NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Revelations about a seemingly ordinary mother force her adult children to reexamine their lives in this “absorbing novel about family secrets” (The Dallas Morning News). Laura Bartone anticipates her annual family reunion in Minnesota with a mixture of excitement and wariness. Yet this year’s gathering will prove to be much more trying than either she or her siblings imagined. As soon as she arrives, Laura realizes that something is not right with her sister. Forever wrapped up in events of long ago, Caroline is the family’s restless black sheep. When Caroline confronts Laura and their brother, Steve, with devastating allegations about their mother, the three have a difficult time reconciling their varying experiences in the same house. But a sudden misfortune will lead them all to face the past, their own culpability, and their common need for love and forgiveness. Readers have come to love Elizabeth Berg for the “lucent beauty of [her] prose, the verity of her insights, and the tenderness of her regard for her fellow human” (Booklist). In The Art of Mending, her most profound and emotionally satisfying novel to date, she confronts some of the deepest mysteries of life, as she explores how even the largest sins can be forgiven by the smallest gestures, and how grace can come to many through the trials of one. BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Elizabeth Berg's Once Upon a Time, There Was You.

In The Art of Repair, Molly explores the humble origins of repair and how the act of mending a cherished item carefully by hand offers not just a practical solution but nourishment for the soul. Using her own beautiful illustrations, she guides us through the basics of the craft -- from piecing and patching to the ancient Japanese art of Sashiko. This book will stay with you long after you put down your needle and thread.

Fall in love with boro & sashiko stitching 30+ authentic stitch patterns, 9 projects. Combine hand stitches to create dramatic, unique designs and learn to embrace imperfection, admiring the utilitarian beauty of every stitch. “Shibaguyz” Shannon and Jason Mullett-Bowlsby invite you to try your hand at boro, the traditional Japanese art of mending and quilting, and more than 30 authentic sashiko designs. Stitching lessons are true to tradition, inspired by historical works by Japanese masters. This guide in sashiko and boro includes patterns, stitch how-tos, and needle-threading and knotting tips. Put your handwork to good use with 9 contemporary projects like a sashiko sampler wallhanging, reversible knot bag, or a kimono-inspired jacket! With step-by-step instructions, even beginners can embrace the art of visible mending. Hand sew 30+ authentic sashiko patterns with best-selling authors the Shibaguyz Recreate the traditional art of boro (mending textiles) with 9 useful projects from jackets and bags to home decor Read stitch charts, mark fabrics, and thread your needle with tips from the pros

A hands-on manual and a history and celebration of clothes tending--and its remarkable resurgence as art form, political statement, and path to healing the planet. “For Fans of NBC’s Making It, Bravo’s Project Runway, or shopping vintage: A sweater gets a hole? Sew it closed... Part history and part how-to, Mend! traces the task’s evolution from a 1950s chore to a DIY sustainability movement.” —Marie Claire For thousands of years, mending was a deep craft that has for too long been a secret history. But now it's back, bigger and better than ever. In this book Kate Sekules introduces the art of visible mending as part of an important movement to give fashion back its soul. Part manifesto, part how-to, MEND! calls for bold new ways of keeping clothes and refreshing your style. Crammed with tips, fun facts, ravishing photography, and illustrated tutorials, MEND! tells you exactly how to rescue and renew your wardrobe with flair and aplomb--and save money along the way. Whether you've never owned a needle or are an aspiring professional, MEND! gives you clear instruction and witty advice, with over thirty techniques, from classic darning and patching to cheeky new methods invented by Sekules, to help you turn every garment into a unique fashion statement. Including interviews with menders, shameful fashion industry facts, a ten-step closet mend, cheat sheets, stitch guides, moth elimination, museum conservator and vintage dealer tricks, and more, this is a book to inspire, delight, and galvanize. Sharp, funny, and incredibly timely, MEND! leads the slow fashion revolution into its next phase, where getting dressed is a joyful, creative experience for all.

An exquisite, full-color guide to sashiko, a simple Japanese stitching technique that uses stunning patterns to decorate or repair clothing, accessories, and home textiles. Requiring no special equipment other than a sewing needle and thread, Make and Mend introduces the incredibly simple technique of sashiko--a striking hand-sewing method using a running stitch to form pleasing geometric patterns. Sashiko is traditionally used to mend and repair clothing and textiles, but it can just as easily be used to create beautiful, decorative projects for the home. With fifteen projects applying a modern, on-trend aesthetic to this ancient craft, Make and Mend shows readers how to apply sashiko stitching to a variety of craft projects, such as repairing torn jeans, mending a ripped hem, and making decorative pillows, napkins, a tablecloth, and a totebag. Touching on the concepts of beauty in minimalism and resourceful simplicity, as well as a fascination with Japan and Japanese design, this easy and accessible book appeals to both the seasoned maker and total beginner.

This guide explores visible mending techniques in both hands-on projects and thoughtful insight about how mending relates to mindful well-being. Mending Matters explores sewing on two levels: First, it includes more than twenty projects that showcase visible mending—styles that are edgy, modern, and bold, yet draw on traditional stitching. It does all this with just four simple mending techniques: exterior patches, interior patches, slow stitches, darning, and weaving. In addition, the book addresses the way mending leads to a more mindful relationship to fashion and to overall well-being. In essays that accompany each how-to chapter, Katrina Rodabaugh explores mending as a metaphor for appreciating our own naturally flawed selves. She also examines the ways in which mending teaches us new skills, self-reliance, and confidence, all gained from making things with our own hands.

Slow fashion influencer Katrina Rodabaugh, bestselling author of Mending Matters, teaches readers how to mend, patch, dye, and alter clothing for an environmentally conscious, reimagined wardrobe Slow fashion influencer Katrina Rodabaugh follows her bestselling book, Mending Matters, with a comprehensive guide to building (and keeping) a wardrobe that matters. Whether you want to repair your go-to jeans, refresh a favorite garment, alter or dye clothing you already have—this book has all the know-how you’ll need. Woven throughout are stories, essays, and a slow fashion call-to-action, encouraging readers to get involved or deepen their commitment to changing the destructive habit of overconsumption. Rodabaugh has an engaged community (her kits are in high demand and her classes sell out quickly) and a proven ability to tempt sewists and nonsewists alike to take up needle and thread.

A broken pot is made whole again, and within its golden repair we see a world of meaning. Kintsugi is the art of embracing imperfection. In Western cultures, the aim of repair has been to make the broken item 'as good as new'. Kintsugi on the other hand, is a Japanese art that leaves an obvious repair – one that may appear fragile, but which actually makes the restored ceramic piece stronger, more beautiful, and more valuable than before. Leaving clear, bold, visible lines with the appearance of solid gold, it never hides the story of the object's damage. Kintsugi traces memory, bringing together the moment of destruction and the gold seams of repair through finely-honed skills and painstaking, time-consuming labour in the creation of a new pot from the old. There is a story to be told with every crack, every chip. This story inevitably leads to kintsugi's greatest strength. an intimate metaphoric narrative of loss and recovery, breakage and restoration, tragedy and the ability to overcome it. A kintsugi repair speaks of individuality and uniqueness, fortitude and resilience, and the beauty to be found in survival. Kintsugi leads us to a respectful and appreciative acceptance of hardship and ageing. Author Bonnie Kemske explores kintsugi's metaphorical power as well as exploring the technical and practical aspects of the art, meeting with artists and ceramists in Japan and the US to discuss their personal connection to this intricate technique. With the inclusion of diary entries, personal stories, and in-depth exploration of its origin and symbolism, this book shows kintsugi's metaphoric strength as well as its striking aesthetic, making it a unique and powerful art form that can touch our lives.

Mend, rethink, transform, recreate! Mending your favorite fabric items--from jeans to sweaters to sofa covers--becomes a true art form in Creative Mending. In this book, mending guru Hikaru Noguchi shows you her entire range of valuable techniques--from embroidery and patching to darning and felting--that are just challenging enough for experienced menders. Noguchi's basic rules of mending are that the repair should suit the fabric and its user, and that there are lots of creative ways to create beautifully customized repairs--some subtle, others making a statement. She provides 13 techniques that show you how to: Apply creative repairs to both knitted and woven fabrics Use yarn, floss, ribbon, and fabric to reinvent well-loved garments Make understated repairs that add just a touch of contrast, color, or texture Use visible mending techniques for bold repairs Darn with felt to add body and dimension to a repaired item Match your repairs to the damage, the fabric, and the wearer Maneuver through tricky places like inseams and underarms And more! The 13 illustrated lessons and over 300 color photos in this book provide detailed examples for all the basic techniques. Lots of variations plus plenty of tips and examples (67 in all) provide you with all the guidance you need to rethink and repair beautifully. The stunning photos will inspire you to get creative on that fraying neckline or worn elbow!

Rip in your jeans? Snag in a sweater? Tear in a tea towel? They all present an opportunity for one-of-a-kind creativity! With this fun introduction to unconventional mending techniques in a format that's half how-to guide, half idea book, anyone can give worn and torn items new life. Start by learning hand-mending methods, including boro, embroidery, patching, and darning. Then rev up the sewing machine for fast mends that put the pedal to the metal. Even with a limited budget and not much time to spare, you can create eye-catching repairs with visible mending--35 examples and more than 150 photos make it easy to put your unique mark on everything you mend!