GENERAL HINTS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18536, 5 April 1930, Page 13 (Supplement)

GENERAL HINTS

In sweeping matting use a flannel rag over the broom to save the matting. Run a row of machine stitching round scallops before buttonholing, and the material will not tear away.

To freshen a carpet shake it well and draw it, pile downwards, across the lawn while the dew is still on the grass.

If the cane bottoms of chairs are sagging, turn them upside down and wash well with soapy water, till they are wet through. In drying they will stiffen to their natural chape. An excellent colouring medium for gravies is strong cold tea. Many people prefer this to the usual burnt j sugar and water, as the tea colours without giving a sweet taste to the j gravy. ; A splendid cleanser for painted walls | is made of two ounces of borax in two ! quarts of water and one teaspoonful of ammonia. About half this quantity should be used to each pail of water. No soap will be needed. Socks or stockings darned roughly and with cotton, wool, or silk that is too coarse for the rest of the woven material, can

cause the wearer torture. It is curious thing that the merest trifle can give great trouble to people when they are walking. Take care of the children’s stockings, see that you use the right darning, and also that your stitches are carefully taken not to be rough or to make a hard ridge. Borax and sugar has been proved one of the most effective means of ridding a house of cockroaches. This mixture should be sprinkled liberally in places frequented by the pest, such as behind the stove, in cupboards, etc.

By far the neatest way to keep j lingerie shoulder straps from straying ' is to give each frock its own little strap-holder. This consists of a few inches of tape or self-coloured material. Lay this across the underside of the dress shoulder seam, sewing down the end nearest the sleeve. The free end, which you pass under all your shoulder straps, clips to the seam about an inch from the neck end with a small press stud. It will save you endless annoyance if you do this in all your clothes. Patch pockets on jumpers and overalls have a tiresome habit of catching on the furniture somewhere and partly getting torn down. You can avoid this trouble if you open each side seam of such a pocket about one inch, fastening the opening with tiny press studs. If the pocket catches, these will pull open without tearing the stuff. To look well-groomed clothes must be Ironed and pressed with irons in firstclass condition. If you are not able to use an electric iron you must pay a lot of attention to the other sort. If starch sticks to an ordinary flat iron, rub it with sandpaper; never leave it to get burnt on to the surface. If an iron gets rusty rub it well with half a potato, which has first been dipped into powdered bathbrick. Whun stockings wear out at the toe or tear at the knee, they probably are too small. It should be remembered that in fine hose a large size is advisable for these are not sufficiently elastic to be stretched like other stockings, and they readily break under the strain. Getting them a size larger does not matter as far as appearance is concerned, because thin hose cling and are not apt to fit loosly about the ankle, where a snug fit is desirable. SUNBURNT PEARLS. The newest pearl chokers are of sunburned tones. In some of the new string of choker and longer length these sunburn-tinted pearls are alternated with pearls of a rich shade of bbrown. AVOID COCKTAILS. “Avoid cocktails,” is the advice given by a famous beauty specialist to debutantes. Besides the flushed appearance which they are apt to produce j Immediately the specialist declares I that they cause dimming of the eyes and eventually ruin the complexion.

CHEESE FRITTERS | A delicious “extra” for a light holiday meal. Cheese, a little oil and vinegar, 2oz. of flour,half a teaspoonful of oil or melted dripping, three tablespoonsful of tepid water, the white of one egg. Cut the cheese into thin slices about 2in. long and lin. wide. Lay these in a dish. Sprinkle over them a mixture of oil and vinegar, and a good sprinkling of pepper. Let them remain in this half an hour. Meanwhile make the frying batter. Put the flour in a basin with a few grains of salt, make a hole in the middle, and stir slowly into it the tepid water and oil. Beat these well together, whisk the white of the egg stiffly, and stir it lightly into the mixture. Have a pan of frying fat on the fire. When a bluish smoke rises from the centre of it, dip the slices of cheese into the batter with a skewer; then drop them into the fat and fry them a golden brown. Drain them well on paper and serve 1 them very hot. YELLOW WINDOW BLINDS. Yellow window blinds however dirty, can be cleaned with bath brick. Stretch the soiled blind across a table and brush with powdered bath brick until quite clean. This will make the blind look new, owing to the bath brick being the shade required, and also a powerful cleaner. It cannot cause any shrinking. TO PREVENT DARNS AND RUNS It is always advisable to wash all new stockings and socks before wearing, as this shrinks the threads and makes them wear ever so much longer. Besides there is often dressing in them that tends to make the threads brittle, i so that if they’re worn before washing they’re likely to stretch out of : shape and can never be restored to their original form.

MEAT G3,AZE Any kind of rich meat stock, especially such as contains a good proportion of gelatinous substance, can be reduced to half glaze, or glaze gravy that sets to the thickness of jelly. This is effected by rapid boiling, and frequent skimming to ensure its being clear, until the desired consistency has been reached. Glaze is used for improving the appearance of meats, gelatines, pies etc., and is handy for enriching soups and sauces, which frequently require additional strength or flavour. PRUNE PICKLES These are delicious sweet pickles and can be made any time of the year. Quantity required:—2lb. prunes, lib. brown sugar, 11 bottles of vinegar, cloves, piece cinnamon stick. Soak the prunes a few hours in the water, then strain water off and put aside untill ready to bottle. Stick one clove in each prune; have the vinegar and other ingredients boiling, add the prunes and cook for half-hour. Just before removing from the fire add the liquor used in soaking the prunes, i Bottle and cover air tight. WHO CHRISTENS COLOURS? One always wonders who really j christens the new colours, and admires the originality and inventive powers of the experts who give us such charming names for the shades of each new season. The new lavendar, as an instance, will be known as lilac time. Red pepiper adequately expresses the new’ red. and raisin the reddish brown that is to be worn. The latest pastel green will be expressively known as “surf,” and a richer deeper shade which will be very smart wear is malachite. The Swedish State railways have bought 297,250 tons of British coal.