Page:Embroidery and Fancy Work.djvu/23

Rh with pillowed head, and closed eyes, with insects, beetles, moths, etc., whirling in the air. On the flap, outline in Roman letters, or in simple round text, "To sleep, perchance to dream." Finish with a bow of ribbon. Or the case, which is made in the shape of a large envelope, might be powdered with poppies and their leaves.

A bed-spread may be made of the same material (the cream color being preferable), decorated with an outline design of poppies powdered over the material, flowers, seed vessels and foliage all being used and connected together by conventional or flowing stem work. Indian red is a good color in which to work this. The Egyptian water lily or lotos is also emblematical of sleep, and may be used in the same way. Dull blues would be appropriate for this design. Pillow shams should be made to match. Should this seem too great an undertaking, the decoration of the spread could be limited to a diagonal band of proper width, defined by rows of chain or outline stitch, the space within the band being powdered as described, or the flowers and foliage could be formed into a continuous design, more or less conventional.

Here is an idea for another counterpane, say for a crib. Divide the linen into squares with some pretty fancy stitch, working in the centre of each square a flower, or one of the many appropriate pictures to be found in the Kate Greenaway books or in Walter Crane's "Baby Opera." You need not reproduce every line; only those that are necessary to tell the story completely.

A screen is often a useful piece of furniture. Here is a description of a simple one, suitable for a bedroom or nursery. The frame should be a firm one, and can be made by any carpenter of pine wood. It can be either ebonized by staining it with a solution of logwood, and afterwards applying vinegar in which iron has been