The Rural Voice, 1980-01, Page 11was just like coloring with a big pen or
pencil or marker only with liquid and then
putting various designs like flowers, birds
or any other design on quilt patches, table
cloths and other things.
You can get transfers and put them on
cloth ,or she has used a picture out of a
coloring book as one of her designs.
Although she spends about three hours
morning and night in the barn, Mrs.
Siertsema says she still finds time for her
hobby because, "you can always sit down
and paint when the television is on."
Things made with liquid embroidery
make nice Christmas gifts, Mrs. Siertsema
says.
She now has more time for her hobby
because the children are a little older and
able to help out more, but if they have to be
away for hockey or figure skating practise
then she goes out to the barn for them.
A GARDEN
She also said that in the winter months
she has a little more time, because in the
summer, there's always a large garden to
look after.
Mrs. Dorothy Coultes of R.R.5, Brussels
has a lot of ways to beat boredom in winter.
For one thing, she acts as a volunteer at the
Silver Circle Nursery School in Wingham
one or two days a week, something she has
just been doing since September. •
She has been an active participant in the
Belgrave Women's Institute for eight or
nine years and was recently appointed a
member of the Belgrave Community
Centre Board. And she has found time
between children to lead 12 4-H clubs.
"I do volunteer work in the community
and basically that's it except for a few
hobbies," she said.
Those hobbies include knitting and
macrame but even with all these things on
the go, she still finds time to enjoy the
winter sport of curling.
Mrs. Coultes lives on a beef farm where
she also manages to find time to do the
books one day a month.
Surveying
makes you
think
Brenda Burns, R.R.4, Paisley has been
involved in doing survey work for the last
two years. She interviews for gine Gallup
Poll, a survey company sponsored by toe
national newspaper association.
When she is working on a national poll,
she has three days to complete 10
interviews with farmers or people in towns
with less than 1,000 population to find out
what they think on different issues,
political economic, educational or their
feelings on different products.
The Ontario poll is carried out every few
months and is naturally on issues
pertaining to the government on the
provincial level, as well as other topics
such as physical fitness. She is assigned to
work in a definite area.
Brenda has just completed a farm survey
in the Wingham area. This survey
gathered information on farming opera-
tions, whether the farmer practised
minimum tillage methods, costs of
machinery and chemicals and farmers'
immediate plans for changes in their
operation.
Brenda has also just completed a
pre-test with the R.D.O.P., a survey to find
out the needs of the rural population over
sixty years of age.
"It's how people think about different
things," she said, "deeper than just the
surface stuff".
She was required to do a two and a half
day training session to prepare herself.
Brenda, who lives on a farm with her
husband Peter and son Gordy, is very
happy working with and talking to people.
She feels it really broadens her outlook on
life.
"Talking and discussing," she said, "I
could do that the rest of my lifel It's very
exhausting, I have to think really hard, but
the people are fantastic."
You could always
do woodworking
BY GISELE IRELAND
Spurred on by various articles I had
read on how many women were entering
fields of endeavour previously only
occupied by men I enrolled in a
Woodworking class at night school. What I
didn't know about carpentry could fill a
book. But, my son wanted a toy barn that
daddy hadn't found time to build and I
wanted a painting framed in a unique
fashion. The painting called for something
old so I decided on a barn board frame.
When my father offered me boards from an
old barn he didn't realize I would
eventually need the whole side.
The first night we got familiarization
with various tools,We were to plane a piece
of wood into a 2x2 piece. All I made was a
toothpick for the Jolly Green Giant because
I got so carried away making those nice
wood curls. I was ankle deep in them. I also
got the distinct impression of suppressed
mirth from the majority of class mates.
There were about a dozen men, all who
knew what they were doing and about six
women, three of which including me knew
very little.
By the second class I was dragging in
barn boards and by the end of the night
was carrying home several hunks of board,
all cut on the mitre either all the same way
or the wrong length. I wasn't bragging
when I got home. I hid them before I got in
the house. Next time back to the barn for
more boards and so forth until I had four
cut the way I wanted them. By then it was a
joke at home as to when I was getting more
boards. I found that wood was not like
material. You can't stretch it a Vs of an inch
here or there. The cut is permanent.
And I looked so professional. Shavings in
my hair, a huge tape rule in the pocket of
my husband's flannel work shirt which I
wore over my clothes. The rule was so
heavy it made me walk lopsided all night. I
knew the rule was a source of amusement
when guys wanted to borrow it just to see
me walk straight. I could pull the tape out
all right but had a devil of a time getting it
all stuffed back in.
When the instructor informed me 1
needed corrugated metal fasteners to put
the frame together I went to the building
supply store the next day to get some and
by then had forgotten the technical name
for them and had the assistant with tears in
her eyes when I asked for squiggly nails for
a frame. I really got huffy when he yelled it
over the store asking the other guy if he
had ever heard of them. After that
embarrassing episode I was hot enough to
weld the frame together with my temper
and forget the nails. All in all, my
husband was surprised when I brought the
frame home. He said it was good
considering I made it. He went on bread
and water for three days after_ that.
My son really appreciated the barn I
finally finished. It was supposed to be a hip
roof conventional with little hinged doors
and nice windows but what I finally
achieved was a cross between an open
sided driving shed and a Karn. 1 paid the
high school twenty five dollars actually to
entertain the class with my antics and often
wondered what kind of reaction I would get
from the men if I burst into tears when they
sniggered. I restrained myself admirably.
The course was finished and so was I. I
still look at a hammer and nails with some
misgivings. I certainly wasn't bored that
winter and was a topic of amusing
conversation among the men of the
community and am seriously thinking of
taking welding. Maybe they wouldn't find
me so funny with a torch in my hand.
THE RURAL VOICE/JANUARY 1980 PG. 9