A RAFFIA BROOCH.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19308, 8 October 1932, Page 10

A RAFFIA BROOCH.

Materials: Small quantities of coloured raffia, black and white; brass curtain ring about the size of half-a-crown; pin for back of brooch; large j crewel needle; bottle of raffia varnish, ! paint brush. I To Make: Take a long needleful of raffia of the colour desired for the edge of brooch. Knot the raffia round the ring and fill in closely with buttonhole stitch. Be careful to get the edge of the buttonhole stitch to the inside. When this is completed, darn over with the same coloured raffia from one side to the other and then over these stitches from top to bottom. This forms the foundation for the flower motifs. These are worked in the same manner as you would work a flower in s’lk thread, only in this case, of course, you use raffia. Work loosely. Don’t pull the raffia fiat—leave each stitch slightly raised up. Work rather a large flower in the centre, and small flowers all round. In between the spaces work French knots with green raffia. Fix pin securely to the back of brooch, and brush lightly over with raffia varnish.

NOVEL FOOT STOOL. Take seven empty 21b. jam tins, and cover six separately with cretonne. Place an uncovered tin in centre and arrange the covered tins around it in circular form. On the top and bottom with long stitches, stitch the seven tins together. Place on cardboard and mark out shape of tins. Cut two pieces of cardboard in this manner and cover both with cretonne. The top of the foot stool may be padded by placing kapok between cretonne and cardboard. Round edge of stool sew with top stitches the cardboard on to the top and bottom of the stool. Cover these stitches with cushion cord. GENERAL HINTS Here is an extinguisher which will put out a fire if used at once:—Put 31b of salt in a gallon of water and add Hlb of sal ammoniac. Bottle this and keep the supply handy. When covering a stain on wallpaper ; use a piece of similar paper, and instead of cutting the patch tear it roughly to the required shape with the fingers. The torn edge, being irregular leaves no definite line to attract attention to the repair. Newspaper and magazine tidies made of cretonne or any strong material toning with the furnishing scheme of a room are extremely useful for holding magazines and papers which are still in use by the members of the household. They are made like an open bag. the width of a chair back, the two top hems being run through the wooden rods to keep the bag stretched taut. The under-rod is tied at each end to the back of a chair near the top. To mend leaks in water tanks, feedtroughs, or dipping-vats, try the following method:—Take a small piece of lead or solder. Cut it so that you can put it through the hole, letting it stick out about an eighth of an inch on either side. Now r , hold an iron against one side,and strike the other side of the lead plug with a hammer until both sides are riveted smoothly. This will stop the leak, and it will not come off. You can also mend all the leaky pots, pans, or buckets about the house by this simple method.

When an electric bell fails, the fault usually lies in the batteries and wet cells resembling jam jars containing a porous pot and a zinc rod. First remove the two latter, empty the liquid from the jar, and wash it out. Then replace the porous pot and the zinc rod, smearing a little vaseline on the terminals to prevent corrosion. Almost fill the jars with water. Now add some sal-ammoniac, obtainable from any chemist, in the proportion of a handful to a pint of water, and connect the wires as before. Should the bell still fail to ring, the connection in the bell or the bell push may be faulty.