practical stitching

Here are Hannah's new curtains,

made with fabric and hardware from IKEA.

These were so, so easy to stitch up, 

and the nifty little clips made hanging them a breeze.

(artwork on the wall is by Nikki McClure, a Reed family favorite)

During the day a lovely tree screens her view to the neighbors,

but in a few short weeks, when the leaves fall,

those same neighbors will be up close and personal.

The nifty curtain ring/clip mechanism will make it easy to keep

the curtains open or closed, according to need.

Any of you who quilt may recognize 

leftover binding strips stuffed into my basket.

And call me crazy, but I save used bags 

from onions, citrus and potato purchases.

Before returning to college a few weeks ago,

 Gretta asked me about making some produce bags.

(We are trying to bring as little plastic into 

our homes as we can these days.)

  I used some of the leftover binding strips to create

 a sturdy closure for the bottom of a newly made bag.

I also stitched some co-ordinating strips to use as tie closures

for the bags, to keep things from tumbling out at the 

checkout counter.

Some of the bags were already pretty sturdy,

so I just added tie strips.

I hope Gretta will remember to toss them into her 

backpack when she heads off to the store on her sweet bike.

The more sew-it-yourself,

recycled,

use-it-up

projects I can manage,

the better I feel.

I am so grateful to have my trusty sewing machine

and a long line of creative, seam-stressy women who came before me.