Cabinetry: Since you enjoy kits, you could always kit-bash the Chrysnbon Hoosier cabinet. That's how I did cabinets for my townhouse. Just assembled the top section with the faux glass doors, using one shelf in the enclosed section (bottom of section gave the enclosure two shelves) and using the other shelf to finish off the side brackets where the top of the bottom cabinet would be connected if you followed the directions. This gave me an open shelf underneath the cupboard. Since they're in a country-style modern kitchen, that shelf was handy for cookbooks, a radio, spice jars, etc. I used two cabinet tops, which fit along one wall of the kitchen, and then used the bottoms for kitchen islands in other projects. If you're really new, you probably missed last week's discussion on Chrysnbon, but don't be put off by the plastic. The kits make up really nicely with a good paint or stain job. Also, you might just want to use a Hoosier or two instead of installed cabinetry. One of my friends once owned a farm in Kentucky with a very old, unoccupied house (pre- Civil War) she camped out in occasionally. It had absolutely no cabinetry other than the framing around the sink (which pumped well water). I asked her whether someone had stripped it, and she said that she'd been curious too, did some research, and discovered that until the turn of the century few kitchens had any built-ins. That's why Hoosiers and china closets were so popular. Same thing in a house one of my college professors owned -- it had lower cabinets around the sink (nicely marble-topped, too) but the storage was open shelving in a small pantry between the kitchen and dining room.

Loretta Sniarowski

Cabinetry: An exception to the lack of built-in cabinets in late Victorian kitchens is in the grand house. There the butler's pantry and warming or serving kitchen often had wall-hung glass-doored cabinets for china and glass storage, drawers for dishtowels, cutlery, etc., and cabinets below a wooden counter for large serving pieces. A good source for accurate details is William Seale's book "Restoring the Historic House Interior." Another is the same author's "The Tasteful Interlude: American Interiors through the Camera's Eye, 1860-1917." Seale is the White House Historian. Both of these books are out of print, but can probably be found through Alibris, ABEbooks, etc., and certainly through interlibrary loan. Your public library' s architecture, interior design and decorative arts sections should provide you with a wealth of material. Also, Dover Publications has reprinted many works on these subjects that are available through book stores and their on-line catalogue. I have been involved with historic houses for many years as a house museum curator, director and now volunteer, so know the importance of research, research, research if you want an accurate setting. Watching "costume dramas" (unless by BBC) doesn't cut it and isn't necessary -- except for fun - -- when there is so much documentary material available.

Margaret in Texas

Fake Stairwell: Yes, you can put a hint of a stairway against the back wall. You can also save some valuable space 'upstairs' by putting a false wall maybe two inches from the back of the house, with an open door showing a room beyond. Perhaps put just the edge of the toilet bowl or a chair back sticking out into the doorway, so it looks as if there's more back there. This is a good way to use damaged pieces - remove the chair seat, and just glue the back so it sticks out a half inch or so. Cut a toilet shape from 1/4 inch balsa and sand it to round the edges, then paint with Ceram-Coat to make it shiny. A plain closed door glued to the back wall can also give an illusion of rooms beyond, and not use even the two inches of floor space, but that trick works best if you've "set the stage" with other "open" rooms elsewhere.

Dani

USING SEARCH ENGINES: I thought this might be of help to some people--search engines are intimidating sometimes, but I can usually find what I want, so here goes. First, think about what you're looking for. Suppose you want information on 15th century women's clothing.

1. Figure out the most important parts of your search. In this case, "15th Century" and "women's clothing" are basic things you're looking for. 2. Open your web browser and go to the search engine of your choice. I really like Yahoo (it's powered by Google) but other helpful sites are: Google, Northernlight.com, Altavista.com, and Lycos.com. 3. Once you open the search engine, find the box where you can type in your search. Type in the key words you're looking for. ex. 15th Century women's clothing OR "15th Century" "women's clothing" The second example groups the words together in phrases. The first search will return any sites that have "15th" OR "Century" or "Women's" OR "clothing." The second search will only return sites that have "15th Century" (both words together) and "women's clothing" (both words together). This way, you won't get any sites like "15TH place in running: Joe Shmoe" or "man of the CENTURY." 4. Click on the "Search" button. A list of sites should come up. Hopefully, the first few sites will be the most relevant. Skim through the first page or two of sites to see if any of them have the information you want. 5. WHAT IF THERE ARE TOO MANY SITES LISTED? This means your search isn't specific enough. Try grouping words together (as in #3, above) to narrow down the search. For example, a search like: Alice Zinn will generate a list of sites, some of which have to do with Alice Zinn. However, you will also get sites about Alice Walker and/or Howard Zinn. So, to make sure you get the sites you want right away, you can enter: "Alice Zinn" and only sites that have to do with Alice Zinn will pop up. 6. Another way to narrow your search: Add more terms to your search. Suppose you do a search for "15th century women's clothing" and you get 1750 sites. You probably don't want to look through all of them, so you can add more words to make the search more specific. If you're interested in 15th century FRENCH women's clothing, enter the search 15th century french women's clothing and there are only 1450 sites to look at. Still too many? Try 15th century french peasant women's clothing and you're down to 250. 7. The most relevant sites are usually first! But not always. So skim through a page or two of sites, looking at the site descriptions and checking only the sites that sound like they have the info you want. I hope this helps a little! I do hate to think of people waiting days to have an answer to a research question when they would have the information in just a few minutes. (I myself am quite impatient). I hope this doesn't strike anyone as "talking down," I just wanted to make sure the instructions were absolutely clear. Generally it seems that the simpler the instructions, the clearer they are. So please don't think I'm underestimating your intelligence!! :)

Celeste in Boston

Using Search Engines: For those who haven't used a search engine before, I would suggest going to http://www.altavista.com A gold box will appear near the top of the window. In the upper right part of the box will be the word "help". Click on it. It will give you a tutorial on using a search engine. I want to warn anyone new to this, that it may become an obsession with you. Remember, if all else fails, you always have Cntl/Alt/Del or the reset button on your computer. A survey that was done about 2 years ago showed that only 40% of the total web sites appeared on search engines. No one search engine had more than 17% of the sites indexed on it. So, obviously, use as many search engines as you can find. There are hundreds of them. When looking for something, I usually go through the first 100 sites listed. For some reason, the best results are often not in the first few sites. The sites listed first are those that have taken the time and effort to make sure they are listed first (there are various services that will help you modify your pages so they receive a higher listing) which doesn't mean they have necessarily placed their time and effort into providing what you are looking for. Some search engines have also started selling positioning.

Tom Berkner

Needlepoint: The way you say you like is called half cross stitch; the way you say leans a lot is called Continental stitch. Neither is the preferred method ...for real quality mini rugs, let me suggest Basketweave stitch and also working on a frame. I've done quite a few dh rugs and chair seats that way, as have customers. Try stitching on silk gauze with stranded silk thread and you'll really impress yourself! It's possible to learn Basketweave from a book, but most find it easier to be shown. I offer these suggestions not to be a "know it all" but more as a "seen it all"....thirty years in retail and wholesale needlepoint and teaching too. I've often been "embarrassed" at mini shows to see the thick and crooked rugs displayed with the finest of miniature furniture!

Bobbie Schoonmaker

Silk Ribbon: To readers looking for 2mm and 4mm silk ribbon - it's available from Etcetera, Etc. in 3 yd. pakgs. I think - email: rwk@rt66.com And House of Caron has it on reels if you need more, email: houseofcaron@houseofcaron.com

Paulette Stinson in Indiana

Silk Ribbon: I mainly use it in dressing dolls and decorating miniature doll costumes. But any where you could use ribbon, you can use this: for curtain tie-backs, bows on gifts, bridal decorations and on bouquets. It glues beautifully (polyester and other synthetic ribbons don't glue as well) so you can make tiny silk roses and flowers. Tie a bow around a tiny teddy bear's neck. I've seen it used to wrap around a lampshade, making a lovely vertical design. Or use it to wrap around a parasol's handle. You can cover all kinds of flaws with it. It's definitely handy to have around.

Paulette in Indiana

ARTS & CRAFTS NEEDLEWORK: If you are looking for Arts & Crafts (oh, how I love that style!) needlework kits or patterns have a look at the HiJinx site http://www.hijinx.co.nz . We have many styles of carpet and cushion kits. I think you might like "Phoebe" and the matching cushions.

Elli

Arts & Crafts Needlework: you may want to contact Dolls House World re their back issues, many of which are still available. Not too long ago (1999? 2000?), they had a series on Charles Rennie MacIntosh that included a number of needlework patterns featuring his famous rose motif. Also, Venus Dodge's Dolls House Needlework book has some Arts & Crafts embroidery patterns among a ton of other useful projects.

Loretta Sniarowski