Page:Every Woman's Encyclopedia Volume 1.djvu/101

 NEEDLBWOflK A group of hangings and furniture decorated with embroidery by the Royal School of Art Needlework the more gentle and womanly we are, the more do we delight in dainty stitchery ; it is the ultimate expression of woman's taste and refinement, costing nothing but time, love, and thought. The writer recently examined some trousseau Hngerie, such a tiny assemblage of garments, made of fine but very inexpensive materials ; but the owner had embroidered "gentle- woman" all over them in the dainty knots and garlands, initials and borderings ; they could never have been mistaken for the possessions of anyone but a lady born and bred. A shiUingsworth of cottons and embroidery silks had done it all. but the result was fit for a queen. One of the most important factors in the revival of needlework in England was the founding of the Royal School of Art Needlework in 1872, under the presidency of her Royal Highness Princess Christian. Not only did the Princess