Why and How I Hang Laundry Outside in Frigid Winter

 Choose the whites to hang in sunny frozen winter. They will bleach!

I am willing to get numb fingers for anything that can really benefit from a free bleach. Otherwise, I put the unmentionables and rags, etc. inside on the radiators. Here, I hung these bits outside when the ambient temperature was 12F with a real-feel of 3F. The clothes were frozen stiff within the 5 minutes it took me to do this. 

Their line-dried deep-winter fresh scent was just exactly what I crave.

Also, please notice my nice big clothes dryer! It is this one from Lehman's, made in the USA. My old one was a similar umbrella style and had been repaired and babied along and rusted for a number of years now until it dramatically flopped to the ground this past summer (yes, with laundry on it - sighhh). 

I am very pleased with my sturdy new one. It is leaning to one side because I simply used my old ground screw (like a pipe you literally screw into the ground which provides a hole for the clothesline to stand in and is flat to the ground otherwise for mowing or running over). which is slightly large. The clothes dryer comes with its own ground screw which I'm sure, some day, I will get around to installing. When the weather is bad or we want the whole yard for our activities, I remove my clothes dryer from the yard. It can hold 4-5 loads of laundry, although keep in mind that my washing machine is on the smaller side. I am really happy with this clothes dryer and drying our things without electric or gas. 

My friend, also in town, uses the Amish method of pulleys with the clothesline high above her yard. Another city friend has a drying rack that she puts outside in good weather. Many ways to get the wet clothes out in the fresh air!

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.

At the Windy Washline

Do you want to get some fresh air in your lungs to drive out the germs your people bring home?

 Want to get some sunshine in your eyes, some mood-boosting Vitamin D delivered without a pill?

Want to use a free bleach alternative with no chemicals?

Want your laundry to smell fresh and delicious and utterly clean?

Want to dispense with an appliance, get that square footage back, reduce your utility bill, and reduce your carbon footprint?

 And do you want to do all these things simultaneously for real super-efficiency?

"The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind.  The answer is blowin' in the wind. . . " (with thanks to Bob Dylan)

Spring in the Shop

I made a big rectangle of patchwork with lots of flowery calico and a little gingham I found in my scrap bag.  This was back when there was snow on the ground yet, but I was handling flowers and happy.  Then I cut the rectangle into hotpad-sized rectangles.  One hotpad went out to you in the 1000-post giveaway, and now the other 4 are in the shop!

There's also a new clothespin bag there, too.  The lining is from some fabric left from Genevieve's skirt (which she doesn't like to wear - oh dear).

I had the satisfaction of hanging out reams of laundry in spring sunshine earlier this week - it dried to sweet-smelling, crisp perfection.  I was drying most of our laundry on racks inside this winter to keep the humidity in the house where we needed it.  Are you ready to hang laundry outside again? 

The children are outside in the yard every minute they are not in school or kept inside by their mean mother doing chores and homework; this means that there has been some mud splatters on the clean laundry, but the sunshine and fresh air makes me so nice that I just shrug and brush it off.

Mud! Flowers! Sunshine! Wash lines! Ah, spring.

Appliqueing Over Stains

My approach to stains on kids' play clothes is to give the clothes a long soak in Oxyclean and hot water.  By "long," I mean one to three days.  If that doesn't take it out, I usually cut the clothes into rags.  For special clothes, I will hand-scrub with Octagon or another serious soap.

For this shirt, a school uniform polo with mysterious brown stains, I felt creative, so I sewed on some twigs, flowers, and leaves.  I cut the shapes I wanted from some scraps of polyester double-knit (well, the twig is brown satin ribbon) - it's generally advisable to applique knit onto knit and woven onto woven.  The fabrics wear and move the same way, helping the applique to last longer.

I kept my bobbin in white thread and then changed the top thread as I went along, choosing thread colors several shades lighter or darker than the fabric I was sewing on.  I couldn't cover every single stain, but the design really distracts the eye from the spots.  This is still a play shirt, but I got to have fun while I learned more about how to control fabric and color to my satisfaction.

These are the cut-offs with bias tape, turned up to improve their appearance.

I thought the results were pretty.  Just like my daughter.

Repelling Moths without Chemicals

The other day I killed a moth inside that looked suspicious.  When my husband got some of his shirts out of a storage closet, there were tiny holes in one.  Drat it!

I took everything out of the closets and aired it.  I am pretty careful to wash everything before it goes into storage for the season, so I've been adding loads of winter clothes to my regular laundry here and there.  I probably ought to clean the closets, too, but I'm on to outside projects at the moment.

After a little research, I came across a way to repel moths with a herb/spice mixture.  I used a quarter of the original recipe.

Moth-Repelling Sachets
1/2 oz. dried rosemary (about 3/4 cup)
1/2 oz. dried mint (about 1 cup)
1 Tbsp. dried thyme
2 oz. whole cloves (about 1 cup)

Place mixture in tea sachets or fabric bags.  Hang in closets or tuck between layers of folded clothes.

I made some hanging sachets as well.  I put about 4 sachets in each closet that stores clothing and quilts.  I plan to air the contents of the closets in the sunshine at least once this summer, and I intend to thoroughly clean the closets at that point, too. Let's hope it works!

Tending Houseplants in Winter

When we heat our homes in winter, our houseplants can suffer from the hot, dry air.  Most plants like humidity.  This winter, I took some extra steps to help my plants.

I set a tray of water close to the rosemary plant to put humidity in the air.  I bought a cute little vintage mister and tucked it into the windowsill corner next to the Norfolk pine.  I showed the children how to mist the pine and the rosemary, while avoiding the nearby jade plant who doesn't like water on its leaves. They love this little task. 

When there are small pieces of wet laundry or wet gloves, I lay them on the top of the radiator so the wetness evaporates right next to the plants.  In fact, I air-dry most of our laundry on drying racks to try to keep a comfortable humidity in the house.

So far, my plants are looking really good!  

Genevieve planted some dill seeds in December, which I thought were probably too old to sprout, but dang if those little seeds don't keep stubbornly growing!  I had told her they were her responsibility, but she has totally forgotten about them and I, for sheer joy of green, growing babies, have been watering them and turning their pot so they grow up straighter. 

I recall how my houseplants suffered through previous winters, and I'm pleased to see mine looking so healthy right now. Are your houseplants looking good?

The Eleven Clothespin Bags

Naturally I had spring fever. So I treated it by pulling out all the fabric in my stash that had flowers and/or white in it, all the fabric that said "spring!" to me, and I made clothespin bags.  Because even though I have been known to hang laundry outside on a winter's day, surely spring is best for drying laundry outside.  It may be in the 20s yet today, but the air smells like spring and I am so excited.

I had 11 wooden hangers, so I made 11 bags.  I have no plans to make more at this point - should I add "Ltd." to each title the way car manufacturers do?

I loved this project more than any sewing I have ever done.  I used pretty odds and ends that I saved with no idea what on earth I would do with them - pieces of lace, scraps of bias tape, frayed doilies, stained dresser scarves, and bits of pretty fabric.

Long-time readers will recognize fabric in the bags from my shirtdress, Genevieve's green dress, Genevieve's nightie, and this apron. 

Before I make something to sell, I always make one for myself and use it well.  I like household goods that are pretty as well as hard-working.  This is my clothespin bag, made several weeks ago.  I might pick off the yellow appliques - I'm still undecided if I like them.  Also, I experimented with covering a wire hanger with ribbon to use instead of wooden hangers because wire hangers are so plentiful.  Well, it cannot hold its shape under the weight of my 2.5 pounds of clothespins!

So I bought 11 wooden hangers, and I need to dig out a stronger hanger for my own bag - it's just that I've been so busy treating my spring fever by sewing these bags and working on a large freelance project in addition to normal life that all kinds of details have dropped off my radar.

One night, just before bed, Genevieve laid out all the bags on the floor and sorted them in order of her most favorite to least favorite.  Number 3 is her favorite (number 11 is her least favorite, despite the pink gingham).  I really do adore them all, but if I was forced to choose, I think I would be in a French farmhouse in spring (number 4).

Just for fun:  which bag is your favorite?

A Spate of Patching

Recently, three patches that please me:

1.  Here is the Pendleton wool blanket that guards the back of a sofa. It is dearly loved, but old and frail which is why it was rent when Ben tried to pick it up while standing on it. I used a piece of wool from Rebecca and handstitched it on.  I am having a little crush on red stitching on dark backgrounds right now. 

2.  A hole in a nice linen tea towel.  I'm afraid the linen is getting so worn that the satin stitch around the patch may separate it into another hole, but in the meantime, I like the little hit of color.

It's terribly cold and windy, a good day to hang out whites!

3.  A mysterious hole in the bedroom laundry hamper got a French-blue patch. 

Incidentally, I'm so pleased with my latest laundry hamper organization:  I hang the pre-wash spray right there on the hamper so we can squirt stubborn stains when we are thinking, "oh, this shirt got ketchup on it, I need to put it in the wash" rather than when I am sorting frenetically in the laundry room and can't be bothered to look closely at each item for stains.  I also tied a little mesh bag onto the hamper, too, and put handwash items in there so they don't get swept up in the (as I said) frenetic sort-and-dump into the machine.

And here's a bonus: I decorated my plain black mittens with patches as I watched the last episode of Downton Abbey. It's scraps of felted wool and that red handstitching. The result is a little more ragamuffin-y than my usual style, but until another inspiration hits me, I'm keeping them.

The Accidentally Felted Skirt, Repurposed

I washed this skirt without realizing it was wool because the fabric came to me from Mrs. R.  While I do love found fabric, I have to figure out its fiber content and this time I was wrong.  I thought it was cotton because it was deeply lush and not scratchy at all.  It's probably cashmere or something equally expensive and special.

 

Well, I ran the shrinky-dink skirt through hot water and the dryer to be certain it was felted, then I cut it up as hotpad filler.  It makes a plump, sturdy hotpad, so I am mostly consoled.  Who else has cashmere-filled hotpads?

They're in the shop, along with some other new goodies!