Columbine keeps migrating into my house via little fingers. I don't know if columbine traditionally makes a good cut flower (especially with those tiny little stems), but I thought it was so pretty that I just had to share.
Okay, back to work...
1003 Ways to Beat the High Cost of Living:
#288
When damp clothes must be kept a while for ironing, prevent mildew by keeping them in your refrigerator. (Did they really do this back then?! If you ever saw the inside of my refrigerator, you would definitely NEVER do this)
#286
When hanging a coat or dress on the line use 2 coat hangers hooked in opposite directions, and the wind will not blow the garment off. (This is absolute genius, I have to remember this one)
#266
To make your own clothespin bag, fasten a pair of embroidery hoops in the top of a small flour sack and then slip a wire coat hanger over it. The hanger will move along the clothesline, and the pins are easy to get at when needed.
Yes, I really do hang my wash. About 10 years ago, we had the wonderful opportunity to live in Australia for several years. The clothes dryer that came with the house took about 3 hours to dry a rather small load-- and our first months electric bill was hideous!
In the meantime (before the first electric bill came), I was noticing that virtually everyone hung out their laundry. The sun, wind and heat was free after all. The great outdoors was just giving away all of this wonderful FREE energy. On the down side, it requires doing a load of wash almost daily to keep on top of the laundry.
When we moved back to Michigan, where nobody hangs out their wash, I kept struggling with the notion. Our laundry room (a.k.a. "mud room") is on the main floor, and our dryer aint no wimpy one either (full load of towels in 45 minutes- oh yeah!) But that dryer kicks out a lot of heat into my kitchen, and I was finding that I would have to crank up the air conditioner to compensate. How wasteful is that?
I jammed the screw closure down into the gap below the hook, and then wound some wire around the gap to secure the hoop in place. Works pretty well.
Hanging the wash isn't for everyone, but we have fun with it. This is what happens when a four-year-old helps mama.
Be warned! Draping laundry over racks can lure you into a false sense of security. You still need to use clothes pins! Otherwise, on windy days, you will be going on search missions to retrieve small undergarments from neighbors' yards. Very embarrassing.
Close up of the crocheted lace:
Chain 12 for each motif --plus ch 3.
Row 1: 1 sc in each st.
Row 2: Ch 3, 2 dc, *ch 3, skip 3 sc, 3 dc*
Row 3: Ch 3, *skip 3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc in ch 3 space* and finish with ch 3, skip 2 dc, 1 dc in last stitch.
Row 4: Ch 5 *1 sc in ch 3 space, ch 3, (3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc) in next ch 3 space, ch 3.* Finish row with 1 sc in last space.
Row 5: Ch 1, * 1 sc in sc, ch3. In the ch 3 space between the 2 groups of the 3 dc, work **1 tr, ch 1** 6 times, 1 more tr in the same space, ch 3* and finish the row with 1 sc on sc, ch 1, 1 sc in third of chain 5 at the beginning of the previous row.
Row 6: Ch 2, *1 sc in sc, ch 1, 1 dc in first tr, ch 1, then **1 dc, ch 1 between each tr of previous row** (6 times), 1 dc in the last tr, ch 1* and finish with 1 sc.
Row 7: Work in sl st to space after second dc of the previous row. *In this space work 2 dc, 1 loop( ch 5) and 2dc. Skip 1 space; in next space (center of the motif) work 3 dc, 1 loop and 3 dc, skip one space and in the next space work 2 dc, 1 loop and 2 dc.* and finish the row with 1 sc.
My brother lives in MI and hangs out his laundry when he can - more often when he was a stay-at-home dad than since he's gone back to work. Anyway, you're not alone :)
Posted by: Lori Bailey | June 22, 2008 at 06:33 PM