LOST LEISURE.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 671, 23 May 1914, Page 7

LOST LEISURE.

In tlissc strenuous time?, wh:n'l:isure," as our ancestors mile:slco\ it, is seldom to be obta'ned, iro t of us have to get through the ciurnally appointed task with every nerve strained towards achievement. To some of us brain work is appointed, others labour with their hands, and some craftsmen corn Vino manual work with mental efiort, as in the case of inventors. It is no wonder that with days to full, we cannot always perform each separate task with the deliberate rare ml concentration of thought that ensures thj best achievement. Cur dul'ies are multiple, and attention has to be divided between them ; everyone is conscious—some of us 'are painfully conscious—of .the ever-:nercasinj demand on our faculties, be they of what order they may. Our rr.a'ln 'ndeavour is to make as good a result as it is possible consistent with ths time we have to bestow on the work in hand, so that there may be no 'robßery of Peter to pay Uaul. This is rather a preamble to what I am about to write concerning a new kind of fancy work. The application lies in the fact that workers in our day (amateur workers) desire to get the maximum of effect achieved by a minimum of- labour. Much modern needlecraft is telling 'in effect, and the fineness of detail that was a characteristic detail of the work of women of many generations back is ever looked for. There is not time nowadays for the slow progress demanded for needlewori i comparable with that dene by the leisured class in the lcng vanished." priceless specimen i of which remain to show us the in-inUe pains bestowed on thei'r creation. Some of tiiiem, although centuries old, have survived as far as may be the mouldering touch of Time, because the materials used were of a more enduring quality than 'those sold in our day. Most of the work clone with prasent-day materials loo'-:s very well for "the day," "but, unlike Mrs. Primrose's wecTding gov..n, it is nit made to last. \

Amongst new designs in fansyvo.-k one that looks effective and entails no tedious labour is • a combination of cretonne and net. In a well-l<no'.\n art needlework depository I saw the cushion I now describe. Cotton-back white satin ' covered ths cmhion, which was' again covered with white net, the mesh of which was o;cn Flowers in gay colours have been cut from a piece of cretonne. There flowers were carefully < n a corresponding square of net. and ilin neatly stitched into place.' A few beads in crystal suggested de\vd:ops, but though these may be admitted in work of this kind, devised for other uses, I thought ;tliem rather out of place "on a cushion intended for a head rest. This kind of work could be utilised for table-covers, firescreens, etc., and a. bedspread fov the summer would look very effective in a bedroom upholstered in chintz. The l'ining of ths spread could be. ~of mercerised linen, white or colored, and the flowers of large !-.i;ce. Beads used to emphasise thsir effect would not be out of place as they seem to be when employed to embelli-h a cushion or the head rest. The capacities of ■ th'is new work are by no means exhausted. Very dainty dresser d'oyleye can be made in similar fashion to the articles '•already enumerated, and spotted net may be used , instead of that with a plain open mesh. A very dainty set of d'oylsys I saw was made oI wide meshed net, cut to shape and the edge turned in narrowly all round. Thus prepared ths net was laid upon the centres of some Japanese japer serviettes, to which it was'caret illy gummed. Of course the design on the papfer must be suitable, in order that the flower or flowers may be adapted to the purpose 'ln hand. As vivid colours .(chiefly) appear in these serviettes th(p design is clearly, visible through the net. I need hardly say that work of this, ldnl belongs to the ephemeral of needlecraft. It is just a novelty not warranted to withstand the ordeal of the. 1 washing tub, but pretty cnour;li to' justify its brief existence, and so in-' expensive that to destroy it v.h:n roiled can' raise no co.npuneticn. Japanese paper d'oyleys arc scld in» boxes, fifty in a box, the cost being lcs:; than a shilLlng. Man/ other pretty trifles can be made of these artistic flowered papers.—" Weekly Telegraph." 4