| Show r CHRISTMAS GIFTS j New Ideas for Presents lade at Home I I BY WIVES OF OUR STATESMEN Cmerlets Baby ECarrlaze Bands Lojlles Tablecloths Fancy Cravats Tlibse Who Relieve In Santa Claus WAtnivoTOX Dec 8fSpec corres potuciiee of TnE HCRALD Great prepar Btiins ure being made in the homes of our sUtesuien for Christmas A score or more ot te Senators hare their families Mere 14J tT ore are perhaps two thousand little mars whose fathers are connected with the g rcrwuent who dream every night of Santa Cans A great many presents are k tin m Washington among friends during tae holidays and one the of leading subjects o Jscus < > ion today is Christmas presents 13514 how to make them Mrs President L r rsan believes in the celebration of C rstnms She gives a great many pres e vs und she tells me that the most of her p s were in the past homemade She g dray great many of her paintings a ciii stmas gifts and she tells that she T uiti liKe to paint today for Christmas but that her public duties compsl her to j 1 JSL such presents as she pies J away I t to1S t a large circle of pensioners whom se Ways presents articles of food and v nir uppeural on Christmasand she says t atLe takes great pleasure in doing bOob bOo-b e uoes not believe in expensive gifts UOD friends and she thinks that pros ct s made with ones own hand convey a p jtor compliment and form a oetter lcta tit friendship than any other kind MlS SENATOR S11EKUAN Und that many of the noted ladies of astington deprecated the growing cus t S of promiscuous giving on Christmas I listed Mrs Senator Sherman for her opin it tf the subject She said i in uk that Christmas presents should h ulined to relatives and personal fi cnJs with of course the privilege of exit ex-it ndaig the remembrance to others whom TSX naH choose to compliment But as tom to-m > ag indiscriminate gifts it ought to be I djji raged To friends at a distance a alt al-t e memento of the day in the shape of a fcjia card is ways acceptable and any l kte uomcmade article either for practi cu use or ornament is much more valued fikiia the fact that the recipient knows we have taken pains and thought for him in mak ug it Certainly there is no pleasure ipTc receipt of a gift which conveys an oJg Uun cud thus makes one feel that she has incurred a debt in getting it I dont tire indiscriminate giving Alnost any OLC can make something of the kind or another an-other that in the motive induced by the effort will awaken a responsive chord in the breast of the recipient and I seldom if over make Christmas presents unless prompted by affection or the desire to give a proof of esteem A gift beyond ones means Mrs Sherman went on should clnjj5 be avoided as it is never appreciated appre-ciated and places the receiver in a position of fimb rrassinent There is no need of it j So mane dainty little gifts can be bough l v J < > > wulrw 1 II for a trifle nowadays that the purse need lOt be very large to meet the requirements I of the season I IRS SENATOR DAVIS1 SACHET nAGS I called upon Mrs Senator Davis to learn I her views in regard to tho making and giving giv-ing of Christmas gifts and was rewarded by a sight of a variety of dainty articles prepared by her own hands She was busily bus-ily engaged in the work of putting her house in order for the winter but she showed me many pretty and original pieces of fancy work carefully folded away for the adornment of her house I spoke of these as being line specimens of Christmas work and Mrs Davis said 1 always make the larger number of my ChristmaS presents as 1 know from personal per-sonal experience how much more pleasure a gift conveys that has been made by a friend and as she picked up a sachet bag in my opinion there can bo nothing more appropriate to send a friend than one of these simple little bows of satin ribbon which conceals beneath its tie a fragrant I sachet of violet powder or other sweet scent These you can easily send through the mail and they make a pretty ornament for the back of a chair wnen nlnnca at a becoming angle on one side Then as you know I am very fond of oil painting and as I possess some degree of original talent I often occupy my leisure hours in sketching i lowers or other designs upon bolting cloth which I form into sachet bas thhi1 I for the handkerchief drawer The suggestion of sweet odors at the I hOI feast of Christmas transports one in imagination back to the first Christmas I mom when the wise men laid their tribute of frankincense and myrrh at the feet of the Christ child One of my favorite ways of remembering the occasion is bv Christmas Christ-mas letters nod if you will accompany me upstairs I will show you what 1 mean Upon this we went to the second floor teaching her chamber wo found the maid was engaged in sheeting her bed in its sable sa-ble coverings of black ChIn silk and pillow pil-low cases relieved by richly embroidered letters or yellow floss in the center of each case Over the sheets was thrown a warm comfort of silk in the same somber hue tufted in yellow These Mrs Davis says she prefers for use during the winter varied va-ried bi white silk in summer for each season sea-son having gowns of corresponding shades ornamented with dainty bows of bright ribbon This I believe has already been given to the public and caused quite a flutter flut-ter of ir terest among the fair sex generally My hostess also explained that situ wore black silk underwear from preference and found that the absence of flannel dm not affect her health Returning tothe subject of the Christmas letters they are simply extra largesized sheets of letter paper in the varied tints of grey and stone blue On the upper left hand corner of each is a raised clover leaf in white and the writing is in white ink which produces a striking I effect As Mrs Davis showed ino them she said I generally make up an appropriate blank verse or a few lines expressing best wishes for the season and one can treasure them for years Small homemade gifts like these convey no feeling of obligation and I think tho habit of promiscuous giving of expensive articles has become almost u burden and takes largely from the original significance of tho gift It ONE Or oUtS ATTOnXETGEXEKAL MILLERS CUKISTMAS GIFTS One of the daintiest pieces of home manufacture man-ufacture I have seen lately is a sofa cushion made by Mrs Miller wife of the attorneygeneral It is of blue jeans embroidered em-broidered with astaroids in white linen loss Around the edge is sewn a twisted cord of white and gold formed of the floss Tho great beauty of this simple but effective effect-ive combination is that it may be easily slipped off at pleasure and it can be washed without injury Another piece 01 i Mrs Millers Christmas handiwork is a coverlet or short comfort of this same blue I jeans which though inexpensive is very artistic Take a square of the jeans somewhat some-what larger than tae desired size to lay across the centre of the coverlet select the wrong or lighter side of the material and turn up a broad border all around and fasten I fas-ten down with a cat stitch in white In the I center embroider a conventional design in white linen floss and the effect is beautifuL SOME OTHER CABINET PRESENTS Mrs Miller is not alone in her possession of a talent for making home attractive as many of the ladies of the cabinet circle find time in the midst of their absorbing obligations obli-gations to concoct pretty pieces of Christmas Christ-mas fancy work In fact their drawing rooms are beautified by thorn Mrs Morton Mor-ton Mrs Blaine and Mrs Noble each show marked talent in this line and numerous pieces of embroidery and paintings paint-ings upon silk the work of Mrs Harrison are still to be met with She made these while she was in the Garfield Hospital I Sewing society at the time of her husbands hus-bands term in the Senate and she often speaks regretfully of her lack of time under her changed circumstances to keep up her interests in such matters Notwithstanding Not-withstanding the difficulties in her way Mrs Harrison has persevered in her porcelain por-celain painting and she will give some paintings away this Christmas MRS MAUSUAI VILSOJS RMBROIDERED 1IABTCARRIAGE BAND Few Washington hostesses possess amore a-more marked talent for tasteful fancy work than Mrs Albert A Wilson wife of the marshal of the District to which fact her attractive home on G street gives ample testimony When I called one morning not long since Mrs Wilson had just completed a handsome array of Christmas presents to send to friends at a distance One of the latest novelties in the list was rattle made of an embroidery hoop covered with blue ribbon about an mutt wide satin edged wound round and round the wood until 1 completely hidden two bands of the same being stretchud face to taco across the cen tre each piece hung with six tiny sleigh bells that tinkled with every movement On one side was fastened a bow and ends Another of Mrs Wilsons presents s a babycarriage band made of strip of white grosgrain ribbon with picot edge Upon this is embroidered rosebuds daisies or violets as fancy may dictate in colored silks narrow piece of white ribbon about a half a yard in length being fastened on either end to attach it to tho carriage and the connection hidden by big rosettes of the same color Mrs Wilson also showed me a lovely tea cloth of white linen with broad insertion set just within two inches of the edge in the form of a diamond dia-mond There was a wide edge of Duchess lace and on each of the four corners between be-tween the insertion nnd the hem was worked leaf designs in linen thread in the longandshort stitch This can be used either as a tea cloth or flower doylie for the center of the mahogany with smaller ones for tho finger bowls Mrs Wilson designed de-signed and embroidered a beautiful tea set of doylies for her daughters trousseau last spring which she carried away with her upon her departure for her new home at Fort Leavenworth These doylies wore greatly admired by all who saw them They were in the form of largo grape leaves drawn first upon fine damask and then embroidered in outline with the long I andshort stitch forming a heavy edge with the reining over the surface When this was completed the leaf was cu out tile work on the edge being finished in buttonhole button-hole stich to prevent fringing JA CHRISTMAS WORKBAG Another simple and pretty arrangement J for a workbag is to take one yard of Chin i silk cut off just enough of the lengtti oft of-t e materialLto cover two double pieces of i circular paste board tho size of u small i i tea plate Place two and two together lilts a pocket piucushion having previously i i gathered each end of the silk oil to tho t wrong side of the board in the form of along long bolster case sewed to within a quarter of a yard of the centie which is lest open and after ovcrstituhingthe two cuds ottbo cardboard ornament each with a full loop I I of wide satin ribbon on one bide finishing off with a stylish bow of the same When I held together by the loops the center falls in a short puff which is very effective and will hold any amount of worsted work A lIiNOBOME HOVE MADE 1A11LCCI OTU To make a handsome cloth for a small round table Mrs Wilson took a yard of chamois skill cut square fringed the edge all around by cutting the skin in strips I Upon the centre she first stretched and then painted clusters of dogwood blossoms in their natural delicate tint aud cut out the intervening spaces so as to throw tho flowers into bold relief a narrow band of purple heading the fringe You have no idea what u lien effect is thus produced She gave me also the following To make u pretty umbrella shade for a tail lamp cover thc frame with some silky material like fine sateen then cover ttie whole by draping yarn lengths of white or light blue China silk fiinsued with u puffing puff-ing at the top and edged with a fall of deep laceAn An effective cover foran upright piano she says can be formed by one long strip of white China Chi-na sillr with a broad border of yellow or crimson plush across tho bottom und carelessly caught up a little to one side and held down by some ornament or handsome hand-some vase CHKIsTMAS CARDS AT WASHINGTON I asked one of the leading booksellers in the west end whether toe sale of Chritmas cards was not decreasing with each successive suc-cessive season and was informed that on the contrary the demand for small cards was never so great as now The large fringed cards and elaborate designs at high prices meet with small sale in comparison with former years and books and other illustrated prints seem to have entirely superseded su-perseded the more expensive cards as holiday hol-iday gifts Few of the stationers have as yet displayed their assortment in this line as the rush is usually so great at first for the selection of the freshest novelties that often tho stock is exhausted before holiday week and many whose means will not permit per-mit of an early choice are thus ceprived of a chance to indulge the fancy SOME OTHER NEW IDEAS dainty novelty in the way of a Christmas Christ-mas gift which some young girls are making mak-ing is a white silk cravat crocheted in crazy stitch with heavy white silk These cravats cra-vats are made in the style of the popular fourinhand and were in high lever with the Bar Harbor beaux last summer where they were sold for tt1 each They are especially suited for summer wear with white flannel boating suits being light and easily washed without ironing and of late the fad has started for wearing them in full dress upon the occasion of weddings and evening entertainments I am told that each cravat uses up about three spools of silk and the rest is all clear gain to those who crochet rapidly There could be no prettier Christmas present for a young girl to give her fiance and the gift would have the added attraction being her own finger work Many dainty sachet bags are made of point dsprit in delicate tints filled with the fluffy pods of the milkweed to pin on the piano or mantle cover The same material is also utilized for double photograph I photo-graph cases lined with silk of a correspond bug color and wadded with perfumed batting batt-ing dockoa off with rich bows of eam nbbau In fact there L uo cud to tliu pretty things which our gay girls hud they can concoct with a little taste and skill A CHAT WITH 11115 SENVTOK STEW MIT Mrs Senator Stewart the wife of the rich Nevada Senator has just returned from her home at Carson Nevada and is now in her house on II street that Senator Stewart has rented furnished for thu winter win-ter 1 asked her some questions about Christmas She replied I usuelly give a great many presents but I have determined not to do so this year as the demands upon mo just now are so heavy that by the time Christmas comes there will be little or no ready money 01 hand wherewith I can buy gifts I have therefore given my family fair warning that they need expect no presents and I intend in-tend to confine my gifts to the servants and those who are in a measure dependent upon my help I am tile more inclined to this as we are now in deep mouraing and we have no children in the house for the tho first time in many years tt hen there I are little ones urou > d I believe in making all holidaysas bright pos iblo for their sakes I do not think that Christmas is looked upon today as it has been iu tho past We rio too many costly presents and we are losing sight of the sacred associations asso-ciations of the day in the effort to accomplish accom-plish too much work Mils SENATOR COCKUEIL The next lady I called upon was Mrs Cockicll the wife of the Senator from Missouri Mis-souri She is a great stickler for Christmas Christ-mas observance and she has enough young children about her to make the day a lively ono Said she I always warn my servants not to undeceive un-deceive my little ones of their happy belief in Santa Claus I believe in giving presents to children and I believe in all the sweet illusions of this kind that can be thrown around childhood The childlife is the happiest life and we ought to cultivate its happiness in every way I believe in plying ply-ing but not indiscriminately and I think everything should bo made subordinate to the childrens festival MRS SENATOR HAW LEV When I was a nurse at the Hospital in Philadelphia said Mrs Senator Hawley to me last night I made with my own hands one Christmas seventyseven Christmas Christ-mas presents for the patients Tho day was a great ono to them The hospital had been badly managed before this and it was the first real Christmas celebration it had had for years Wo got up a Christmas feast decorated the wards with holly and had tho young society girls of Philadelphia help us as waiters I believe in giving Christmas presents and I like homemade ones in preference to those which come from tho stores Ones handiwork L carries with is a compliment wuicn money I cant buy and I treasure such gifts above all others Miss GRUNDV JR |
