Putting your Skills to Use

I would first like to extend a warm welcome to all of the readers from Rhonda's blog at Down to Earth.  I am so very glad that you have came here to read.  My sincere thanks to you Rhonda for posting a link to my blog from yours.  What an absolute honor and delight to welcome so many wonderful people here!

The other day when I posted about Billowing Laundry, I also had difficulty with my pin bag catching the breeze as well and shooting down the clothes line!  Several times I had to walk down the line, retrieve my bad, and start pinning again.  Finally a thought...why not pin the bag?  I had an aha moment which I wanted to share just in case someone else has this same problem.  I simply placed a pin to the side of the bag to stop it from traveling away in that direction.  Of course if the wind is coming from multiple directions you might need to pin both ways.  I was finally able to get back to the task at hand.

This is my  new pin bag, so new in fact it was too dark to take a proper photo outside on the line!  I have been busily sewing a roomier bag that can hold additional pins.  I have came to realize that several days when I am washing, the clothes aren't drying as quickly as the loads of wash are finishing, and I have a bit of laundry hanging up all at one time.  I need more pins but my old bag just did not have the capacity.  I will donate my old pin bag.  I looked online for some ideas and was amazed at the creativity!  I was really impressed and decided at a later date I might try my hand at another design.  For a hanger on the top to hold the weight I used a trouser hanger that  presses the bottom leg hem.  They are wooden and quite strong.  I decided to  round the bottom of the bag to soften the look a bit.  I love the colors of this one and it puts a smile on my face. I was able to put my sewing skills to use making something for our home that is both a joy and useful at the same time. 

 I am so very thankful that I was taught to sew.  It is a skill that has served me well for many years.  I think not only for my DD's, but their friends that are interested, it is so important to teach them as many household skills as possible.  In my opinion I feel that a whole generation seems to have skipped learning many of these skills and I think they are so vital and important.  I know if they have the desire and the opportunity they can in turn teach others and pass on the skills that I and many others use in our daily lives at home.  I also feel that if I at least introduce these skills to my DD's whether they have an interest or not at their young age, that at some point when they have their own homes they can recall me showing them and not be afraid to try something like a new recipe, sewing pattern, quilt, knitting, soaps and any number of other skills used daily in our home.  I of course hope that all of these things are second nature to them...however....I will only be a phone call away cheerfully willing to help :)  If you haven't already, I encourage and challenge you to use a skill in your own home it is so rewarding beyond the object created and I would love to hear a post back on what you accomplished.  It is encouraging to others and that is what it is all about :)