“Truth is always exciting. Speak it, then. Life is dull without it.”

-Pearl S. Buck-

~

I couldn’t resist using this title for the post.

Isn’t it easier and more helpful to say “underwear”

 than to say “unmentionables” ?

Keeping this journal of things I love to do gives me a chance to poke fun at a lot of things I have laughed about for years. A child might ask you if something is “unmentionable” how do you ever tell your mother that you need more of them. If you can’t “mention” something, how do you ask where “something” is ?  How do you ask if it is your size or your brother’s size if you can’t “mention”  it ?

That is not to say that our culture today would do better

to “mention”much less than it does.

The pendulum swings.

 

 

Here is the first of two laundry bags I would like to “mention”. 

I realized very recently that I have a subconscious bucket list. I feel like I am checking off all sorts of things that I have wanted to do and make. It leaves me wondering why some things took me so long to figure out just like it is taking me longer these days to remember why I am standing in a room, looking into the closet.

Don’t say that doesn’t happen to you.

I have loved over-the-door laundry bags as long as I have seen them. I think they are just perfect for “unmentionables” and other things that cannot be washed in the regular wash. I chose to make this bag as wide at the top as at the bottom and fully line it. The bag itself is made from one yard, minus enough for the ruffle. The lining is also made of one yard and because it is slightly bigger, it was easy to sew in and gives the inside plenty of room to hold things without putting a strain on the top of the bag.  I put the lining inside of the bag and sewed it in by hand, using a very small and tight blind stitch.  The 14″ hoop was last.  I added a large ribbon so that the bag could be hung on the back of a bathroom or closet door.

~

I added a cloth label to the bottom front of the bag. This is a vintage image with colors that I liked. After I sewed it on, she just sort of swam away into the pattern of the bag like a mermaid.  The label is 4 inches by 5 inches.

The Birdie

 

This may be one of the most useful new tricks I have learned.

This is a little wooden bird from a craft store.

Wood holds odors.

I sprayed the bird heavily with a cologne and let it dry.

I sprayed it again.

By hanging it over the twister on the top of the embroidery hoop,

it helps to deodorize the laundry bag.

When the odor begins to fade, I will simply spray it again.

(It is also helpful to put a fabric softener sheet in the bottom of the bag)

The Second Bag

The ruffle on this bag is from the same thrifted pajama pants that I used for the ties on the “this from that” children’s aprons.  This bag is half the size of the first with a wider ruffle. It also has a ribbon in the back under the ruffle to hang it on a hook.

Check.

 

-Grandma-