WARTIME HOUSEWIFE

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 63, 7 December 1940, Page 6

WARTIME HOUSEWIFE

Books To Increase Her Efficiency HINTS FOR SPINNERS Home spinners will be interested in a newly-published booklet. "Hints for the Amateur Spinner,” which will be sold al 1/- for Navy League I'umls. The author is a well-known spinner ami weaver who Ims done iiiueli to lurther the cause of spinning' as a home oeeupation. She writes under the uom-de-pliime of "Red Hawthorn.” The Willie of home-spuu wool in irnr lime lies in tile fact that il is best for knitting the heavy, warm and water-resistant clothing needed by men of the navy whose duly it is to patrol (he ley-cold waters of the North Sea. The Navy League ollice in Wellington has already received many gifts of home-spun wo<>l and knitted garments from all over Now Zealand—fiirmers' wives have been particularly generous. The craft, is spreading, and as il spreads it not only increases Hie production of a useful and necessary material, but its therapeutic qualities are realized. Airs. Peter Fraser, wife of the Prime Aliuistcr, sums up some of the advantages of the craft when she says in an introduction to Hie booklet : "The m.'idiiiie.saves us back-breaking labour, but it also cuts us off from simple tasksand the touch and sight and smell of simple things, and 1 sometimes think that crafts like spinning and weaving that stretch back so far into human history must lap for us a source of personal peace that none who live always at second hand, as it were, can even know. The amazing exhibits in the Women's Court at the Centennial .Exhibition were proof that many New Zealand women are finding pleasure and profit 'in such crafts as this, and our schools are doing much to ensure that these line skills are revived and carried on. "1 can only hope that this valuable booklet will lead many to find not only a fascinating new hobby, but also a way in which they can help the men of the lighting forces and (he merchant navy in the hard .months to come.” The booklet, -which is published by AVhitcombe and Tombs, is neatly cotn.piled. The simplicity of the instructions and hints ■will be a boon to learners, and every amateur spinner will lind help and interesting tips to increase her knowledge and elTieieucy by. Vegetable Cookery. How to get the maximum out of all the foods we eat. is a subject which is being studied with great conscientiousness by a growing number of housewives. Alaity of these have been made "food-conscious” by the war and the increasing necessity for healthy diet to assist in couiiter-acthig Hie extra burden of nervous and physical strain. The housewife knows that-much rests on her knowledge .of foods and her methods of cooking them. As vegetables are, or should be, a staple part of our diet, the re-edition of Aiiss AL A. [ Blackmore’s book, "How to Cook A’cgetables,” is very timely. It; covers the field entirely and very thoroughly ; and makes many new and interesting suggestions. The recipes ami met hods could lie followed by the newest bride, and the price of the book is within everyone’s ipur.se. The publishers are AVhitcombe and Tombs.