Women and the Home

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17028, 30 April 1923, Page 10

Women and the Home

CONTRIBUTIONS BY SPECIAL WRITERS

HINTS ON BEADWORK. Bead decoration provides excellent opportunity for the woman who is clever enough to design her own patterns to make a number of lovely trimming-. The latest bead trimming shows small patterns, each bead being applied separately. Some uinis on the mode of working will probably be useful to the THREADS TO USE. Several threading materials are employed in this work. Purse twist is most suitable for small pearl aud gold beads, while spool silk is generally used for the still smaller varieties ol beads. In dealing with a heavier variety ordinary linen or even tailor’s thread may be employed : both kinds of thread are waxed before being threaded. A particularly important point to be observed in beadwork i& the evenness of the silk or thread, as the smallest and most inconspicuous inequality tends to become aggravated with the passage of successive beads. For Healing with work upon a. fragile material, the finest of needles is required and must be threaded with double silk which matches the beads m colour. A length of material is stretched upon a frame and on it the design to be worked must be traced. In working beads on materials remember that success is only to be achieved by attaching them neither too tightly nor yet too loosely. In working with bugles care must be taken to give each one a. stitch to itself. also to lay it in its proper position on the material before attaching it. The needle must be brought back close to the side, of the bugle before attaching another bead, and each small spray or portion of the design should be finished off by looping the silk through a back stitch to secure firrriARROW HEAD DESIGN. An attractive fringe design consists in attaching two rows of bugles (about a third of an inch long) in the form of an arrow head, the inner points neatly meeting together. A simple gimp pattern that looks well can be carried out in two differently coloured beads. Thread .tw-o needles with silk, tie the strands together and attach to a weighted cushion. Thread the first coloured bead over one needle and a second of the same colour, together with one of a different hue. on the second needle. Cross the first strand through the second coloured bead on the second needle and repeat. 'This will form a “diamond” and each of the diamonds should be drawn up when completed, so that it may set evenly and firmly. Having worked r o the end of t-lie silk, a fresh start may be made underneath the first row. observing, however, a contrary order of tue beads. " ENGLISH AND FRENCH WOMEN. S A R TOR lAI, CONTR A STS. The Frenchwoman gives just as much thought to her hat as to her frock. In

fact, it is an oven more important subject for careful consideration. Not for her the slap-dash adventure of rushing into a shop to buy a hat out of the window, on the way to a train. She opens her eves in wonder and smiles

incredulously when told that this method is sometimes successfully adopted by quite well-dressed Englishwomen. No! the really carefully-dressed Parisienne does not grudge the hours spent before the glass of the modiste or rather the three or four glasses. And the languid lady assistant knows her public too well to rebel, and keeps any signs of impatience —for her more diffident British clients. Few sights are more impressive than really satisfied Frenchwoman in a new hat. Her triumphant air contrasts forcibly with the more or less apologetic air which even the quite well-dressed Englishwoman brings with her when entering one of the great Paris houses. In that city of vivid lights and shades, the Englishwoman is at h<-r best in evening clothes ; these she wears, not as though they were for a special occasion, but as a part of herself to which she is well used. The Frenchwoman enters the foyer at the opera as a well-trained actress enters the stage, knowing that all eyes are -upon her and well pleased at this fact. The Englishwoman strolls on as though she were invisible and obvious of tl;'* presence of many georgeously-dressed members ol her sex and staring ones of the opposite sex. She can certainly carry off evening clothes well, but her French neighbour has it in the matter of hats. HEALTH HINTS FOR WOMEN. AVOID EXCESS AND EAT MORE FRUIT. The watchword of all women and o-ivls who wish to keep healthy and fit should be “avoid excess. s> Excess in food, drink, smoking and everything

else spells ruin for the woman who indulges in it. Women are greedier than men. According to Dr \Vebb-Johns*an in “ Diet tor Women.” women are not satisfied with three meals a day, as a nuui is, but have little and frequent snack* between meals. Most of us eat too much flesh food nnci not enough fruit and vegetable* A woman should not eat. more than one meat meal a day and she should always have plenty of green vegetables with it. also s'te should a-lways have some fruit or a salad with a meal. AIORE FRUIT. LESS OF OTHER FOODS. . . It is important to remember, however. that if plenty of fruit is eaten one does not need so much other food. Many people who eat fruit do not knock anything off in its place, and consequently eat to exces?. What are the best fruits to eat? Dr AAcbb-Johnson puts them in the following order : apples. grapes, bananas, oranges, peaches, pears, apricots. pineapples, plums, strawberries, raspberries, aud blackberries. The apple is the king of ail fruits, fti it is found phosphorus, which is a brain and nerve food, ana malic acid, which is excellent for the teeth and the stomach. A SAMPLE DIET PLAN. It is almost impossible to plan out an idea! diet, but here is the daily food plan of a woman journalist, who ha* to use her brain in her work and also walks four or five miles a day. “ Aly daily diet consists of one egg and a little salad for breakfast, with standard bread and butter, some fruit for lunch, and a one-oourse meal of vegetables, followed by dried frnifcs at night, with much water between What about -moking? Dr WebbJohnson partiru.arly warns women who are not absolutely fit againet it. Smoking affects the sight, raises the blood pressure and thus causes giddiness and palpitation, and may bring about acute gastritis if indulged in too freely. TEA’S GOOD POINTS—AND BAD. Then as to tea. Tea has many good properties, it relieves a headache, cools the body, and is also a good antidote to alcohol ; but too much tea will ruin the palate and bring on sleeplessness. O woman who has a weak ckgestion should never take tea w-ith or indirectly after food. To keep a g'X»d set of teeth and a bright, clear complexion, follow theae few simple rules 1. Your thirty-two teeth were given vou that they might bite and grind your food: give them plenty of employment Masticate thoroughly, so that the salivary and gastric juices may be used to advantage. 3. Avoid soups, mince and hash. 4. Always finish a meal with a raw jipplc or some crisp salad, such as lettuce or celery