RETURN OF QUILTING

Evening Star, Issue 21090, 30 April 1932, Page 21

RETURN OF QUILTING

A FASCINATING ART Do women’s clothes influence their behaviour, or is it the other way round ‘i asks a writer in an English paper. Some time ago we all had short skirts, Eton crops, and cigarettes in long holders. Now all that is a thing of the past. Our skirts as well as our hair have grown in length, and wo have become decidedly more feminine in our pursuits. With the return of the womanly woman there has also come a revived interest in women's occupations, and foremost among these ranks needlework. We seldom pick up a daily paper without seeing an announcement that an exhibition of needlework is taking place somewhere, and those of ns who lake the trouble to visit these exhibitions are well repaid. One cannot help marvelling how busy women with heavy calls upon their time find the opportunity for such exquisite work. It is hard not to be a trifle jealous when wo see the beautifully embroidered panels and bedspreads, heirlooms of the future,'to bo handed down from generation to generation. Women capable of this sort of work are truly to bo envied, for they are never bored. They never know the tedium of wondering how to get through an emptyJiour or two. These lucky people are unfortunately in the minority, but a tremendous amount of pleasure can be derived from stitchery by the great majority, who possess neither patience nor aptitude. There is quilting, for instance—so easy that it is impossible to go wrong, so quickly worked that there is no time to tiro before completion, and, above all, so extraordinarily attractive. Until the last few years quilting has been a dreadfully back number, connected with cheap Japanese goods. Now all that is changed. We quilt whenever we can. We bring it in on sofa cushions, workbags, nightdress cases, and pram covers. Coloured padding is most effective. For instance, a cream nightdress case with a rose design, tho faint blush-pink petals padded with deep coral; while a strong jade will lend a green sheen to the loaves. Another idea would be a maizecoloured work-bag with primroses and daffodils padded with a bright yellow. A most fascinating bedspread can be made with small pattern chintz, tho tiny bunches interlaced with stitching.