WENDY HUT

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXVI, 30 September 1933, Page 9

WENDY HUT

LONG AGO STORIES ROSABELLA OH THE BORDER There was consternation on the border, Queen Anne of Scotland, on her way to join her husband who had become King Janies the First of England, had flown into one of her terrible rages. The proud company of English lords and ladies who had come, to escort her to London were obliged to wait until the Queen’s rage died down. Rosabella, the fourteen-year-old daughter of one of these ladies, became impatient. “I hope she will not be in a rage each time I stand by at her toilet and hand her the soap,” sighed Rosabella. “What is it about this time?”

“She will not have English ladies round her, and the King says she must. She will not have an English chamberlain; she will not cross the border; and she will not see any of us who have travelled up here to meet her,” was the angry reply.

“The King will fly into a rage next,” pouted Rosabella. She was right. King James raged in London because his Queen was so unreasonable. But her temper did not improve and she would not cross the border.

“Now the weather has come into it,” said Rosabella. “She says it’s hot in England. Oh, what shall we do?” They were living in poor little inns, and the hottest summer ever remembered broke upon them. Rosabella was nearly suffocated in her padded velvet dress.

“Hardly any water to drink, and none to wash in,” wailed Rosabella. “And if I open my dress a little at the neck, to let the air in, it will reach the Queen’s ears and she will say that

the English maidens are immodest. We shall stay here till we freeze, and even then Anne of Denmark will be raging!” Rosabella’s mother gave her a smart blow on the head with the handle of her fan, and Rosabella went into the garden of the inn and opened her dress an inch at the neck. Then she saw an English horseman riding at full speed and went to meet him, for she recognised him as her cousin. He looked ready to fall, and there was consternation on his face.

“I have ridden post haste with some of Queen Elizabeth’s jewels, and her best silk stockings, which the King hopes will calm the Queen’s rage,” he panted. By now all the English ladies had lost ’their' tempers, were in tears, or fainting with the heat, and the gentlemen were. all furious so they said that Rosabella must go to the Queen and present the gifts. They dressed her in red velvet and beautiful furs, and she rode to where the Queen lodged, fell on her knees before Her Majesty, and begged her to accept the King’s gifts. Anne could not resist those lovely jewels. She put them on, and consented at last to cross the border. Poor Rosabella fainted with the heat, but so grateful were all the others that they revived her with their precious drinking water and perfumes. And the new Queen took a fancy to her and made her a maid-of-honour.

WENDY’S LITTLE DRESSMAKERS

A PRETTY NIGHTDRESS

A Wendy girl wants to make herself a pretty nightdress, and we hope both you and she will approve of the example pictured this week. Choose soft, thin material —cotton voile is quite good —of which you will need from two-and-a-half to three yards, according to your weight. Fold the' material lengthwise, and then over, so that you have four thicknesses, cut as shown in the diagram. Measure nine inches down from the top fold, along the selvedges of the material, and cut straight along for fourteen inches; then measure nine inches along this line from the selvedges, cut up for three-and-a-half inches, for the side of the bodice-top, and then curve up to the top fold, for the armholes. This may sound a little difficult but the diagram will show you how easy it really is. A curve for the neck, and the actual cutting-out part is finished.

Sew up the side-seams of the skirt and the side-seams of the bodice, and run a gathering-thread along each of the cut-in portions of the skirt; these are to be pulled up, so that the fulness will fit inside the edges of the bodice. Diagram A shows how it is to be done. Run the gathering-thread along, pull up till the top of the gathers will fit inside the cut edges of the bodice, and tack the two together on the inside. Regulate the fulness evenly as you go, and seam the two portions together neatly. Dia-

gram B is intended to show you from the right side, how neatly the gathers should fit into the cut-away edge of the bodice. Make both sides alike and then turn up a narrow hem along the bottom of the skirt. Bind the neck and arm-holes with crossway strips of material —you can get these from the pieces you cut away from the top of the garment —and then work a row

of French-knots round each arm-hole,

A little embroidered flower-trail, like the one sketched, will finish the front of the neck very prettily. Pencil round pennies to get the outline of each flower, and work the petals in daisyloops in pink or blue. Give the flowers yellow french-knot centres, and work little pointed leaves in green satinstitch. A flower and leaf worked just above the bodice seams will as you can see, improve the little garment, and, as a final touch, work a row of frerich-knots all along the hem. — Wendy’s Dressmaker.

THE BILLY BOYS’ WORKSHOP

MAKING A SPONGE RACK

This useful sponge rack, with a holder below for soap, can be made with odd pieces of three-eighths inch wood and some short pieces of dowel rod.

For the back part, A, a piece of wood twelve inches long and seven inches wide will be required. Plane this on both sides and edges, and then saw off the four corners, as indicated in the first diagram. Smooth the edges with glasspaper and then make a half inch hole on the centre line at a distance of one inch from the top of the board.

The wood for .the two curved side pieces can be cut to the sizes given in diagram B. Now take your compasses, and from a point C, mark a part of a circle with a radius of five inches. Another circle with the same centre, and having a radius of four and a half inches, will give the line on which the holes for the dowel rods have to be

bored. With a pad-saw cut out one side piece and smooth the edges with a chisel and fine glasspaper. Lay this part on the other piece of wood and mark round with a pencil. Cut to shape and finish in the same way. The holes for the rods, which are spaced seveneighths of an inch apart, can be made with a three-eighths inch centre-bit.

The dowel rods are six and a half inches long, and they should be well rubbed with glasspaper before being fitted in place. The two curved side pieces for the soap holder can be cut out to the shape and sizes given in diagram D. The bottom part, E, which is five inches long and three and a quarter inches wide, can be bored through with a number of quarter-inch holes to allow the water to drain. Nail this part between the two side pieces, and then fix the front strip, F, which is threequarters of an inch deep, and one quarter inch thick. Screw tire tw6 sides to the back-board, and then fix the sponge holder in the same way, . after the rods have been pushed in place. Give the finished rack two coats of enamel, choosing white or light blue. —The Hut Carpenter. - OUR SWEET MAKING CORNER CARAMEL CHERRIES Get some large, sound cherries, stalk them, and wipe them quite dry. Do i not remove the stone. Make ,your caramel as follows: Put one pound of lump sugar into a saucepan with a little less than half a pint of cold water, and melt over a low gas without stirring. Now bring slowly to the boil, and continue boiling , without stirring till a little tried in ■ cold water hardens at once. Remove the saucepan from the fire, and stir the strained juice of a lemon into the caramel; boil up once more, and remove the saucepan from the heat. Dip each cherry into the caramel, and put them .to set on a slightly buttered plate. Use a fork for dipping'but place it under the elierry; do not prick the fruit with the fork. If the caramel gets too hard stand the saucepan in a basin of boiling water. Quarters of orange, grapes, and pre : served ginger may be covered in this way, as well as nuts and raisins, and will be found delicious. TINK’S CROSS-WORD PUZZLE Solution to last week’s ACROSS 1. Flower. {Blossom). 7. You make tea in this. (Teapot). 8. Because. (As). 10. Devoured. (Eaten). 11. Soldier’s outfit. (Kit). 12. End of a. prayer. (Amen). 13. List of things to eat. .. (Menu). 14. A chair. (Seat). 16. Employ. (Use). 19. Tenth part of anything. (Tithe). 21. Used with ink for writing. (Pen). 22. Girl’s name. (Ellen). 23. Bird. (Swan). 24. Dispatched. (Scent). DOWN 1. Ray of light. (Beam). 2. Not early. (Late). 3. Unfastens. , (Opens). 4. Boy. (Son). 5. Short for “street.” (St). 6. Principal. (Main). 7. You drink tea from these. (Tea-cups). 9. One who studies. (Student). 11. You boil water in this. (Kettle). 13. Letters sent by post. (Mails). 15. French for “summer.” (Ete). 17. Work with needle and thread. (Sew). 18. Girl’s name. (Ena). 20. It lays eggs. (Hen). A moderately difficult, one this week; I think—just to give everybody something'to think, about!, Across ' ; 1. Fish—and people—swim, an this. 3. Compass point: • - . 6. Favourite game. *..“*■ '■ . ’ 8. People skate bn this'. A,’, 10. Poems. 11. Short for “money order.” . 12. “Dread.” 13. v Open land, often covered with' heather. ‘ '' 15. Home of a wild beast. 17. Some of you do in competitions. 19. Preposition. £ 20. Rubbish. * y 21. Dressmaker teaches the girls to do ‘ this. - ’ . 22. Short for “editor.” DOWN1. Sometimes we go in the sea. )> 2. Took food. 3. People go ski-ing on this. 4. Concluded. > 5. Agreed to. T 7. Meaning “that is.” 7 9. Call of a dove. 12. Get up. 14. Possesses. yj 16. Comfort. 18. Fresh.