Chicago housewares show?

A bellwether indicator of the nation's turnaround economic outlook for the new year, the 74th National Housewares Exposition in Chicago's McCormick Place was the biggestever national marketing showcase of the giant $35 billion-at-retail housewares business.

Coming at a time when everybody is watching to see which way the economy's 1981 pendulum swings, it boasted 1,850 exhibitors using a total of 4.414 individual exhibit booths in 1.2 million square feet of display space with more than 60,000 persons attending.

A greater number of energy-saving home-use products to enable homemakers to hold down fuel and other costs at a time of rising prices were shown. Improved new housewares, many of them with electronic or micro-computer elements to enable greater convenience for homemakers also were in evidence.

o Quartz radiant heaters showed adaptations and deluxe models. One manufacturer introduced a fan-forced unit with a built-in fan to help increase the range of the generated heat, as well as a model with a built-in humidifier. Another exhibitor showed a portable hot water electric baseboard heater, with a permanently sealed liquid medium wlthin the heat exchanger to utilize hot water heat.

o New electronic housewares include a hair dryer with an electronic sensor, an electronic automatic brew coffeemaker with a digital clock that can be set to begin brewing at any desired time, and a micro comPutercontrolled elechonic clocMimer that has three timing channels to regulate numerous kitchen tasks at the same time. o Other gourmet products include a lid, pot and pan hanger that allows the lid to be hung independently with the pot or pan to which it is a mate; a kansaroo knife set that stores seven steak'knives on the bottom and four kitchen knives on the top, and can nest together or be used separately; and a plastic pasta portion which measures on a sliding scale how much spaghetti or other pasta is needed for generous portions for up to five hungry persons. - A new twist on home and other security products that are of increasing importance in housewares; one manufacturer is introducing a portable luggage safe designed to protect valu-

One manufacturer is inftoducing an electric toaster that takes oversize slices. Another is showing an innovative food slicer plus cutter and shredder which offers three-in-one versatility to the busy cook.