more to come.  Projects that is.  

I finally finished Part 7 of Land of Liberty.  Just in time for the next installment.

Although I enjoyed my vacation it really put me behind on my projects.

We finally got a break on the weather.  I got to open the windows and get some fresh air going through the house.

I hope you are enjoying your summer.

Hugs, Cathy

Playing Catch-up

Back from a 2 week vacation and got a stomach virus.  So not much sewing getting done around here.

Luckily I finished the second block of the month for our Dearest Boy Sew Along.  This is the first block in the second row.  Block 2 A.

I love this block.  I'm really happy with how it turned out.

Now I need to start work on the next block, finish the blocks for Land of Liberty, do the next block for Antebellum Album and get caught up on the Temecula sew along.   Whew....I'm tired just thinking about it.  lol

Be sure to stop by and check out what the other Dearest Boy sew along members are doing.  

Karen, Julie, Carole and hopefully Doreen she's working on the quilt but hasn't posted yet.

I hope you are enjoying your summer.  Thankfully the weather has been very pleasant here.

Hugs, Cathy

A Beautiful Day

 Yesterday was absolutely beautiful.  The temps were in the 70's so it was a good day to do some site seeing. 

My parents retired and moved to the Upper Peninsula many, many years ago.  So my family has been in love with the area.  So much so for one member, my son Patrick.  He went to NMU and never came home.  

One of my favorite places is AuSable Lake.  To the left of this photo is a sand dune which is covered in grass.  When the kids were little there was no guard rail.  This is a drop off lake.  We would climb the sand dune then run down the hill, over the road, and dive in the lake at the drop off.

 Things have changed so much.  No more sand dune, no more swimming.  They closed the beach and closed the picnic area.

We left there and headed to Grand Marais.

 They have some beautiful houses up on the hill overlooking Lake Superior.  This one is my favorite.  I could be happy here.

 This is the Coast Guard Station.  It is now run by the National Parks Service.  There is a huge bay area.  In August they have hundreds of kayakers that come for a kayaking class and then they are taken out onto Lake Superior.  They open the High School for sleeping quarters.

Our final destination was 12 Mile Beach.  You drive down this old road that runs along Lake Superior.  We found a spot to pull over and this is what we saw.

The view was spectacular.

We climbed down the sand hill to the beach.

The beach is covered in driftwood that is thrown up on land during the many storms.  The shoreline is covered in stones and rocks.  We have spent many hours looking for Agates.

We had a great time.  We were so tired from all the walking on the beach but it was a good tired.

This morning when we got up it was a shock.  The temperature was 53 and its overcast.  So I plan on working on some applique.  Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer so we can go do some more exploring.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs, Cathy