WOMEN AND THE HOME

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18644, 22 December 1928, Page 22 (Supplement)

WOMEN AND THE HOME

UNUSUAL PUDDINGS. We all have our favourite puddings, but it is a good idea to try new recipes occasionally. Dragon pudding is somewhat unusual, although it is quite simple. It is well to make it when apples or pears are in season, but if they are not obtainable, the Australian varieties, which are very good are always available. To make it, peel, core, and cut up one pound of good cooking apples or pears, and put them into a deep piedish. Add 4oz washed currants and a little water. Sprinkle with sugar, and add a few cloves. Cream 4oz butter or margarine with the same quantity of sugar, add two eggs well beaten, and sift in 4oz flour, add the grated rind of a lemon, and mix well together. Pour the mixture carefully over the soft brush, using a good yellow soap slowly in a moderate oven until it is nicely browned. Serve hot. | TO RENOVATE WICKER CHAIRS. Scrub the chair thoroughly with a top of the fruit, and bake the pudding and not too hot water: dry in the open air. When the chair is quite dry, paint it thinly with clear varnish.

WOMEN OF ESTHONIA. When that little country, Esthonia, got its independence some ten years ago, the women received their franchise immediately; there was no question of struggling to get the vote! The reason for this cannot better be illustrated than by quoting the age-hall Owed Esthonian proverb; “The wife is the lock of the home.” A thread of pure chivalry has always run through the Esthonian’s attitude towards his women-folk. They are revered, loved, listened to. Peasant homes, from time immemorial, have been in their keeping, and with their love for all things beautiful, learned from the fields,, the sea and the woods, they have brought colour and loveliness into their homes. In the past their country knew many a dark day, but the women shared trouble and hardship with husbands and brothers. When Esthonia was part of the Russian Empire, the teaching of their native language to the children was forbidden. The women were com-, pelled to send their boys and girls to an alien-ruled school, but their intuition, coupled with genuine patriotism, led them to realise that the future of their country would be sorry indeed if the children had not complete mastery of their native tongue. The Esthonian woman’s time may have been crowded with all sorts of tasks, but duty to her children came first . . . when housework was finished came the supreme labour of the day. She gathered her family around her and taught them their own language, much as she taught them to sing the exquisite songs of their motherland. Simple songs! But whoever has heard them once will remember them for ever. They are just interpretations of the deepest things a human heart can feel and aspire to. Songs as often as not composed by the women themselves about things they knew and loved—human companionship, the green things in the wood, the golden things in the fields, the silver-blue things in the sea. E.M.A.

SMALL MATS. To prevent the edges of small mats curling take‘some small strips of linoleum the width of the mat and about six inches long. Pierce some holes in the linoleum with a gimlet and then neatly stitch to the underside of the mat with line twine. This will keep the mats flat and also make them wear longer.

THROUGH FASHION’S MIRROR. A USEFUL SHADE. HOMESPUNS AND TWEEDS. NEW PLAID CREPE. (By Diana Dane). A certain well-known designer, who caters for women of average means as well as for wealthier clients, has expressed the opinion that honey-beige is the most useful colour in the world! It is certainly a charming shade and, what is more important, it will “go” with anything. Take a scrap of crepe in this tint and put it side by side with any gown in your wardrobe; almost invariably you will find that it “tones in” admirably and, moreover, lends a note of richness to sober, everyday colours.

First introduced by a French designer in the form of a fairy-like tulle dance frock, honey-beige is gradually making its way into every section of the wardrobe. It plays its role in the lingerie cupboard,-, too, many of the daintiest "sets” in fine hemstitched handkerchief lawns, which are regarded as the essence of good taste by those who are competent to judge, being produced in this shade. Practical shirting-silk frocks are gaily striped in many colours on a honey-beige ground instead of a white one—a fact which makes for reduction in laundry bills. On printed crepe de chine models, the small design is often carried out in honey-beige on a black or a navy-blue ground. Try the effect of a honey-beige crepe de chine waistcoat with your navy tailored suit, or with a brown one, or with the fashionable dark grey coat and skirt. The result will be equally good in each case, and a comfortable, welldressed feeling will accompany you on your journeys. I saw a printed chiffon evening frock in a certain collection recently, and, although I think printed chiffon has been rather overdone and has almost had its day, I could not help admiring the exquisite colours introduced into the pattern. Slender trails of flowers and clusters of leaves, in honey-beige, various soft rose shades and dull green on a white background, provided an intriguing harmony in which La Pompadour herself might have delighted. But, unlike the gowns of Pompadour's day, this little model was simplicity itself, having a fitting bodice dipping low over the shoulders, and a full, flounced skirt which did not dip anywhere ! In this respect the flowered chiffon dance frock got away from the stereotyped line; the skirt, which was almost ankle length, was level all the way round. I like the light-weight homespuns which smart Englishwomen are wearing for sports. Most attractive fabrics, they are, and obtainable in some very good colours. As for the British tweeds, which are now produced in tiny, bright-ly-coloured check designs as well as in the more orthodox patterns, there is nothing better for the odd skirt which will see you through many a month with the aid of a careful selection of jumpers and blouses. Jumpers, by the way, are being cut longer nowadays; the Parisienne likes them three-quarter length! But, of course, only the sportswoman of slim and willowy figure will care for a clinging garment like this to be made so long. Diagonal stripes are favoured by sports enthusiasts. I liked very much the navy canvas-cloth skirt, pleated at the sides and in front, which was worn with a navy and yellow diagonally striped stockinette jumper, having a navy suede belt, navy bindings to pockets and V-shaped neck, and navy cuffs. Plaid crepe de chine is fashionable in Paris. It is essentially of French chic and becomes the French girl admirably. There is every reason to suppose that it will be taken up here very shortly, and, to judge from a model gown displayed recently, its success, as a diversion, is assured. The design was carried out in shades of brown, green and blue—delightfully subdued shades, all of them, so there was no suggestion of overdding the colour note. A threetiered skirt joined a fitting bodice at the higher waistline, which was marked by a gros-grain belt in the same dull blue shade as that in the pattern. The bodice was simply finished at the oval neck with a deep self binding and at the cuffs of the long sleeves with small self bows. A string of rhinestones and dull blue beads lent the “just right” finish, and proved the value of inexpensive jewellery as a set-off to a particular toilette.

MAYONNAISE A LA CROATIA FOR TOMATOES.

Choose large, round tomatoes of uniform size; scald and remove the skin and place them on ice until ready to serve. Remove the seeds and fill the halves with the following dressing: Six egg yolks, 3 tablespoonfuls or vinegar, 3 tablespoonfuls of water; I teacupful of olive oil, and salt and dry mustard to taste. Beat the yolks, vinegar, water and salt on a moderate fire until they are thick; remove from the fire and continue beating until the mixture is cool; then slowly add the oil, beating continuously, and finally add the mustard. Cut cold pork and potatoes in small dice and put them in the bottom of the tomatoes before filling these with mayonnaise, if a more substantial dish is desired. KEEPING FLOWERS FRESH. Flowers for the house should be cut early in the morning or in the cool of the evening. If the latter, they should be plunged into a tall jug of water, and left standing in the water in a cool place all night, before they are arranged in bowls and vases. Even if plucked in the morning it is best to stand them in a jug of water if it is impossible to arrange them immediately. Flowers require fresh water daily, and all vases should be thoroughly washed out—not just emptied and refilled—every day. A little salt added to the water helps to keep flowers fresh. When cutting or choosing flowers for the house always select buds which are nearly open. These will last longer than flowers in full bloom. Cut the stems as long as possible and remove all leaves below the water line. Do not crowd too many blossoms in one vase, and remove flowers from a warm room at night, and especially from one where, gas has been burning.

STAINS ON A CEILING. If a ceiling is stained in places but otherwise good a very effective cover for the stains may be made from starch. Mix some starch with cold water to the consistency of a thin cream. Apply this to the ceiling, after first brushing off the dust. Allow it to dry, when the mark is probably completely hidden. A second application may be necessary if the stain is very pronounced.

VELVET CREAM. Soak one and a half tablespoonsful of gelatine in half a cupful of cold water for five minutes. Mix half a cupful of sugar with two beaten egg ’•oiks, and pour over this, slowly, one and a half cupsful of scalded milk. Put this preparation in a double saucepan with one-eighth of a teaspoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of butter and the soaked gelatine; cook until the mixture thickens—about fifteen minutes. Strain; beat for two minutes; allow to cool, and then add one teaspoonful of vanilla; fold in two stiffly beaten egg whites and, finally one cupful of whipped cream. Turn into a mould and leave in a cold place to set. Serve with whipped cream.

FASHION’S LITTLE WHIMS. AND THE ARTIST’S CHANCE! An artist nowadays need not necessarily be concerned entirely with painting pictures, sketching landscapes and making still-life studies. I am not speaking, of course, of the Masters of the Art, but of those hundreds of girls who have trained in good schools and have been trying to make a decent income with brush and pencil. For these, Fashion is opening up numerous new fields of activity, and a number of really clever girl artists are already adding considerably to the rather meagre living they were able to earn when they produced nothing but “pretty-pretty” pictures, fashion sketches and the like. The most beautiful of the new gowns in ethereal chiffon, transparent velvet, georgette and taffetas are often exquisitely painted by hand. A trail of delicately tinted blossoms and leaves round the waist of a white taffetas bouffant model is continued down one

side of the skirt, in a cascade of falling petals, to the hem. A bouquet of lovely shaded roses "growing” on the shoulder of a parchment coloured transparent velvet gown looks delightfully realistic, while a loose cluster of blooms spreads itself, with equally good effect, over the skirt of a chiffon picture frock. A flight of exotic birds appears on a Nile green georgette creation, and beautifully coloured butterflies flutter at the hem of a simple robe in black crepe de chine. All these engaging effects are secured through the medium of the artist’s brush! Perhaps the most interesting and amusing whim of La Mode at the moment is the butterfly or tiny bird hand-painted on arm or shoulder when evening dress is worn. Dainty as the lovely creatures themselves, and as highly coloured, these adornments serve to emphasise the beauty t>f rounded arms and pretty necks, and provide novel alternatives to bangles and jewelled pendants. Of course they are suitable only for the young girl; they might draw unwelcome attention to bony arms and thin necks if others essayed their effect. D.D.