Simple Needlework Gifts

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 7847, 8 July 1911, Page 13

Simple Needlework Gifts

A Waistcoat-Pocket Pincushion. The waistcoast-pocket pincushion shown in yet another sketch is no new idea, but it is . on© that should not be forgotten, as it forms an always acceptable little gift for a man. When complete, it should be very little thicker or larger than a five-shilling piece, and it is mad© of two thin circular pieces of cardboard, covered with silk anti bound together at the edges with narrow ribbon. Either a thin layer of cotton-wool or two or three circular pieces of flannel should be cut to fit, and sown in between tho two sides, to receive tho pins, which are, of course, inserted all round the edge.

The initials of the owner may be worked upon one side and encircled with the simple floral design suggested in tho sketch, while perhaps the initials of the donor might find a place upon the other side. # # # A Simple and Pretty Egg-Cosy. •In our last sketch may bo seen a charming egg-cosy made of three pieces of pale pink silk, on which a pretty design of roses and dark green foliage has been worked. The cosy has three sides, and at the points where the material is joined together, a tiny waterfall of pale green soft silk is arranged, and the cosy is also finished off at the base with a frill of the same material. The top is

ornamental with a little bunch of dark green ribbons, chosen of a shade to match the colour of the rose leaves. Egg-cosies can, of course, bo made in great variety, and form useful presents, and when a cosy is intended, as .a gift to a child it will always’ please tno little one if his, or her, name be worked upon one side of it. TO DRY WET BOOTS If you have been out in the rain and got your boots thoroughly wet, it is often a difficult task to dry them properly; but there is a very simple, way of doing this which is well worth knowing. Of . course, wet boots should never bo put near a fire to dry, for ■ tho heat makes the leather hard, and the boots get out of shape. To dry them properly, you should fid the boots .with oats, says the “Children’s Encyclopedia.” These absorb tho moisture, and, as they do so, swell, so that the boots are filled out as though they were fitted upon wooden trees. The same lot of oats may he used over and over again, being dried thoroughly in a slow heat each time. There is nothing so powerful as truth. —Daniel Webster. - ■ ,