I love clothes hanging on the line in a nice neat row. I love the smell of clean clothes when they come off the line. And of course I love saving electricity.
I love hanging clothes on the line so much that when we were a young married couple and our dryer went out, we went 5+ years without a new one. Not an easy feat in Idaho. We hung clothes outside in the spring, summer, and fall, and inside during the winter. Sometimes inside during the winter it took a couple days for things to dry, but we were okay with that. Even now that we have a dryer again, we sometimes put things inside on drying racks during the winter months.
Last summer I missed my clothesline. I had torn my rotator cuff and there was no lifting my arm. My daughter and husband attempted to hang things a couple times, but their version of clothes hanging neatly on the line wasn't the same as mine. And as we learned, if they aren't hanging neatly they come out wrinkled. Which means ironing. Which means using a shoulder that's not working. So our days of hanging clothes on the line were rare.
But I'm hoping this year will be different. I've now had surgery on both shoulders. (Still can't lift them above my head yet, but they're coming.) The weather is getting warmer. (Not quite warm enough but almost.) And I have a new clothespin bag. (One I made myself.)
Like so many other things I sew, I found a pattern on the internet and tweaked it a bit. The clothespins go inside the neck of the dress and the green apron is actually a little pocket.
With our wind here, I'm not sure how it's going to hold up. But I will soon find out.
I've always wanted a clothes line. Maybe I'll get my husband to put one up this summer. That clothes pin bag you made is super cute...love it!
ReplyDelete~ Lisa
Your great grandma made these type of clothes pin bags with a dress front and the bag sewed to the back. she used them also to put her nylons in. Of course thats 60 yrs. ago when women constantly wore nylons. Love your sewing projects. Mom
ReplyDeleteThat must be why I picked that particular style of pattern!
ReplyDeleteSo cute! I'm not sure if this will help you or if you already do this, but I put whatever I can, on hangers first, then hang that on the line or in doorways, on hooks, etc. It's less time with my arms in the air, I don't have to reach as far up since I'm usually just hooking the hook over the line. Sometimes, I'll put a clip or two on the line to keep the hangers separate (they sometimes slip down together because of the weight). I started doing it because it took me less time hanging, and also less time ironing. I love to iron, but it gets too hot to iron in 100 degree summers sometimes. I sometimes have damp clothes hanging in every doorway of the house and it smells so goooood.
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