Embroidery
        Embroidery is a beautiful art form.  From the earlist times man has sought to embelish his garmets.  During the Middle Ages embroidery moved from simple embelishments to clothing to other works.  Tapestries were then created usually historical scenes to hang in the homes of the wealthy.  There were also biblical and stories of the saints for Chruch buildings.  During the Renaissance embroidery began to change and become more intricate in stictches and designs. 

         There are many different types of embroidery.  There is Shadow work  and Crewel.  Assisiwork is also a kind of embroidery.  Along with Spanishwork, or blackwork, and Whitework.  Japanese and Chinese embroidery are also different styles.  There is also silk ribbon embroidery which is a mainly Victorian art form and very beautiful.  Each style has not only a specific look but a set of themes that are common to go along with it.  I reccomend you try as many different styles as possible so you find out what you are good at and what appeals most of to you.  I also think it is a good idea for young girls to learn this art, it teaches patience, prescion, and gives them a beautiful skill all through their life not to mention beautiful heirlooms.
        To do an embroidery project it's not terribly difficult.  To start you will need an idea.  It's always good to have a plan, so that you know what you are doing.  Nature is a good inspiration as well as Medieval manuscripts.  For beginners ivy and simple flower desgins are nice.  Also, there are embroidery patterns you can buy at craft stores.  A popular beginners project aside from a sampler is a set of tea towls.  Aside from an idea there are some tools that are needed.  A simple ring hoop is a common and wonderful tool.  I prefer the metal ones but the wood are okay too, they tend to slip though.  A disadvantage of the metal ones however is that they rust, and will leave rust marks on your fabrics if you are not careful.  Frames and hoops are used to ensure consistency in stitches and reduce chances of puckering.  If you are a beginner a hoop is a good idea because bad habits are hard to break later in your stitching career.  Square frames are wonderful for projects on fabrics prone to slipping and are highly reccodmended.  Needles are also a concern.  Size and lenght have different control factors and the ones you chose should be related to the thread and technique you have chosen to work in.  After you have chosen all this it is necessarry to chose a fabric.  Next chose your colour scheme.  It is also important to buy all the thread of a certain colour you will need at once, and write the colour number down, once you have started if you run out of a certain colour it can be difficult to get the match colour without the number, of coures, it's best just to ensure you don't run out.  Once you have all this you will have to transfer your pattern to the fabric on which you are going to work.  If you are talented, you may draw your pattern directly onto it.  If you want you can use carbon paper, or dressmaker's transfer paper and trace the pattern.  Of course, if you are using store bought patterns they are probably transferable by ironing.  Now it is only a matter of stitching your project.  When it's all finished wash or dry clean your poject to set the colours and remove any remaining visiable guidemarks.