4 comments about Just Pockets: Sewing Techniques and Design Ideas.

1. I keep this book always in reach when I sew pockets. It is my favorite reference book as it provides instructions on an amazingly large number of differently styled pockets:

   CHAPTER 1: PATCH POCKETS including unlined patch pockets, lined patch pockets, patch pockets in sheer fabrics, patch pockets with foldover flaps and designer patch pockets. CHAPTER 2: IN-SEAM POCKETS including side-seam pockets, slant-front pockets, waistband concealed in a slant-front pocket and designer in-seam pockets. CHAPTER 3: INSET POCKETS including basic inset pockets and variations of the basic inset pocket. CHAPTER 4: HIDDEN POCKETS including constructing a welt/flap, breast pocket, ticket pocket, coin pocket and zippered welt pocket.

   This book is very well written (as all the other books I've read from Taunton press). The instructions are clear, the use of diagrams and photos are very useful and I think this book will be of great help whether one is relatively new to sewing or a more advanced sewer. The ideas on each type of pocket at the end of each chapter are a challenge and an inspiration for any sewer looking out to create beautiful garments. I highly recommend it!




2. I was expecting some more creativity. Ms. Moyes delivers with instructions on lots of basic pocket styles, but I was hoping for some exotic couture stuff. She gives directions on how to make a difficult curved welt pocket, which I've seen in couture, and shaped facings covering a pocket. If you're looking for a gallery with a lot of neat-o ideas: it's not in this book. Otherwise, it gives straightforward advice on straightforward pockets.



3. This book offers a variety of ways to design pockets. Unlike like the traditional "patch pockets", you need this book especially if you desire new ideals!!



4. This a good book, I always had problems with sewing pockets to my garments. It has good pictures to show you how to place pockets on your garments. It helps you express your creativity with your garments. You can make all kinds of pockets. I use this book whenever I want to do something different with my garments. Very Good book indeed.

3 comments about What's In Style: Fireplaces (What's In Style).

1. The fireplace continues to be one of the most desired amenities for new home-owners and quite justifiably considered to enhance the value of any dwelling. In What's In Style: Fireplaces, Joanne Still surveys the latest designs for traditional wood-burning masonry fireplaces, as well as clean and elegant gas unit fireplaces. Readers will discover how to easily upgrade an old fireplace to make it an energy-efficient luxury item for any room. What's In Style: Fireplaces is enhanced with more than 150 color photographs; presents an extensive variety of mantels and accessories; offers expert advice for arranging furniture and accessories to enhance fireplace living; offers tips for creating attractive mantel displays and wall groups; poses great ideas for outdoor fireplaces, fire pits, chimineas, and patio heaters; covers the latest fireplace technology in terms of efficiency, fuel, and finishes; and has an informative guide to fireplace manufacturers and associations. If you are planning to incorporate or update a fireplace into your home, begin by reading Joanne Still's What's In Style: Fireplaces!



2. Not a complete work. Covers almost no construction details, and the styles shown are in no way a complete work up of mantels.



3. This book has great pictures and gave us many ideas. We were able to build the fireplace of our dreams by reading this book.

1 comments about Traditional Furniture Projects (Best of Fine Woodworking).

1. This book provides a list and description of 24 projects, compiled from various authors and craftsmen taken from the pages of Fine Woodworking over a period of several years. The "plans" lack any uniformity. Some have dimensions of projects listed, while others don't. Some have a parts list, while others list nothing. Do not expect exploded views and measurements, tool requirements, parts lists, assembly sequence, or anything that I would consider as actual "plans." This book is more a few photos and drawings with a narrative of how they constructed their items. The reader is expected to have a detailed working knowledge of furniture construction to understand the terms used and how to properly make certain cuts, a knowldge of joinery, etc. Again, this is not the novice woodworker.

3 comments about The Sidetracked Sisters' Happiness File.

1. I found this once in a library in Texas - a nice change from most organizational books. Goes month by month, and gives a different focus idea for each month. Good ideas for getting motivated, but not too much nuts and bolts - get those from other books. This is for motivation and direction.



2. The funniest book I have ever read!! Time well spent for any side-tracked person! Excellent! All of Pam Young and Peggy Jones books are wonderful!



3. This is an awesome book by the "Slob Sisters" Pam Young and Peggy Jones, authors of "Sidetracked Home Executives." This book outlines in great detail how to create a system of getting your life in order. Their first book, "Sidetracked Home Executives" is the nuts and bolts book about how to get your home cleaned and organized (for people who are not "born organized" and have a hard time with staying focused and who tend to be perfectionists and/or ADD). This book takes the same principals and applies it to the rest of your life - Love and Romance, Dreams, Prosperity, Health and Beauty, Parents and Kids, Freedom, Appreciation, Work, Laughter, Hospitality, Friendship, and Giving, and Faith (these are the final chapters of the book - taken on one month at a time). It gives great ideas for getting all those thoughts in your head down on to 3x5 cards and actually doing something about it. Using this system will help you grow more into the person that you want to be, instead of staying stagnant. The book is filled with real life examples (which I find so many self-help books are actually lacking) and lots and lots of humor. I currently have a library copy but will definitely be buying it to have on hand and actually try to start implementing slowly (baby steps!). A great addition for any Flybaby ([...]). I can't recommend this book enough!

2 comments about Specifications for Commercial Interiors.

1. This is a fabulous book and a must for any professional interior designer to have on their book shelf. The information it contains provides the designer with the basic information needed to evaluate the different types of building and furniture finishes. It covers all of the available types of finishes including floors, walls, and ceilings. The only concern that I have regarding this book is that it is from 1989 and a lot of changes have happened to the industry since that time. Hopefully, the author is in the process of revising it.



2. How wonderful to find a textbook that is not only factually detailed but so clearly written that ---believe it or not---I could hardly put it down. I do wish there were new supplements---it's a treasure. I teach at Pratt Institute's Interior Design Dept., and have assigned it as optional reading and am considering it as assigned reading. The line drawings and illustrations are useful and the sample documents and forms exhaustive.

2 comments about Death In Dining Room Pb (American Civilization).

1. This is an interesting book and an indepth history of household furnishings and the reason they were important to folks at the turn of this century.
   
   Chapter One is "First Impressions" which deals at length with entry foyer furniture and how it was used. Hall racks, card stands and hall chairs are all discussed in this chapter.
   
   Chapter Two is "Death in the dining room" - which gets it's name from the slain game often depicted on victorian dining room furniture - such as side boards and buffets.
   
   Chapter Three is "Words to Live by" - Samplers, wall hangings and other embroidered or metal stamped messages.
   
   Chapter Four is "When the Music Stops" which covers the societal importance of pump organs and how music was very important to a Victorian woman.
   
   Chapter Five is "Posture and Power" - a chapter about living room (parlor) furniture.
   
   There are a zillion interesting little factoids about life at the turn of this century. And it does give you a good feel for etiquette and expectations and the rules back then.
   
   And it answered questions for me - like "Why was parlor furniture so uncomfortable and rigid?" Because Victorians placed great emphasis on the importance of self-control as an invaluable discipline. Comfortable furniture suggested mental laziness. (My paraphrase)
   
   So it does give some insights into why things were the way they were. Lots of history there.
   
   But when I picked it up, I thought it was a book on old houses, not old furniture. I thought the title was an allusion to the fact that 100 years ago, funerals were held in the dining room, which is the reason many old house dining rooms have an entry door - so the visitors could graciously and easily leave the house after the viewing. It is not that kind of book. But I still enjoyed reading it.
   
   It is a large book with one or more pictures of antique furnishings on every page. A good resource for someone who wants to recreate a historic interior.
   
   Rose Thornton
   author, The Houses That Sears Built



2. As teenagers, a friend and I used to play a "game": We'd walk into different environments (e.g., restaurant, upscale men's store, hippie headshop, etc.) and pretend that we were standing inside someone's brain. Then we'd make cracks about the personality, motivations, priorities, etc. of the "person," based on our material surroundings. That's really what Kenneth Ames does here -- using each room in a Victorian house.

   A few years ago, when we moved into our own 1875 rowhouse, I began buying (indiscrimately) books on Victoriana. This one I picked up in shabby condition at a yard sale -- and for awhile, treated it accordingly. But in the time since, it has become one of the favored anchors of my collection. I find myself quoting it at odd moments for the simple reasons that (1) it offers lots of curious observations (e.g., that Victorian women "rocked" in rockers, while men "tilted" in chairs) that (2) can sometimes be seen as antecedents to behaviors today.

   The author variously presents himself as both thoughtful essayist, and avid cataloguer (as when listing all the embroidered expressions--like "Home Sweet Home," "Peace, Be Still"--of Victorian needlework). Economically written--with an eye for the telling detail--and reasonably illustrated with photographs of the period.

5 comments about Taming the Paper Tiger at Home.

1. I first borrowed this book from the library then went out an bought it for future reference. I was already using many of the processes explained but it has reinforced what I was doing and aided in clearing out the last of the paper mess in my life.



2. I would have rated this book higher if it had been the first book I read about organization. However, I purchased 5 at the same time while on a work space organizational kick. I read Organizing Your Workspace by Odette Pollar first as it states it's a quick read. Paper Tiger gave the same basic organization structure as Pollar's book, but with a more interesting and real tone than Pollar. However, Paper Tiger spent the second half of the book on the big picture of organizational organization, the home office, computer files, and long term maintenance of the filing system. Things I'm not interested in right now that I am in the overwhelming start of a new organizational process. This info may be helpful to me in a few months when I have established a routine and can concentrate on long term maintenance. I would have found more practical time saver tips and starting advise a better help.



3. I really appreciate any good book on organization. I would like to thank the author for her great advice on how to divide and conquer your "action" papers. This book is a nice complement to "File, Don't Pile" which gives much more detail on how to organize your other paper mess which is your reference files. I recommend both.



4. As a pastor, husband, father and caregiver to an ailing mother, I have more than my share of paperwork to manage at home. Hemphill has given me new hope that I can tame the paper tiger stalking on my increasingly cluttered desk! Her techniques are simple, easy to use and to understand. For anyone who is dealing with mountains of paperwork and is frustrated as a result, this title is a must-read!



5. I'd read Barbara Hemphill's earlier book and was glad to see she's expanded it into two books now with the focus on work and home. Being a chronic paper hoarder means rereading this book occasionally before the paper overwhelms me.
   She really understands what needs organizing and streamlined, from messages to catalogs, recipes, photos, bills, tax records and the endless stream of paper that flows through our lives. Setting up the systems to handle our troublesome paper clutter brings relief. Some of it you know already, and just need a reminder, but other tips give new ways to handle the growing piles of paper.
   Very practical.

5 comments about The Complete Book of Rhymes, Songs, Poems, Fingerplays: Over 700 Selections.

1. I don't understand how anyone could be disappointed in this book. When I'm starting a new theme I look it up and find dances, songs and fingerplays galore. I've seen this book elsewhere for three times the price. I was delighted with my purchase.



2. This book is so much fun! I am an infant teacher and I post songs and rhymes I use with the children each week. This book has all sorts of themes and subjects to work with and it is so much fun to learn new songs and rhymes. You can never know too much when you are a teacher.
   Thank you,
   Jill



3. This book transcribes the lyrics of 700 very common poems and songs. There is no other information, it is just a book of lyrics with a few words at the end indication the "theme." For example, the lyrics to "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" are in the book with a brief caption afterwards that reads: Theme: Counting.
   
   It comes with two CDs that contain 50 of the songs and poems which you probably already have if you've bought more than a handful of children's CDs for your kid.
   
   I would recommend checking it out from the library if you really must see it. On no planet is this worth more than $15 at most.



4. I love this book. So many rhymes all in one book. I know it will be a valuable resource for me.



5. This book is really great. It gave me a whole lot more songs and fingerplays to do with my kids.

No comments about Neutral Color Schemes: Neutral Palettes and Dramatic Accents for Inspirational Interiors.

No comments about Woodturning Chessmen (Darlow's Woodturning series).