I've had an Amazon voucher hanging around my room since Christmas, and after seeing the ever-stylish Queen Michelle's review of Lovely Things to Make for Girls of Slender Means by Eithne Farry over on Kingdom Of Style, I decided it would be well spent on that and its sister book, Yeah, I Made it Myself: DIY Fashion for the Not Very Domestic Goddess, by the same author.
If I'm truly truly honest...I was slightly disappointed. The books themselves are beautifully designed and illustrated (my photos do them no justice, they really are lovely!), and very friendly and accessible, but I have only the most basic knowledge of seam-stressing and they were still just too simple - a lot of the projects are really quite obvious.
Don't get me wrong, there's a lot about both books I love; the background stories, the handy sewing hints and the way the books show the reader their way around a sewing machine:
...some beautiful projects to try:
...some charming accessories:
...and an amusing tutorial (from the author's experience in domestic science lessons) named 'How to make a draught excluder in the shape of a sausage dog in 17 weeks':
But there's also quite a bit of repetition between the two books:
...and some of the projects are so simple, they're on the silly side:
What do you need for this butterfly headband? A headband and some paper butterflies...oh...
A chip-fork necklace...? I don't care if Tatty Devine designed it, it's ridiculous (and you'd be forever sniffing vinegar!).
I am glad I bought them, but I could have just bought the second one ( Lovely Things to Make for Girls of Slender Means) and been happy! Have any of you bought any crafty / thrifty books recently? What have you thought?
Talking of simplicity, however, sometimes it's the best way! I recently bought these beautiful hair pins from eBay:
...and after having a little look at their construction, quickly rustled up another set from some wired roses I had hanging around:
I love them!
I'm generally too lazy (busy!?) to do my hair, and shoving it up in a bun with these pretty flower pins is my answer! What do you think?
3 comments:
Oh those hair pins are pretty! I love hair slides but they can be boring....maybe you could do a tutorial on customising them pretty please?
Oh my god those lily hairpins are FABULOUS. I adore lilies!! I want some! I love your roses too, gorgeous.
The books do look well illustrated.. maybe I need something simple like those, I still havn't worked out how to use my sewing machine that I BEGGED for :-( When I lost weight I started altering a lot of my clothes by hand and got quite into it, so I wanted a machine.. but I don't know how to even thread the bloody thing.
Sarah! I got your lovely package today!! My husband gave it to me and said, "What's in there? It smells awesome!" He loves handmade soap too. :) I just love love everything in the box and it was such a wonderful surprise to get it today. I'm moving soon and the cards will make for some much needed THANKS to some people who are helping us move everything we own to our new place. And that squishy heart is headed straight to my new sewing room. I love it! Thank you!!
Also, thanks for your honest book reviews. I am like you, I love the feel of the book in my hand and the lovely pictures win me over, but I almost never feel like the price you pay overall is worth it for the projects (most of which you can find online if you do some google searching through blogland.) With that being said, I still have a few in my collection that I gander through for inspiration and will probably collect more as time goes by. Can't help it!
P.S. LOVE the hairpins. Very cute.
Post a Comment