Come embroider alongside admired fabric designer Anna Maria Horner Admired for her luminous palette and innovative patterns, Anna Maria's brand means color and inspiration in the form of fabric, sewing patterns, needlework patterns, books, and friendly instruction. Now, her legion of fans will thrill to the publication of a brand-new addition to her growing library. Anna Maria's Needleworks Notebook gives readers 24 original motifs in a variety of embroidery types, from gridwork to crewel and fine detailed handwork. Readers will long to make projects to embellish their homes and wardrobes. Anna Maria presents each motif in a warm personal notebook-style with inspiration adn advice to turn each motif into a treasured finished piece Offers practical instruction in gridwork, traditional embroidery and crewel, and precise instruction to complete fine detail work Vivid full-color photographs invite you into the creative process Whether you're a beginner or a veteran, the 24 needlework motifs in this beautiful book will transform your home and wardrobe into a collection of unique treasures.

“Fascinating . . . What is remarkable about this book is that a history of knitting can function so well as a survey of the changes in women’s rolse over time.”—The New York Times Book Review An historian and lifelong knitter, Anne Macdonald expertly guides readers on a revealing tour of the history of knitting in America. In No Idle Hands, Macdonald considers how the necessity—and the pleasure—of knitting has shaped women’s lives. Here is the Colonial woman for whom idleness was a sin, and her Victorian counterpart, who enjoyed the pleasure of knitting while visiting with friends; the war wife eager to provide her man with warmth and comfort, and the modern woman busy creating fashionable handknits for herself and her family. Macdonald examines each phase of American history and gives us a clear and compelling look at life, then and now. And through it all, we see how knitting has played an important part in the way society has viewed women—and how women have viewed themselves. Assembled from articles in magazines, knitting brochures, newspaper clippings and other primary sources, and featuring reproductions of advertisements, illustrations, and photographs from each period, No Idle Hands capture the texture of women’s domestic lives throughout history with great wit and insight. “Colorful and revealing . . . vivid . . . This book will intrigue needlewomen and students of domestic history alike.”—The Washington Post Book World