There are LOTS of sites of interest to needleworkers of all kinds. The focus of these sites ranges from general stitchery to technique-specific (i.e., cross stitch only, hardanger only, crewel only, etc.). Other sites feature stitch-alongs, resources and how-tos regarding stitches and materials, and extensive links to other great websites.

Each Friday we'll be posting a website-of-the-week for you to explore. I also invite you to check out the forum, where there'll be a category especially for favorite website leads from members. (I'm hoping we'll eventually have a blog roll or "favorite links" option on MyCraftivity. In the meantime, I'm opening a blog category for Favorite Needlework Websites where our Site-of-the-Week posts can be grouped for easy reference.)

For our first Site-of-the-Week post, I'm featuring an obvious choice: The Embroidery Guild of America's site. Besides promoting membership in the organization, the site offers some great features as well. These include free embroidery projects with illustrated instructions (for example, beginning stumpwork--I've never tried this technique, and this is a perfect opportunity for me to give it a try). There's also an online store with books, kits, and other fun merchandise, and online galleries of featured exhibits at The Embroidery Museum and Resource Center in Lousiville, Kentucky. Of course, if you're interested in joining EGA, all the information is there, including a catalog of correspondence courses for groups and individuals; a members-only section; and an extensive links page.

The Embroidery Guild of America: http://www.egausa.org