what's in a name???

Welcome to Home Sweet Homespun

I'm Tina.

If you've been here for a while, you probably remember when this little business started as City House Country Home. Over the years, the name has changed a few times ~as life and people change~  but honestly, that's about the only thing that's changed. The recipes, the way I make them, and the reason I started are all still the same.

The first batch of soap I made was back in 2013. I wasn't planning on starting a business. I had little ones at home, and I found myself reading ingredient labels a lot more closely. The front of the package would say natural, but then I'd flip it over and the ingredient list usually told a different story.

I wanted to know exactly what I was using on my family's skin, so I learned to make soap.

Not long after that, I was cloth diapering and trying to make a salve that would actually help diaper rash without causing problems for cloth diapers. That sent me down a completely different path. I started learning about herbs like calendula and plantain, and I couldn't believe how well those simple plants worked.

From there, one thing just led to another.

At first I bought dried herbs. Then I started growing them. Once I learned how to harvest, dry, and infuse my own, I realized there was a huge difference. Better color. Better scent. Better quality. After that, I was hooked.

These days we have a little micro farm. We grow many of the herbs that go into our products, keep chickens, and make everything here in small batches by hand. What we don't grow ourselves, I source as carefully as I can because the ingredients really do matter.

I'm also a little obsessed with trees, especially Eastern white pine. I grew up in Maine, where foraging was just part of life. My grandmother gathered dandelion greens and fiddleheads, and I don't think I realized at the time how much that shaped me. Now I spend as much time wildcrafting as I can, gathering things like horsetail, St. John's wort, and Eastern white pine. Every trip back to Maine usually means I'm coming home with herbs tucked in my suitcase and I ship them home too.

A few years ago I even brought home a tiny Eastern white pine from my parents' land. It's growing here in Tennessee now, and someday I'll be able to harvest from that tree too. I love that thought.

I didn't sell any soap until early 2015. Those first couple of years were spent making batch after batch, changing recipes, giving soaps and salves to friends and family, listening to what they liked, and making more notes than I can count. I wanted to be sure that when I finally put something up for sale, it was something I was proud to use in my own home first.

No matter what this business has been called over the years, that's always been the foundation. Make good products with ingredients I trust. Keep learning. Stay curious. Take care of the land that's taking care of us.

I'm really glad you're here.

The online shop will restock August 1    HomespunSoaps.com

between rains

Hot bakery ovens traded for a hot honey latte, which feels right even with summer pressing in at the edges. Last night's storm left everything washed clean by this morning's light. The garden feels alive after the rain.  we have had a lot of rain.  Roses blooming wide and the butternut squash seedlings are reaching up.  I picked 5 blackberries on my way back inside and ate them standing in the wet grass while the chickens were close by and our one chicken we call Blackberry, well she is a smart girl and so she made the case for a fence last year. I threw her one that looked not quite right for me but perfect for her. So much of this season feels fragile in the loveliest way.  Fleeting. Temporary. Here for only a moment before the calendar turns again.  June is knocking at the door.  

Earth Day dish cloths

 

It's Earth Day 2026 and to celebrate I'm re-purposing some scrap fabric and terry cloth towels and making some dish cloths.  Kitchen duties and cleaning can feel so domestic and sometimes boring.  I like to embrace the feral side of domesticity every chance I get.  A little wild and free to be creative and repurposed old things or scraps feels a bit feral over just buying some cheapies at the store.  I think we should add in a little color and personality to the monotonous routines we sometimes find ourselves in.  I also want to make a matching dish towel drying mat for my clean dishes.  *For the dish cloths,  I cut out 5 inch squares from the fabrics and used 1 terry and one cotton print fabric, I put the right sides together and sewed around the perimeter.  I left a 2 inch area on the last side, to turn the square right side out.  After turning the square, taking care to be sure and push out the points on the corners, I top stitched around the square and turned fabric in to close 2 inch gap.  I also sewed diagonally across the square so it stays laying flat and doesn't pucker in the center.  This is an easy and fun beginner friendly sewing craft that is both useful and cute!  These little dish cloths are so unique and makes cleaning up a little more fun.  They can also be used under a hot coffee mug or at the espresso machine for quick clean up. The cloths are sturdy and of course washable/re-usable and will last years! I hope you give them a try! Happy Earth Day!! 

xo ~tina

spring, welcome

Spring arrived in what seemed like a hurry. Wasn't it just the long days of February? The fact is the days are whizzing by, and I'm not sure why? I feel like I am just flipping the calendar months every time I turn around. April has not brought us much for showers, so what does this mean for our May flowers? It didn't seem to slow down my lilacs or roses from doing their thing, for which I am thankful.  Today is hot, record or near record high set.  I'm still waiting for the final tally. At 6 pm it is still 83 degrees. We will wake up to 70s in the morning and then a storm is promised and a sharp drop down to the 50s.  I love a swift change of weather like that and I hope we do get that rain.  We NEED it.  I made a sourdough lemon cake that was really good ~to welcome spring and it was like eating sunshine.  We spent last Friday (used) car shopping for my 17.5 year old who was due an upgrade from the car she's been using.  We found one that was exactly what we were looking for! She was surprised and happy and all the things that make such a purchase feel just right.  Also makes the work we do outside of the home that much more needed, especially during the times we are in right now and the prices of everything we need! That also makes us think about the things we don't need so much right now too and perhaps simplifying even more, where we can.  I don't know about where you are, but here, these gas prices are pretty invasive to the purse strings. So anyway,,, Happy Spring! xo ~tina

in the studio

 

Sharing a few snippets of my work in the studio this morning.  Lard SOAP in the mold (yesterday), being cut and drying (today).  A gifted tea/coffee service~ washed and on the bench, waiting for me to find it a home. I cut the sweet woodland cotton fabric into neat rectangles for heat packs ~as well as the pure linen backing.   I filled them up with organic wheat berries and homegrown lavender.  I will have a handful of them available online for the May 3rd shop update.  Wishing you a bright Friday and a peaceful weekend too.   

~tina

what we made

               Soap on the Winter Solstice 

Solstice treats for the feathered ones. 

Peppermint Bark (more on that below)

 Cottage Pie.

          Lots of hot things in our mugs.

                    Cookies!

          Maple Nutmeg and Gingerbread 

            Dog Treats. 

Clay Ornaments. 

O Christmas Tree. 

M & M Bark.

1 Sock (ahem) 2 Pomanders.

Egg Salad Sandwiches. 

Chili and Cornbread. 

Paper Bag Stars. 

Finished a chicken started long ago. 

Started cutting squares for a quilt... 

We have been busy welcoming 2025 and everyone is now back to school and work.  I was MIA on the blog over Christmas.  I really hadn't planned to be away for so long, but life gets so full sometimes.  I thought I would update with a little recap of a few of what we made. 

We made our annual Peppermint Bark, from here. We gifted some and kept some and topped coffees and hot chocolate.  It is SO good.  December, year ending and January, year beginning has been a good and nice time full of making. 

I hope you had wonderful holidays!

~tina