by Kara Sommer

The art of needlework, or stitchery, has been around a long time. Women sewed out of necessity. Without machines to do it for them or stores where they could buy ready made things, they stitched and sewed by hand the clothes, the quilts, and other textiles their families needed. If they wanted anything embellished, they would embroider it.

Needlework styles change, stitches come and go, disappear and reappear, but today we can enjoy stitching as much as our female forbears.

So get out your dusty hoops, needles, thread and fabric and start a new embroidery project. Try monogramming a pillowcase, dishtowels, or baby quilts. Make a decorative sampler to show off all of the different stitches you know or learn. Or go to www.desertsaintsmagazine.com to get a free pattern and instructions for the stitchery in the picture shown.

(LINK HERE TO PDF FILE)

There are many resources to help refresh your embroidery memory or learn new stitches. The Internet is full of sites that explain how to do new stitches. And if you know anyone who enjoys stitching, ask them to show you a trick or two. They would love to show off their stuff.