CORNER FOR BUSY BEES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 33, 8 February 1930, Page 3 (Supplement)

CORNER FOR BUSY BEES.

raffia mats for the

TABLE.

SIX MATS FORM A SET.

Dear Girls, —

Raffia work is all the go just now and some perfectly-" wonderful thing can be made from it. It « so inexpensive, too, and looks just the thm when made up. One of our readers has asked for instructions for making embroidered raffia table mats, and Ive had the greatest fun cut planning thbest possible way to make them. Now they make the loveliest presents, and just imagine how delighted mother or auntie would be if you made her a set. Four smaller ones for the plates and two larger for dishes or table centre,.will form a nice little group^ The plate mat is a circle of rafba cloth, or coarse-mesh canvas, aoout sight inches across. Pencil round an upturned plate to get the size, and turn over the raw edges at once. Then buttonhole round with green raffia. Diagram B shows the stitch to use. Fill in the centre of the mat with circles of different sizes, some two inches across, others one and a half inches, and so on; these are going to represent flowers, and, 'when all the canvas is covered with circles, you can begin embroidering them.

Use pink, blue, purple, orange, lemon, red and brown for the different flowers, with a little black for some of the centres, and green to fill in the spaces between, to suggest foliage. Work some of the blossoms in buttonhole stitch, as shown in diagram B, and do the others with straight stitches diagram A. Diagram C shows just how to fill in witn green when all the flowers are finished. "Press the mat under a damp cloth, oa the wrong side, using a coolish iron, and then line it with a circle of casement cloth cut to fit, the raw edges turned in and slipstitches invisibly to. the outer edge of buttonholing.

Make the dish mat and the table centre in exactly the same way, only have the foundation circle about ten inches across.

The shapes may be varied by making them oval or square. The whole effect of the finished set is very pretty on'a plain, poiished table.

THE MYSTERIOUS PARCEL.

Mary was staying with Auntie Anne, and auntie had had to go out for the day. Mary pressed her face against the windowpane and wished something would happen. And then she saw a van stop at the gate and the man bring a parcel up to the house. - "I wish it was'a parcel for me I" she thought. In a minute old Ellen brought the parcel in. It was addressed to Miss Mary Scott. "Seems it's for you, missie," she said. '"'lt has no address on, but the man thought he'd try here." "For me 2"* cried Mary, "whatever can it be!" f Ellen helped her to undo the package, and there inside was a lovely birthday cake, with Mary in iced letters on itMary's face fell. "It can't be mine, she said slowly; ''it isn't my birthday." Ellen, was as surprised as Mary; then she suddenly slapped her apron. "What a stupid I ami" she cried. "It must be Mrs. Scott's little girl down the road. Her name is Mary, and I never thought of it I" '•'Then it isn't for me?" said Mary, falteringly. "No, I'm afraid it's little Mary Scott's, missie," said Ellen. 'Td run along with it this minute only I'm not changed yet." "TO take it to her, if you like," said Mary bravely. "Will you, Miss Mary? It's only the third house down the road." And so Mary went. Mrs. Scott opened the door. "This parcel was left at Miss Cameron's my auntie's, this morning by mistake," explained Mary very shyly. "Oh, I thought it was my cake!" cried a little girl. "It is," said Mary, "only I opened it. You see, it says Mary Scott; my name's Mary Scott too." "Thank you very 'much for bringing it," said Mrs. Scott smiling, "we were getting quite anxious about it. * I didn't know Miss Cameron had a little niece," she added.

"Mommie " cried the little girl, "can't the other Mary Scott come to my birthday party, too?"

"Of course," said Mrs. Scott, "if she would care to."

She did; that was how they shared the birthdav cake.