Page:Embroidery and Fancy Work.djvu/291

Rh was worked. The sticks were indicated by embroidery. Between these main blocks was a ground-work of mosaic worked daintily with fancy stitches and a few wee bits of floral decoration. On a rather large space of the mosaic was worked the monogram of the owner, and below that, with a spray of forget-me-not intervening, the date when the work was done. The whole was edged with lace having the outlines of the pattern run with colored silk, and was handsomely lined. A good quality of silesia will do for a lining, though silk is much to be preferred. A thin layer of wadding should be placed between the lining and the outside and caught together at intervals, but anything like regular quilting should be avoided.

Another beautiful piece of crazy work was a band for a portière in which two or three colors were so arranged as to shade from dark at the ends to light in the centre. The ornamentation, in this case, was extremely rich, and gold thread, etc., was lavishly used.

This patchwork can also be made from nice woolen pieces worked with crewels, and the latest attempt at it which I have seen was a bedside rug, made of odd bits of Brussels carpet, arranged smoothly on a strong foundation of hemp carpeting or ticking, and the seams covered with worsted braid worked with crewels and silks. This struck me as a peculiarly happy way of disposing of those bits of carpeting which are so apt to tantalize the housekeeper in her spring cleaning. I dare say, too, a small sum would purchase a sufficient variety of remnants to make several large and handsome to say nothing of durable rugs.

A few of the old homespun sheets of our grandmothers days, still remain as treasures in some families. A good use to put them to is to convert them into summer counterpanes, decorating them either with crewel work, or with floral designs in turkey red or ingrain blue calico