Before long, kids were tossing embroidery hoops to each other using wooden rods in a game of “graces,” or wobbling around the schoolyard on stilts.

I liked embroidering: the cloth stretched tight within my embroidery hoop while I filled in the stamped pattern with cross- stitches and lazy daisy flowers.

Stretch a larger piece over a blank canvas, cut a piece to fit in an embroidery hoop or place a small swatch in a frame.