<![CDATA[Carolyns Homesewn

<![CDATA[Carolyns Homesewn - Blog]]>Thu, 07 May 2026 09:16:06 -0400Weebly<![CDATA[The making of a Sea Glass Wall Hanging]]>Tue, 31 Mar 2026 21:59:30 GMThttps://www.homesewnbycarolyn.com/blog/the-making-of-a-sea-glass-wall-hangingI've been wanting to make a sea glass quilt. I wasn't sure where to begin. I started with a white cotton fabric approximately 25 inches square.

I went through my fabric stash and collected my fabrics in tan, light grey, brown, sand, blues, teals and green. Next I drew out different rock sizes and turtle pieces on iron on Heat N Bond. I knew I wanted to put three turtles crawling to the beach in the sand. I lightly drew two parallel lines where I wanted the sand to be.

I started with the turtles and worked from there with the sand pebbles. Once I finished most of the sand, I started with the green on one side and the teal and blue on the other.

I worked from light to dark. Once I got to this part I realized I needed to draw borders on the top, bottom and sides. I could have done this in the beginning. At first I didn't realize how many pieces I would need, a lot!

Once completed, I chose a blue cotton backing and Warm and White cotton batting. Sandwiched together, it was time to quilt. I sewed around each stone twice and moved on to the next stone.

This is a great project to use some of your scraps. I think my favorite part of making the Sea Glass Quilt was putting the colors together and sewing around each pebble. Not too bad for my first attempt. I see more Sea Glass Quilts in my future. Give it a try!

]]><![CDATA[Sizes for the Double Pinwheel Block]]>Wed, 14 Feb 2024 17:02:17 GMThttps://www.homesewnbycarolyn.com/blog/sizes-for-the-double-pinwheel-blockI have had several people asking for the sizes of the Double Pinwheel Block. In the quilt below, I used an 8" finished sized block. This quilt pattern is from my favorite quilt book, Around the Block with Judy Hopkins. I am also attaching the page of the Double Pinwheel Block from the book. As you can see, it is much loved and used daily.

I hope this helps. It's a great block to make. Enjoy! Carolyn

]]><![CDATA[Llama Baby Quilt]]>Mon, 13 Feb 2023 13:56:42 GMThttps://www.homesewnbycarolyn.com/blog/llama-baby-quilt

I had an order for a llama baby quilt which I had never done. I found this adorable pattern on ETSY from Counted Quilts by Lisa Muilenburg. (She has made a lot of adorable patterns.) The process was easy and fun. There was a lot (ALOT) of cutting but Lisa had you label each piece, which is a must. I'm not going to get into the the whole pattern but I did want to show you how it is created.

It was fun seeing the quilt being built in this way. Here is my finished quilt.

I added the eye and lines for the mouth then did the free motion quilting.

You can get your pattern on Etsy. Make sure you check out Lisa's other patterns.

]]><![CDATA[My Guild's Quilt Show!]]>Thu, 06 Oct 2016 12:11:02 GMThttps://www.homesewnbycarolyn.com/blog/my-guilds-quilt-showLast weekend my guild, Merrimack Valley Quilters, had their quilt show. Unfortunately I didn't have time to put a quilt in the show this year. (Or fortunately, because that means business is growing.) I helped out at the show and enjoyed looking around at all the talent.

Below is just a sample of the amazing quilts I saw.

The top left won Best Use of Color. The pieces were so tiny.
The next quilt had beautiful free motion quilting.
The fish quilt used tabs pulled off of cans. Very creative.
The flip flop quilt was very cute. She used ribbons for the straps.

The top left was my favorite. I thin this one won the Best of Show.
The next one was just adorable. Such a peaceful scene children playing in the woods.
The third quilt was also amazing. Tiny piecing and great quilting.
The fourth quilt I loved the colors.

These last three quilts were from the challenge quilts. You had to make a quilt with a basket in it. I loved the creativity of each quilt.

This year I had started two different quilts for the show. I was very ambitious but not very productive. I hope to finish at least one of them for next year.

If you live in southern New Hampshire or Massachusetts border and would like to join our quilt guild, you are welcome to come to our next meeting.

Meeting: October 20, 2016 - Thursday
At Northern Essex Community College, Haverhill, MA
Conference Room 103B in the Technology Building
Meeting starts at 7pm - doors open at 6 pm for socializing.
https://mvquilters.wordpress.com/guild-activities/meetings/

I hope to see you there!

Carolyn

]]><![CDATA[Augusta, Maine Quilt Show]]>Wed, 03 Aug 2016 11:01:01 GMThttps://www.homesewnbycarolyn.com/blog/augusta-maine-quilt-showWow! What amazing quilts. I am so glad I'm not a judge. Honestly, there were so many winners in my opinion. I go to this show just about every year and am blown away by all the talent. Here are just a few of the highlights!

The quilting on this quilt was so inspiring!

I'm always looking for new free motion quilting designs.

Just look how tiny those squares are. Oh the patience.

And now for my favorites, the Boston Fenway Park Quilts!

I hope you have enjoyed my photos. If you are in the area, this is a great show. Unfortunately I wasn't able to take pictures of the "Best of Show" quilts. There were too many people looking at them.

You can get more information about the show and next year's show here:
www.mainequilts.org/Quilt_Show/

]]><![CDATA[Time Spent with Good Friends!]]>Sat, 25 Jun 2016 20:26:21 GMThttps://www.homesewnbycarolyn.com/blog/time-spent-with-good-friendsWhat a great time I had last week with my quilting friends! We didn't get together this time to quilt, just to sit and catch up with each other. They all came to my place on the coast of Maine and soaked up the sunshine. I had two of my friends pose as models for my "Lovie Lap Quilts".

Lovie Lap Quilt with Pockets from http://www.HomeSewnByCarolyn.com

Lovie Lap Quilt with Pockets, original design from http://www.HomeSewnByCarolyn.com

At the breakfast table Nancy told us about a new easy stack and whack quilt block. She was showing us what to do using napkins as we were lacking fabric.

You use a fairly busy fabric and layer four layers exactly the same on top of each other. Then you cut squares. I used a 3" square. Take that pile of four 3" squares and arrange it they way you would like. Each block comes out totally different. I had to give it a try. I loved the results.

Stack and Whack quilt pattern from http://www.HomeSewnByCarolyn.com

Stack and whack quilt block from http://www.HomeSewnByCarolyn.com

Stack and Whack baby quilt from http://www.HomeSewnByCarolyn.com

After breakfast we drove over to Land's End on Bailey Island. It's a cute gift shop with a beautiful view. The artist in me just had to take pictures.

Lupin at Land's End, Bailey Island, Maine

Great use of an old bicycle on Bailey Island, Maine

Summer doesn't get much better than this, good friends, beautiful place and a little quilting! Hope you are all enjoying your summers!

]]><![CDATA[Finding Time for Fun!]]>Tue, 07 Jun 2016 22:32:53 GMThttps://www.homesewnbycarolyn.com/blog/finding-time-for-funIn between sewing I've been going for walks to get my exercise. My aunt had told us where to find the Lady Slippers along our road. My sisters and I couldn't believe how many are actually there if you look hard enough. They only come out in June here in Maine and are found in the woods. I've noticed they like the low bush blueberries. Below are just a few photos I took.

We also had the chance to put my sister's boat in the water. Boating has to be my most favorite thing to do in the summer! There can be a little anxiety putting the boat in the water but this year it slid right off the trailer. Way to go Norm!

Just look at that smile on my sister's face. I think boating is one of her favorite things to do in the summer as well.

We even met a neighbor putting his boat in so we followed him back home.

Widgen Cove, Harpsell, Maine facing High Head, Harpswell, Maine

Look how pretty she looks sitting out on her mooring!

But don't worry, I did find time this week for quilting

As I have mentioned before, I am enjoying the free motion quilting classes I am taking on Craftsy.com. I love learning new free motion quilting designs and am always amazed at how many designs there are. So today I challenged myself to come up with a new design. I made a nine patch baby quilt with a square in between each block. Here is the design I came up with for the square:

I hope you are all enjoying your summer and taking time for fun!

]]><![CDATA[Let Summer Begin!]]>Fri, 27 May 2016 12:27:15 GMThttps://www.homesewnbycarolyn.com/blog/let-summer-beginI am headed up to our summer home on the coast of Maine! This year I am going up a month early. The leaves are just starting to open. I don't think I'll be going swimming for a while. The water looks a little cold.

If you look in the distance, you can see little white dots. Those are sailboats from a local college. It's a sailing class. I sure hope they don't capsize.

Over the last few months I have continued to take Craftsy classes on Free Motion Quilting! What fun. I'm learning new designs all the time. My latest class is from Lori Kennedy called Divide & Conquer. I can't stress enough how I enjoy the classes on Craftsy. I hope you give them a try. Just this week I learned they have a huge variety of classes, not just for quilting. I'm thinking about taking a few of their drawing classes.

Here's some of my free motion quilting designs I've learned:

I hope you give Craftsy a try. (Isn't that cat quilt adorable?) Hope you are getting ready for your fun summer as well. Until next time!

Carolyn

]]><![CDATA[Creative Free Motion Quilting]]>Thu, 17 Mar 2016 10:46:10 GMThttps://www.homesewnbycarolyn.com/blog/creative-free-motion-quilting I have to start by saying I absolutely LOVE Craftsy classes. This week I took "Wild Quilting" by Christina Cameli. What fun! I have also taken classes from Leah Day (whom I love and highly recommend for beginners of free motion quilting) and Angela Walters, another great teacher.

In the "Wild Quilting" class, Christina opened my eyes to combination designs and creating focal points. I haven't tried all of what I have learned but here are some quilting blocks I did yesterday.

I'm so excited to apply what I learned onto my next project. Check out all the wonderful Craftys classes. Enjoy!

]]><![CDATA[Feeling Blessed!]]>Tue, 01 Mar 2016 12:36:27 GMThttps://www.homesewnbycarolyn.com/blog/feeling-blessedFive years ago I designed the "Lovie Lap Quilt" with Pockets. I would visit my grandmother in the nursing home. Her hands were always cold. She would be sitting on them or rubbing them together. Now we all know that the nursing homes are kept very warm but for people who aren't moving much, they get cold.

My Grandmother with her Lovie Lap Quilt with Pockets. I designed this quilt especially for my Grandmother. http://www.homesewnbycarolyn.com

In January of 2015 I made a pattern for this lap quilt.

Lovie Lap Quilt with Pockets, Pattern, from http://www.homesewnbycarolyn.com

Once I started selling my pattern I started getting stories from the people wanting to make the Lovie Lap Quilt for their loved ones. I love hearing who you are making the quilt for. I want you to know that I am touched by all your stories, whether it be the woman who's sister was in a terrible car accident, or whose friend had a stroke, or whose mother just went into a nursing home. I keep you all in my thoughts and prayers. I feel so blessed to think my design is helping others.

I have also had many people write to tell me they are using the Lovie Lap Quilt for their service project in their quilt guild or church groups getting together and making the quilts to donate to nursing homes.

I would like to thank you all for all you are doing to help someone else. Keep the stories coming!

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