Rainy Sunday Projects

All the rain that didn't fall in April, May, and the first half of June decided to come this week, all at once, starting Sunday. I got out and about a little between downpours that day, but spent the rest of the time inside working on a few projects.

First, E and Z and I tried making a marble/car run with a few dozen toilet paper tubes I've been saving for ages. It ended up using a LOT of tape and not being terribly successful (I was picturing something with more twists and turns and drops, but even a straight run was hard to pull off and marbles and cars got stuck in the wads of tape and overlapping tube lips). I'm putting it down in the category of "it's all about the process, not the product," and hoping the boys at least had some fun putting it together and know their mom is still willing to sit on the floor with them for an hour or two playing with tinker toys and cardboard tubes.

I also started making a sleeping bag (because that's how I roll). I didn't get too far because measuring and cutting always takes so much out of me, I can't face the sewing part once I've got the pieces ready. (If you're curious, the kit is from here. I'll post more about how it turns out and how it works once it's done and in use). I hope to have it finished for an upcoming trip, so I need to get cracking.

I also dusted off my sewing machine, which has been lounging around doing nothing for months, and threw together a clothespin bag as a bonus Father's Day present for C, since he does most of the laundry and had complained about the state of the previous one, which you can see here (when it was new). I didn't take a before picture, but the previous bag was not in quite as bad of shape as its predecessor. 

I'm of two minds about whether 4 1/2 years is a good life for a clothespin bag or not long enough. The problem is, we leave it outside exposed to rain and sun, so it's gonna wear out. The new one I made from two layers of red polka-dot canvas which a friend had given me when she de-stashed. It's nice and festive and should inspire cheer in the heart of anyone who's hanging laundry (right?). Also, I'm hoping the canvas fabric will give us another year or two of bag life before I have to make another one.