Blog from Homesewn by Carolyn, baby quilts & lap quilts - Carolyn’s Homesewn

Quilting in September!

9/25/2015

What beautiful weather we are having here in New Hampshire. It's the prettiest September I can remember in a long time. I am busy with my quilts, filling special orders. Below are the quilts I have been working on.

Baseball Baby Quilt

Paper Pinwheels Quilt Block From "Around the Block with Judy Hopkins"

Mouse Quilt, original designs.

I love these mice. They are an original design by my artist niece, Wendy Mierop. They have such character.

Of course this guy needs no introductions!

Lovie Lap Quilt with Pockets

Optical Sawtooth Quilt Block From "Around the Block with Judy Hopkins"

If you haven't already done so, check out my Lovie Lap Quilts with Pockets. These make the best gifts for your Mom or Grandmother. Christmas is coming! I also sell the pattern for the Lovie Lap Quilt. I hope you give it a try. Until next time, keep quilting and enjoying the beautiful fall weather.

Carolyn

Free Motion Quilting Sampler

9/10/2015

I am in full swing quilting mode now that I am back home from spending the summer in Maine. I have just finished a patchwork quilt full of free motion quilting designs.

Patchwork Baby Quilt from http://www.homesewnbycarolyn.com

Patchwork Baby Quilt

Each of the squares has a different free motion quilting pattern. What fun I had. I have learned all my free motion quilting techniques from Leah Day with her online Craftsy (http://www.craftsy.com) classes and her videos from her website http://www.freemotionquilting.blogspot.com. I highly recommend Leah as a teacher. She has a great gift for teaching.
Just recently Leah has started making her own videos for sale. Make sure you check those out too!

Free motion quilting designs.

Free motion quilting on my Janome 7700.

Fun with free motion quilting

Snail free motion quilting design.

I use a Janome 7700 for all my quilting, piecing and free motion quilting. The Janome 7700 has a larger work space (11 inches) for your quilt to fit in while you are free motion quilting. I love this feature.

I spend as much time quilting my quilts as I do piecing. I'm so glad I discovered free motion quilting. It's one of my favorite parts to making a quilt. I hope you give free motion quilting a try!

Carolyn

Summer in Maine!

8/25/2015

Summer is winding down for me. I've had a fabulous summer here on the coast of Maine. I was able to quilt quite a lot of the time. Here are some of the quilts I've made this summer.

Pinwheel baby quilt from http://www.homesewnbycarolyn.com

Dinosaur baby quilt from http://www.homesewnbycarolyn.com

Sea Creatures baby quilt from http://www.homesewnbycarolyn.com

Amish Living quilt from http://www.homesewnbycarolyn.com

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

Floral Lovie Lap Quilt from http://www.homesewnbycarolyn.com

Peach Butterfly and Floral quilt from http://www.homesewnbycarolyn.com

Ice Cream quilt by http://www.homesewnbycarolyn.com

Peach floral Lovie Lap Quilt by http://www.homesewnbycarolyn.com

Unisex Baby Quilt, handmade by http://www.homesewnbycarolyn.com

I was busier than I thought.

While I was busy quilting, we had some construction going on. After 57 years of owning our camp, my family had a dock built! We are so excited! Below are some of the pictures.

The beginning stages of the dock

building the dock

starting the stairs

Our first time on the platform

almost done

hocking up the ramp

finished dock

finished dock!

It's time to pack up all my fabric, sewing machine and quilts and move back home. I'm sad to be leaving this beautiful spot but excited to be going home to start quilting full time. I'm also excited to be with my husband full time as well. Until next time, Happy Quilting!

Quilting on the Coast of Maine

7/25/2015

Below are the quilts I have made since being in Maine this summer. I have such a beautiful view while I am quilting that I really enjoy. The first quilt I made is a "Lovie Lap Quilt" with pockets. What a great gift for your Mom or Grandmother! The next quilt is a soft pastel pinwheel baby quilt. This quilt is great for a boy or girl. The next quilt is a sea creatures quilt. What fun! And the last quilt is a dinosaur quilt. It shows several different dinosaurs which will encourage imagination.

Lily Lovie Lap Quilt from http://www.homesewnbycarolyn.com

Sea Creatures Baby Quilt from http://ww.homesewnbycarolyn.com

Pastel Pinwheel Baby Quilt from http://www.homesewnbycarolyn.com

Dinosaur Baby Quilt from http://www.homesewnbycarolyn.com

This weekend in Maine there is the 38th Annual Quilt Show in Augusta, Maine. http://www.mainequilts.org/Quilt_Show/

I love seeing all the quilts and, of course, shop with the vendors. Each year I try out the long arm machines. Someday maybe I will purchase one but for right now I do all my free motion quilting on my Janome.

I hope you are in the area and can go to the show! Happy Quilting!

Great 4th of July!

7/6/2015

I hope everyone had a safe and happy "4th of July"! My weekend was spent with family at our summer house on the coast of Maine. This is our first summer without Mom but we feel her spirit with us at our cottage. She loved it here.

I will be spending most of the summer here with the exception of going home on Wednesdays for my yoga class and to see my husband. Ken comes to Maine most weekends.

The first thing we did this weekend was to put my sister, Sharon's boat in the water!

Boat is in!

This is our cottage. We had rocks put in front of it to help hold the embankment. The foliage is filling in and will look better soon.

I love the new view we have!

On Saturday we went to the Harpswell 4th of July Celebration where they read from the Declaration of Independence and shot off their guns and canon.

Then back to camp for some outdoor games and a fantastic display of fireworks at night with patriotic music playing along.

On one of our walks we found mountain laurel that I think I might like to paint a picture of with my watercolors.

Sunday was such a beautiful day that we packed a lunch and took the boat for a long ride.

I hope you all had a happy 4th as well. Now I'm back to quilting!

Ten Best Baby Quilt Patterns

6/22/2015

Here are my top ten favorite baby quilt patterns. They are all easy pattern to make.
1. Log Cabin Quilt Block

Log Cabin Block, One of the Ten Best Baby Quilt Patterns

Log Cabin Baby Quilt

2. Northwind Quilt Block

Northwind Quilt Block from http://www.homesewnbycarolyn.com/blog

Northwind Quilt

I love this quilt block. It doesn't look like much all by itself, but when you sewn the whole quilt together, WOW! Love it.

3. Square on Square Quilt Block

Square on Square quilt bock

Square on Square quilt

4. Beginners Delight Quilt Block

Beginners Delight quilt block.

Beginner's Delight Baby Quilt

5. Cross within a Cross Quilt Block

Cross with a Cross Quilt Block from http://www.homesewnbycarolyn.com/blog

Cross within a Cross Baby Quilt

I think I like Cross within a Cross because of all the colors.

6. Louisiana Quilt Block

Louisiana Quilt Block

Louisiana Baby Quilt

Pinwheels are always a favorite for baby quilts. This is just one of many patterns for pinwheels.

7. Turnstile Quilt Block

Turnstile Quilt Block

Turnstile Baby Quilt

Turnstile is another great pinwheel quilt. This pattern has a double pinwheel.

8. Friendship Quilt Block

Friendship Quilt Block

Friendship Baby Quilt

This is a great pattern for a scrap quilt.

9. Four Patch

Four Patch quilt block

Four Patch Baby Quilt

Four Patch is a great beginner pattern. It works up really quickly.

10. Hearth and Home

Hearth and Home

Hearth and Home Baby Quilt

I hope you have enjoyed my Best Ten Baby Quilt Patterns! I hope you give one of these patterns a try. Make sure you send me a picture!

If you would like to follow my blog, just click on the RSS Feed button on the right. Keep Quilting!

Mom's Life Celebration Service

6/16/2015

Mom wearing her butterfly t-shirt enjoying lunch at camp.

Last November I lost my beautiful Mother to a four year battle with a blood disease. We had a church service in Florida where she has lived for the past twenty years. A week later we had another church service and burial in New Hampshire, where she lived with my Dad before he passed away.

On the day of her funeral, there was an ice storm in Maine so many of her relatives there couldn't make it. So... Last Saturday my Aunt held a Life Celebration Service for my Mom at their shared cottage on the coast of Maine. What a beautiful place. The picture above is the view we have there. All wee long the weather was showing as raining. I prayed all week for sunshine and we got it! What a perfect day.

Mom loved butterflies so my cousin bought some butterfly wings for the children to wear. They looked adorable fluttering around. Mom would have loved them!

Adorable butterflies at Memorial Service for Mom.

Two beautiful butterflies at Mom's Celebration of Life!

Butterfly about to take flight at Mom's Celebration of Life Service.

As soon as the service started, a butterfly flew by. I think Mom wanted us to know she was with us. After the service we all paraded down to the water to place a floral wreath in the water and each person had a rose toss in as well.

Wreath of flowers for Mom about to be launched into the ocean.

Wreath and roses launched into the ocean for Mom.

It was so nice to share Mom's stories and traditions with our family and friends. We kept the whole day upbeat just like Mom would have wanted.

Creating Hobson's Kiss Quilt Block

6/10/2015

Hobson's Kiss is another quilt block from my favorite quilt book, "Around the Block with Judy Hopkins". I am currently making a quilt from each of her 200 quilt blocks. Hobson's Kiss is quilt number 116.

Here is what the quilt block looks like:

I decided to change up the blocks, alternating the medium and dark fabrics.

Here is what the quilt looked like before I added the alternate block.

I liked it but I wanted to try the navy instead of the grey.

I liked this too. But in the end I decided to mix and match. I like the depth the grey has. The navy is flat. So the combination of the two seems to work the best.

Ok so I just realized how the stripes really change in this sample. In the first two it almost looks like a Christmas decoration. Do you see it? The top triangle with a thin stripe then a wide stripe then a thin strip and the bottom triangle.

Here is the finished quilt.

I would love to hear your feedback. Give this block a try and be sure to let me see your pictures.

Carolyn

Places to visit when vacationing in New Hampshire!

6/4/2015

Are you visiting New Hampshire this summer? Here is a list of some of the places you might like to visit.

No. 1 Story Land in Glenn, NH. Kids Amusement Park. This was a favorite of mine growing up and again when my boys were small.
http://www.storylandnh.com

No. 2 Castle in the Clouds in Moultonborough, NH. It is a 16 room mansion on the top of a mountain. Beautiful views and great history of the mansion. http://castleinthecloud.org

No. 3 The Hobo Railroad. The Hobo Railroad travels through natural woods twisting the Pemigewasset River. I haven't done this trip yet. http://www.hoborr.com

No. 4 Canterbury Shaker Village in Canterbury, NH. This is a historic site and museum of one of the Shaker communities.
It is one of the most intact and authentic surviving Shaker community site. My family and I enjoyed the museum very much. http://www.shakers.org

No. 5 Strawbery Banke in Portsmouth, NH. This is a museum of community buildings where you can connect with the past. I have been here many times and will continue to keep going back. http://www.strawberybanke.org

No. 6 Keepsake Quilting in Center Harbor, NH. (I had to add this one.) If you are a quilter, this is a must stop for you. Several rooms of delicious fabric. How could you not? http://www.keepsakequilting.com

No. 7 The USS Albacore in Portsmouth, NH. This is a submarine that you can walk through. I was surprised how small it is. I certainly couldn't have gone underwater in this sub.
http://www.ussalbacore.org

No. 8 Currier Art Museum in Manchester, NH. A wonderful collection of art with changing exhibits.
http://www.currier.org

No. 9 Mount Washington Cruise on Lake Winnipesaukee. This is on my bucket list.
http://www.cruisenh.com

10. Hampton Beach. We don't have a very big coast line in New Hampshire but it is pretty. Hampton Beach has shops across the street from the white sands and the ocean where it's not uncommon to see people surfing.

Of course these are just touching the surface of all the places you can visit in New Hampshire. Please come and visit our tiny state filled with hospitality.

Doves in the Window, Quilt Block 115!

5/28/2015

Doves in the Window is a beautiful quilt block with squares, triangles and rectangles. If you've mastered those three, you will have no problem with this quilt. It is quite simple. That doesn't mean it's not time consuming. Any time you have that many triangles, it takes time; time to square up all your triangles.

Below is how you start constructing this block.

sewing the half square triangles to the square

sewing the half square triangles to the larger square

After sewing four of these sections, you sew a rectangle in between two of these pieces and repeat. Then you sew a rectangle with a square and add the last rectangle. Sew this in between your other two pieces and you have your block.

Alright now for the magic! Notice in the quilt block the black fabric in the half square triangles. Now look at the black fabric when all four blocks are sewn together. It makes it look like the white fabric triangles are sitting on a wide band of black fabric. What what happens when I put this quilt on its side.

Doves in the Window baby quilt from http://www.homesewnbycarolyn.com

Now it really brings out the black band with the thinner white band, like double crosses. That's the magic of sewing these quilt blocks together that I love.

I did a little research and found a free pattern you could use. Just click on the link below.
http://www.mccallsquilting.com/qb/mccallsquilting/pattern_407/index.html

I also found Delaware Quilts Block of the Month you might enjoy.
http://delawarequilts.com/BOMs/DoveInTheWindow/index.html

I hope you have enjoyed "Doves in the Window" quilt block and will give it a try!

Carolyn