 Donna Cronk photo // Carolynn Hyde of New Castle with the January wallhanging in her series of 12 to depict each month of the year. She certainly nailed it with this snowman.  Donna Cronk photo // One of Carolynn's favorite quilts is the chicken one behind her. She displays other handiwork, including a mug mat, which she encourages would-be quilters to make to get a taste of what's involved and see if they still want to make a quilt. Other items are bibs and a T-shirt for wee ones, featuring her appliques. A cozy, quilting story for your winter and wintry Tuesday. From Sunday's New Castle Courier-Times. Hope you're having a great week.
By Donna Cronk For Carolynn Hyde of New Castle, it started with a hobby, then became a treasured activity. Now her quilted creations are part of a home-based business, Carolynn’s Treasures. Carolynn and husband Bill relocated to New Castle from Indianapolis a couple years ago to be near their daughter, Lynnda Sparks and family. Bill is a retired pastor and Carolynn worked in administrative assisting. Married 51 years, both are retired. They lived in a variety of locations during their working years, from Kentucky to several Indiana locations to West Virginia and Maryland before they started a church in Indy. They now attend Chicago Corner Church. A graduate of Aresenal Technical High School, Carolynn was taught to sew in school where she also learned to make hats. She used to make her daughter’s clothes. In 1994, she visited a Greenfield quilt shop and began attending a quilting club. She began making quilts for herself and as gifts. Several hundred quilts later, she sells them as a vendor at special events, at the Henry County Farmers Market, and does custom orders. She also makes appliqué-embellished bibs and T-shirts. “Appliqué is my favorite quilting technique,” says Carolynn. “It has more character than regular pieced quilting.” That character is quickly evident inside the Hyde home where a whimsical chicken-themed quilt hangs on the dining- room wall. Carolynn says it’s one of her favorites. “They’re (chickens) goofy looking and you can make up things that they’re saying,” she says. Chicken-themed place mats are found on the dining-room table to go along with the quilt. Nearby is a cat-themed quilt, also on the wall, and a snowman wallhanging. The snowman is part of series of seasonal quilts Carolynn has completed to showcase each month of the year in a unique and colorful way. “With quilting, there’s not very many rules,” Carolynn says. She enjoys embellishing some of her work with buttons. “You can change it. My daughter says a pattern is a suggestion.” Along with her daughter, who also quilts, the Hydes have a son Jeffrey, who lives in Pennsylvania. The Hydes have three grandchildren and one great-grandchild. The handiwork is all machine-quilted but Carolynn hand-binds the backing. When asked about the appeal of quilting, Carolynn says, “Because it is so versatile. It’s not cookie-cutter anything.” She comments that if six women all created the same quilt, each one would look different. Carolynn has her own designated quilting room, which she thoroughly enjoys. When asked what advice she has for those who might like to try their hands at quilting, Carolynn says to start small with a small project such as a mug rug to see how they enjoy it. “That way they get an idea if they want to pursue this.” She enjoys teaching quilting and the small mug-rug projects and welcomes opportunities to do so. She’s thinking of expanding her business to make rag dolls, another thing she enjoys. Of quilting, Carolynn says, “You can just let your imagination go wild.” To connect with Carolynn, call her at 317-536-2906 or email: cjhydeaway@sbcglobal.net.
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