craftgrrl | Leaning how to embroider?

Hi everyone!

I'm getting really jealous of seeing all these cute embroidered things on this community, and in 'Bust', and pretty much everywhere I look online. Especially since my mom recently framed a bunch of my grandmother's embroidery from the Great Depression, and that lady could sew like no other.

I want to start; where do I go? Any books? Would a class be better than self-teaching? I'm also itching to start a new hobby as I'm finishing graduate school this term, and am looking forward to a lot more free time!