INTRODUCTION.
I like the old-fashioned term "fancy-work," because it is such a true word. To many a woman whose life is, of necessity, spent chiefly in the pursuit of very prosaic and wearing duties, the painting of a tile, the working or knitting of a bit of lace, the copying of a flower in silk or worsted, is, indeed, fancy work. It is a little opening into the ideal world which does her untold good, and which serves to brighten and cheer long days of plain sewing, sweeping, dusting, etc.
In preparing this manual, my aim has been to give such a variety of directions and hints, that something may be found to suit every taste. And while I have endeavored, at the risk of being blamed for undue prolixity, to make my directions extremely plain and practical, I have tried to make them also suggestive. I hope this book may be to many a guide post pointing on to pleasant fields not described in it.
I have tried to make my directions thoroughly reliable, having, in most instances, verified them as I wrote. As far as possible, I have avoided technical terms, thinking simplicity desirable. I am particularly indebted to Mrs. Glaister's book on Art Embroidery, to the Art Interchange, and to Mr. C. G. Leland, of the Philadelphia Industrial
