Bookshelf:
Here’s one I made earlier...
 By
author
Yeah, I Made It Myself is a fun, unintimidating and inspirational tour
around the world of home-sewing, pompom making and generally messing around
with bits of material.
Thrift is the new black and Yeah, I Made It Myself is aimed at women who
are passionate about clothes and would love to create something of their
own but are unsure of how to get started.
Eithne isn’t a fashion designer or professional seamstress but can
cobble together a DIY summer wardrobe faster than you can say pearl-two.
The ideas in the book are accessible and adaptable — it’s
all about creating an individual look, experimenting with ideas and laughing
if it all goes a bit lopsided.
Eithne’s favourite summer dress for example was made using a curtain
from a holiday caravan in Margate— and it cost £2.50.
There are top tips about sourcing material, alternatives to hemming and
how to incorporate the repair of any mistakes into the design; and inspirational,
crafty tales from friends who’ve come up with their own easy-to-make
designs despite not having a fashion degree.
Yeah, I Made It Myself is hugely fun and the easy way to do what most
people have always wanted to do — have a go at making or customising
their own clothes.
Eithne Farry has had a patchwork-quilt career. A former backing-singer
(and tambourinist) with indie band Talulah Gosh she is now a freelance
reviewer, writer, literary editor and radio personality who makes most
of her own clothes (or at the very least, customises those she buys ready-made
in shops).
She says: “The basic premise of Yeah, I Made It Myself is if I
can do it anyone can. I was after all the girl who accidentally sewed
an apron to her school skirt in a domestic science lesson. But then one
evening I saw a crowd of dressed-up gig goers sauntering along in outfits
they’d imagined for themselves and not just bought on the High Street
and I knew that’s what I wanted to do too.
I bought some fabric and attempted to make a skirt. I didn’t know
how to make a waistband or put in a zip so I safety-pinned the long, flowing
skirt to the inside of my jumper and it fell off when someone stood on
the hem as I was getting off the bus. So I learned a few, very basic techniques
and made myself a whole new wardrobe.
Yeah! I Made It Myself — DIY Fashion For The Not Very Domestic
Goddess by Eithne Farry is published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson, £10.
Lucht Focail writers
The Fifth Province — An Anthology
Lucht Focail — People of the Word — are a group of writers
with Irish backgrounds and connections who meet fortnightly at the Irish
Centre in Leeds. Against them are seasoned, published writers and newcomers
who have been inspired to write. The only requirement for membership is
a love of Ireland and a desire to express it in words.
What is true for the writers of this anthology will be true for the readers
also — if you love Ireland or poetry you’ll love this anthology.
You too can be a citizen of the dream world — the fifth province
— and your citizenship can never be revoked.
Irish ambassador to Britain Dáithí Ó Ceallaigh, said
of The Fifth Province: “I would like to commend this fine anthology,
the diverse styles of the contributors and themes so evocative of the
Irish experience in Britain.”
Ben Coady
Ponderfoot’s Dollars
Jack Barley’s problems are many: The bank is about to foreclose
on his farm and the local community treat his family as pariahs. However
the threat that arrives in the shape of the notorious outlaw Bannion brothers
brings the biggest problem yet.
The Bannions are on their way to rob the local bank but tracked by a deadly
US marshal they hit upon a scheme to avoid danger to themselves. They
will get Jack to rob the bank in return for his wife and son’s safety.
Jack goes through with their demands but with the marshal getting suspicious
and the money gone missing can he save his family?
Brian o’driscoll
A Year In The Centre
This brutally-honest account of Brian O’Driscoll’s year with
Ireland and the Lions takes the reader inside the inner circle of rugby.
The book covers Ireland’s infamous victory over South Africa, his
secret meetings with Clive Woodward and his criticisms of the Lions tour.
O’Driscoll gives his honest views on the matches, the outcomes and
his feelings at the time.
From the highs of winning matches and getting the Lions captaincy to the
lows of losing the Six Nations to the all-time low of his career-threatening
shoulder injury at the start of his Lions’ campaign.
A Year In The Centre is a uniquely revealing glimpse into the life of
a rugby superstar meeting the demands of fame while trying to live a normal
26-year-old’s life.
Peter waller
Irish Flames
Ireland in 1920 — The Black and Tans have just arrived to crush
the growing Irish revolution and one boy watches as his country is torn
apart by flames of freedom, hate and love.
Irish Flames is a thriller based on the intimate memories of Peter Waller
— a boy growing up during those troubled times.
Stories of the brutality of The Black and Tans have been passed down through
generations of families but now the words of an eyewitness can show us
what it was really like.
Anybody with even a little Irish blood in his or her veins will find this
story a remarkable account of the end of British Rule. |
