Evening star., 1941-06-29

JSNeIN 1ul spun 10 WGdI
The growth of Mrs. Seward's he
of Jack and the Beanstalk." For a
of beans led Jack to exciting adven
planted by Mrs. Seward couple of
mating and apparently endless
possibilities.
Three years ago the Stewards ac-
ouired a 70-acre farm near Cam
bridge, on the Eastern Shore OF
Maryland. Having heard of the
numerous articles which can be de-
veloped from gourds, Mrs. Seward
bought package of mixed seeds and
planted them on a small patch OF
land.
More Than 100 Varieties
From One Package.
From that small package of seeds
I have gathered between 5000 and
1000 gourds of over 100 different
varieties" she said.
In the winter Mrs. Seward brings
the gourds to the city. where she
dries. polishes and paints them in
her workshop.
AS she told Of her hobby she led
the way to her workshop, where
dozens of gourds of many sizes and
shapes were placed on tables and IN
baskets and boxes The shape OF
the gOurd frequently determines to
what use she will put it, Mrs. Seward
explained.
This gourd was naturally shaped
like little penguin so I have
painted it to look like one she
demonstrated. It makes an at
tractive paperweight.
THE gourd must be thoroughly
dried before starting work on it."
she continued. For this paper
weight, bored a small hole in one
end. filled the gourd with sand to
give it weight, then painted it as
you now see it and placed in on a
stand
Mrs. Seward makes unusually at
tractive centerpieces by arranging
a variety of colored gourds in an
ordinary wooden chopplng bowl
She frequently uses pine cones or
barley and wheat sheaves in the
grouping, this arrangement lending
itself particularly well to fall
decoration.
From Salt Shakers
To Darning Eggs"
Smaller gourds, dried and polished
with holes pierced in one end, make
unusual salt and pepper shakers,
Mrs. Seward pointed out. Still
others, painted in attractive de-
signs. are adaptable for darning
"eggs," as they are light in weight
yet have surfaces sufficiently hard
TO withstand penetration OF a
needle.
MY friends have all admired this
string holder" she remarked, taking
up a brilliantly painted gourd de-
signed TO hold a ball of string for
kitchen use.
Other gourds have been used by
Mrs. Seward for pig" banks and
doll faces. Another toy novelty is
an elephant. its body of cloth and
the trunk a curious1y twisted gourd.
Although the hobby was started
for her own amusement, Mrs.
Seward said that in the past year
she has received more orders than
she can fill from friends and
acQuaintances who like her table
decorations and charm strings.
Last year she decided to add
Indian corn to the materials she
uses for decorations and costume
jewelry.
Il bought six ears of Aztec corn
from local florist" she said. They
were all that were left in the shop
and not particularly choice ears.
But l planted the kernels and got 400
ears at the end of the season" Show
ing how the corn produces kernels in
o variety of rich colors-red, yellow,
orange, brown, purple and black
She explained how she strings them
on fine wire to make attractive
necklaces, bracelets and belts.
Shop Finds JeweIry
Popular for Sports Wear.
81 soak the kernels overnight in
order to make them soft enough for
the needle to penetrate she said.
Several sets Of corn jeWelry will be
sent to a friend who has recently
opened a gift shop in Virginia. She
tells me that corn jewelry is very
popular for sports wear" Mrs. Seward
said.
At the farm home in Maryland
where she will spend the summer
with her two sons, 10 and -, Mrs.
Seward will continue to work on her
hobby.
There is an old barn on the edge
of the field where the gourds and
corn grow" she said. This year,
hope to convert the barn with its
natural hand-hewn beams into a
studio, where I can experiment
further with both gourds and corn"
Although she has worked with
eourds for only two years, Mrs.
Seward has been invited to enter
displays in several exhibits. includ-
ing one held last fall under auspices
of the Department of Agriculture.
She also displayed her work during
the Folk Festival last spring and
later before the Woodbridge Garden