A Housewife's Diary

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20928, 6 January 1938, Page 8

A Housewife's Diary

Hints About The Home

Butter Container. Soft oily butter is one of those minor worries in housekeeping that can be very annoying and two or three shillings would be well invested in a new type of butter cooler in ottery with a reservoir for water about six inches deep. A butter-dish of pottery to match is suspended over this container. Seaside Wardrobe. The seaside wardrobe this yeai demands hat and coat outfits for .he sands. The hats, which may be wide-brimmed ones to shade the eyes, or little diet caps of pique to keep the hair in order rather than to protect the head “go” with coats of the princess style, the swagger, in cotton towelling. They are often brilliantly striped. Kitchen “Find.” Light and strong and designed to lessen, the chance of chips and cracks, there is a new china drainer in wire covered in rubber that is one of the best “finds ’ for the kitchen imaginable. It can bY stood on a draining board and has sections for holding cups, saucers and silver as well as plates. Hat Fasteners. Fasteners for hats sound strange but they actually have been introduced in millinery and are both useful and ornamental. The fastener is seen in a spiral from brim edge to the top of the crown of autumn felts. As the fastener is pulled the hat is unravelled into a long strip that can be rolled u,>. The fastener in a contrasting colour to its hat. provides the only trimming. Bead Weaving. Beaded work is coming in again for “party frocks,” but instead of the dress requiring to be laboriously bead embroidered by hand, it can be made of a fabric that is already woven with beads. Other materials have a raised design to give the effect of embroidery and lame is woven with rayon and wool to suggest gold stitchery in various patterns. Pot Pourri. If you want a recipe for a pot pourri suitable for little sachets to put among your clothes here is an easy one max will keep its fragrance for months. Dry some rose petals and stir them up with a small spoonful each of cinnamon, grated nutmeg, orris root and lavender. Keep in a jar with a lid for a little while before you pack it into muslin bags. These sweet-smelling sachets will perfume the contents of the wardrobe. A good idea is to provide organdie capes as coverings for your frocks and to put the sachets in little pockets on the capes. The capes go over both frock and hanger and this r cans safety from dust and ‘■rushing Nearly Christmas. Now is the time to buy wool for making cushions, eiderdowns, etc. Buy in plenty of time, then take your time with the washing, drying and teasing. Eidcrdowns for babies’ prams and cots are always acceptable and make charming and inexpensive gifts. Cushions of teased wool are delightful; cover them in fadeless materials.

For the very special gifts quilting is attractive. Quilting is the art f stitching two materials together with padding between to give a raised effect. A good si. tf make a cushion is to have two squares of silk 18 inches wide, a square the same size of cotton wool and another of fine cambric for lining. Buy a transfer and iron it on to the cotton lining, so that the ink will not show between the stitches on the finished work. Lay the padding between the cotton square and one silk square and tack them together round the edges, nd tack in st: light lines across the quares at intervals to hold the padding and lining firmly to the silk. Now take running stitches outlining all the design, and be sure to take the needle through all three thicknesses. Only take one stitch on the needle at a timl before pulling the silk or cotton through. Take out the tacking threads and make up the cushion. Heat-Proof Table Ware. Complete sets of heat-proof table wear for breakfast or dinner can be built up with pieces in gay and artistic colours. Biscuit-coloured casseroles and dishes decorated with green sprigs are attractive. Jugs, teapots and coffee-pots can all be obtained to match.