exhibition to aid memorial hall funds: ladies' committee arranges function

The ladies' committee of the Sale Memorial Hall and Youth Centre have organised an exhibition in July which should attract interest from every centre in Gippsland. This exhibition is one which was most successfully staged at Springvale recently. Of great interest is the commentary which was given on this display.

The exhibitor is Mrs. Smith, one of the most favourably known agricutlural show and Country Women's Association demonstrators in Victoria, and well known to Sale people.

Mrs. Smith has been outstanding in her field over a number of years and awards from Royal and country shows have piled up (lined the walls of Springvale Mechanics Hall). It would be hard to find a field open to the normal woman in which this good lady does not shine.

Take, for instance, her display of bottled fruit, vegetables and other preserves. Cleverly arranged into patterns, these delicacies would tickle the palate of the most fanciful. (Note: Her display at Sale show last year was the centre of attraction in the pavillion all day.) Another fine display of workmanship and patience was shown in the exhibits made from dead matches. To name a few, there is a house, windmill and cotton stand made perfectly to scale, and a ktichen chair completely covered with matches in a parquet pattern. These are daintily finished, and varnishing with touch up give the appearance of inlay or poker work.

Mrs. Smith's work extends to painting, and here again her work is most realistic, revealing a mind full of vision and imagination. From scraps of wool, rugs are fashioned, and patchwork quilts are most engaging, colours being often bright, but always blended in with fine judgement. One of her most admired quilts is made from no fewer than 3200 fragments of silk, satin and taffeta.

Garments made by Mrs. Smith rank with the best in her class. Babies' dresses, both woollen and silk, in a field so fully explored by many, the exhibition of 'One woman's work' once again shines unfailingly. What a pretty feast for the female eye, and how tempting for the mother or mother-to-be. LIttle innovations in this field with regard to the silk patterns lift her work above the competitions. Talking about garments, there are no price worries here. Even hand-dyed hessian is used to advantage.

In fact, the word waste is not even in her vocabulary. Even seeds are utilised to make flowers or trees, and cuttings from papers like the "Women's Weekly" form the basis of patterns for lovely baskets and trays. Broken glass and pottery form exquisite vases - shells for decorating articles, fish scales for working models of ships are just a few.

Cooking is also one of her accomplishments and beautiful cakes iced and decorated in original patterns, and biscuits and sweets are a delight both to the eye and the palate.

Another venture is the making of dolls, brightly and attractively dressed, which would sell at a considerable price in any city emporium.

Gippsland Times 3 May 1951 p.1