Sew Long!

I needed a clothespin bag. Despite my evil HOA's bylaw that disallows the use of clotheslines in my neighborhood, my hubby rigged up a nylon cord between our porch and the children's swing set. We're rebels, I know. It's not quite long enough to hold extra large loads but I haven't used my dryer in almost a month. The clothes dry fast, smell sweet and my jeans don't shrink up so I can avoid the "wiggle and stretch" dance to get them on. No one likes the wiggle and stretch dance. 

There is something quite satisfying about taking the time to hang out your clothes. I love looking out the window to see my towels flapping in the wind. Plus, I get 10 to 15 minutes of alone time whenever I go out to the clothesline. It's a win win, for me and the environment!

Anyhoo, since I now hang my clothes on a clothes line, I needed a clothespin bag to keep all my pins in one place and to provide easy access while I was out hanging. I did a little internet search which yielded several promising results. I found gaggles of cute, handmade bags. The problem was, most of them were upwards of $10 and then with shipping, I was looking at $20 for a little bag to put clothespins in. I think not. 

On to plan B.....make my own. Another internet search provided me with hundreds of patterns and ideas. The problem was, they ALL required sewing. I cannot sew. Not even a little. I can't replace a button, repair a hem. Sewing machines freak me out and I've always been terrified of the needle, convinced it's going to go right through my thumb. I know how practical it would be to learn basic sewing skills but haven't really needed or wanted to....until now. I found this idea:

Cool, right? And green too! My son has loads of outgrown button down shirts. What better way to give one of them a new life? All I had to do was turn it inside out and hand stitch the bottom closed. How hard could it be? An hour and a whole lot of profanities later and mine turned out looking like this:

Oy. Note the abysmal stitching. Good thing the seams are on the inside. From far away, it doesn't look half bad. I hope my stitches hold because I didn't have the slightest idea  how to tie off the thread. I've certainly got a lot to learn. Luckily, my friend Rachel has a sewing machine and a little free time so she's offered to tutor me in this most domestic of abilities. I can almost feel the needle crashing through my thumb...I'll let you know how it goes.