Needlepoint Carpet Kit: You can find kits and/or charts for my needlepoint carpets and rugs on my web site http://www.micro-stitchery.com

You can also find kits and charts for Christmas stockings, doorstops, footstools, pillows, purses and other things too.   I also have silk gauze and needles on my Supplies page, if you prefer.

Bobbie Schoonmaker, IGMA Fellow

Knitting site:  Althea Merback. She wrote me about her knitting and gave me the URL of her website. I visited her site and I really loved what I saw. Privately she sent me some pics of the newest knitting patterns and they are really wonderful. This is the URL: http://www.coolmini.com/althea/bugknits.htm

Annelies de Kort from The Netherlands

Leather for doll's shoes: you can get leather” splits" which are pieces of very thin leather in different colors, from Etcetera, Etc. But these pieces don't have a polished or finished side; both sides are like suede. Probably you'll have to hit your local flea markets and antique shops looking for old kid leather gloves. One pair will make almost endless amounts of miniature shoes, and you can usually get them for $10. or less. Whatever color you get can be painted the color you want, after the shoe is finished. (Enamel paint will make it look like patent leather) You can use thicker leather after shaving or scraping a layer of the underside away.

Paulette in IN

School scene:   I made a 4-room (modern) school roombox and it was a lot of fun! I got a lot of ideas from the school where I work in the library.   The four rooms are: a classroom, a library, a music room and a teachers' lounge. Most teachers and school offices get tons of catalogs for educational materials - a treasure trove of cut-outs, scannables and inspiration.   Take a look in my Epson photo site in the Modern School album. http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumList?u=1664953

Chris in Minnesota

Leather for doll shoes; may I suggest Home Sew.  They have a bag of leather scraps (1/2  lb for $4.75.) The bag I just ordered was full of butter soft leather mostly black but also some lovely red.  I could shoe a caterpillar if I wished. The URL is   http://www.homesew.com/   I do not work for this company but I've done business with them for a number of years and have always been pleased.

Patsy

Silk Gauze in Quantity: For all of you needle pointers out there: In response to requests for larger pieces of 100% imported silk gauze, I not only am now offering 1/8, 1/4, 1/2 and 1 yard cuts but also have discounted these quantities from 15% to 30% depending on the yardage ordered.  The gauze comes in counts of 40, 48, 54 and 60 and is 40" wide. These quantity orders   are not available through the shopping cart on my web site so you have to e-mail me directly at microstitch@aol.com

Bobbie Schoonmaker, IGMA Fellow

Rosewood Fimo - I don't remember who wanted the rosewood fimo - or if you found any - but here is the "recipe" -- 2 parts ochre, 1 part magenta, 1/2 part champagne and 1/4 part grey.   The makers of Fimo put out a "blending table" that gives you recipes for their discontinued colors (along with recipes for other colors) - you should be able to get one from a retailer who sells fimo - if not, there is polymerclayexpress.com - when you order from her if you ask, she will send you a free chart.  There may be other places online that have the whole color chart, probably a search might yield results.

Sue in NC

England - Cold Porcelain: I have never had much luck with home recipes for cold porcelain - but here is the URL for a place in York that you can purchase some already made - doesn't seem to be too badly priced and they're fantastic people to work with - I've ordered lots of stuff from them - they have great tools and all sorts of stuff for working with cold porcelain (and sugar paste) http://www.celcrafts.co.uk/cgi-bin/miva?cel/merchant.mv+Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=1&Category_Code=CP

Sue in NC

Dollhouse/Miniatures Shows: If you subscribe to any of the mini magazines there are show listings in the back.   If you don't subscribe,  Dollhouse Miniatures magazine has a list on their website at http://www.dhminiatures.com/Meetings/Meetings.html SS has a list of various resources on their website http://www.miniature.net/smallstuff/links10.htm  and  there is also a show listing on the NAME website http://www.miniatures.org/calendar.shtml

Carol, S P Miniatures

Reflector Ovens: the directions for reflector ovens are still in both the Boy and Girl Scout Handbooks. Look in the library or contact a scout.

Peggy in Madison

Mini glassware: http://www.glasscraftuk.com is worth a visit if you are looking for glassware. Another name from U.K. shows is The Glassman but I haven't checked if he has got a site - could always try a "search".

Brian Cass

Wind chimes - I remember seeing some miniature wind chimes in our Ben Franklin store - I believe the longest chime was no more than an inch - they were made of metal, and they were in the "leather crafts" aisle - I assume they were to be used for making wind chime earrings, they were pretty small - I believe I even bought some (who KNOWS where they might be though....) they were near the dream catchers and feathers.

Sue in NC

Ichabod & Headless Horseman: I just had to let my other Halloween buddies know about the newest thing I've found. I stumbled upon these new action figures taken from the movie, The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow. I've long been a fan of the old story..I think the new movie is actually a little gruesome for my tastes....but I just had to tell you....the action figure for both Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman are absolutely wonderful. They are very close to 1:12th scale if not dead on. They are made by McFarlane Toys and I just can't describe the detail of these figures. Ichabod even comes with a satchel full of medicine bottles and all kinds of neat little gadgets that he uses to track the horseman. Being the Halloween fan that I am..I had to have these for my Haunted Beacon Hill Dollhouse. The Horseman comes either by himself or in a deluxe set with the horse and shriveled spooky tree. Again, I thought the horseman by himself was a bit gruesome.. he comes with severed heads to hold.....ewwwww! Anyway, I also got oneof the old crone/witch from the movie...whew is she ever ugly! I picked up an extra one of her because they were selling out of them before my very eyes. I purchased mine from http://hobbyxpress.com/ They have pictures on their site of these action figures. This is the answer to inexpensive, realistic looking figures/monsters, etc. for your scenes. Now that I've discovered how detailed and wonderfully articulate they are....I'm hooked! I've asked for the Horseman deluxe set for my birthday!!!!!!!! Although, I think this toy manufacturer most likely deals mostly with sci-fi types of action figures....I noticed they also had other scale action figures..like Austin Powers, the Beatles..etc. I say they are close to scale because the figures are on average about 6 1/2 inches tall. For the men figures, that's a great height..it tends to make the women look a little "Amazon" looking. I think the Sleepy Hollow Crone is only about 5 1/2 inches tall though. She's extremely spooky looking and I don't like the real gruesome stuff..but she comes with neat little mini accessories too...so I figure I can always do a head transplant on her with a more friendly Halloween look.Well, anyway....I was just so fascinated with these and the detail of them....I had to share it. Ichabod could actually be used in another scene from the Victorian era as he is quite handsome and even looks like Johnny Dep who played the role in the movie. As I said.....these are great figures to use on a limited budget. I for one am always glad to find things like that. Of course I prefer a miniature dressed doll......but my wallet won't let me have everything on my wish list!

Besides, I saw an article once in a mini magazine that actually showed you how to "bash" a plastic figurine to make it appear more realistic. You sure wouldn't have to do much to these to make them look realistic...they are already pretty amazing looking! Well, I'll go for now....it's not too early to start planning for this year's haunts!!!

Donna Baird (Scream Queen of Indiana)

Lundby Houses: Here is a site for the LUNDBY houses: http://www.nancysdollhouses.com/products6.htm

Dollladie

Sink: Just saw one in an old NN that appeared to be a Sucrets box (maybe) with a snap grommet for the drain hole. looked very good.

Leslie

Iowa Stores: One is in Bettendorf itself and the other is in Waterloo. They both have ads in the May issue of DM. One on page 9 and the other on page 67. Chelsea Lane House of Miniatures, located in Toad's Treasures Antique Mall by the Holiday Inn Convention Center, downtown. 622 Commercial. Phone: 319-234-3235 (I have never been to this store). The Cranny 2120 E. 11th. St. Davenport Ph: 319-324-3785 (I was in this one quite a few years ago and it was nice then) Davenport and Bettendorf are more or less the same place. I guess Bettendorf would be considered a suburb.

Jeni

Prairie Wagon: My husband used to work at a place called Homestead National Monument, which is dedicated to people who settled the West under the Homestead Act of 1863. The Homestead Act was in 1863, but not much land was settled until after the Civil War was over in 1865. By the early 1870s most of the good land was taken, so that was the period of heaviest migration, although people used covered wagons for travel until the turn of the century. If you like the Danish immigrant idea, the 1860s-1880s would be the period most immigrants traveled. Other settlers had started before that, though, but the land was free after the Homestead Act. Anyway, I asked him and he rattled these things off the top of his head.

Farmers crossed the prairie in canvas covered farm wagons called Prairie Schooners. These were smaller than Conestogas (freight wagons) so there wasn't room for much. In general you would take only necessities that you would need along the way or could not find once you got to where you were going. Flour barrel, water barrel, basic cooking gear, dried food such as jerky, bacon, salt pork (Preserved meats), hardtack some livestock feed, tools for farming and cabin building, but real basic like shovel, ax, saw. Rifle and or shotgun,Bible, quilt, blankets, guide book if your were smart, patent medicines, rope. Sometimes there would be "luxuries" like a trunk full of clothes, and possibly but not likely a sewing machine, heirlooms, maybe a few pieces of furniture but these things were often dumped along the way, especially when they reached the Rocky Mountains. Musical instruments were popular, but it would be realistic to have smaller, lighter instruments like a fiddle or accordion. Some tried to bring organs or harpsichords, but as I mentioned few large heavy items made it past the mountains unless they were necessities. A grease bucket and water bucket may be hanging underneath the wagon. Mostly simple and basic items, because these were poor people. Many immigrants traveled along the trails, so it would be quite proper to make this a Danish immigrant family from the 1840s to 1880s. One good book you can use as a reference is the Prairie Traveler by Randolph Marcy. This was the guidebook many immigrants used and contains a list of suggested supplies. It was the best. It's available in reprint and you can order it from Amazon.com for less than $9.00. Everett Dick's Conquering the Great American Desert would also be a good reference. Amazon.com lists this at $10.95.

Jeri Moriarty

transfer-medium: Transfer Medium is available from the Craft Club Catalogue. http://www.craft-club.com

Chrissie

Anne of Green Gables: Here is the official site, which shows a floor plan of the house: http://www.gov.pe.ca/greengables/index.php3

Alice Zinn- Pt. St. Lucie-FL

Sunbonnet Pattern: There is a pattern for a sunbonnet in DHM, May, 1998.

Maureen in Hemel, UK.