"Her Husband Sews...!"

New Zealand Listener, Volume 5, Issue 122, 24 October 1941, Page 5

"Her Husband Sews...!"

N encouraging her menfolk to have hobbies, I must confess that I think a woman has to be " as wise as a serpent and as harmless as a dove," for she has to see to it that the quaint and fantastic uses to which men put their spare time must be kept within reasonable limits. When Lord Strickland was Governor of New South

Wales he enjoyed a little bit of erhaagee at his holiday home at oss Vale, but he used to bring it into" the drawing room — trestles, bench and all, and scattered shavings in all directions. On the other hand, Julius Knight, the famous actor, whom many of my middle-aged listeners will remember, liked knitting, and between acts could often be found

in his dressing-room, turning the heel of a sock with care and concentration. The spectacle of Marcus Superbus in "The Sign of the Cross,’ or Napoleon just back from .Moscow, amusing himself with knitting is intriguing. Such a nice clean hobby is tapestry. My husband remarked, when asked why he didn’t take to canvas and brushes and express his scenes through this quicker and much easier medium: "One can bring one’s needlework to the. fireside, and I don’t like being placed in the spare room with the perpetual smell of turpentine and oil." The word "needlework" brings to mind an amusing incident. I was talking to two men on the golf links one day. One of them said," "Where is your husband these days? He should be on the links getting exercise," and turning to his companion remarked, " You know her husband sews."--(" Hobbies for Husbands," by Mrs. Stamp-Taylor, 2Y A, October 6.)