A Little Clothespin Bag for a Little Clothesline

Before we knew the walnut tree was coming down, I was throwing a sheet over my umbrella washline to protect my laundry from the falling walnuts.  Black walnut is a serious stain, so if you go to old-timey demonstrations of dyeing fabric and fibers, black walnut shells are one of the materials in the dye pot.  So you can see why I was trying to keep it off my laundry.

I suddenly realized that I could put up a washline on my balcony, a way to keep the laundry out in the air and the electric dryer turned off.  I bought a retractable clothesline ($14.99 at a Mennonite store), and my husband put it up for me with accompanying hooks so the line could zig-zag back and forth in a small space. 

I had the pleasure of making up a little clothespin bag hung from a child's hanger to go with it.  Oh, it was fun!  The calico is some sweet 70s stuff lined with a scrap left from an apron I'm making for the museum shop. 

And it was nice take a break from that big order from the museum shop for this little bag that was immediately filled with clothespins and trotted up to the balcony.  Because laundry for 5 people, one of whom is clinging to her cloth diapers, is a big job that must be beaten down every day.