Book Review: Mending Life by Nina and Sonya Montenegro

Mending Life: A Handbook for Repairing Clothes and Hearts
by Nina and Sonya Montenegro (646.2 Mon)

 

“There’s nothing broken that can’t be fixed.”

 

Concerned with the fast fashion trends, where the cost to the consumer may be cheap but the cost to the laborer can be dear, the sisters Nina and Sonya Montenegro have stitched together a book of quotes, instructions, and illustrations; their aim being aim to help anyone revive their treasured textiles.

 

This book discusses how to choose needles, fibers, and techniques for best results. The methods are covered sensibly and practically, easily accessible to anyone interested in learning basic techniques of mending, including sashiko, swiss darning, patching. You can find information to help mend down jackets, linen dresser scarves, favorite sweaters, even old “broken” socks. They encourage the reader to give mending a try.

 

Repairs add history and personality to your favorite pieces and honors the work of those who made the garment. It’s a natural process that happens around us all the time, and through mending your own items, you connect the past to the future.

 

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Joyful Mending by Noriko Misumi, Mending Matters: Stitch, Patch, and Repair Your Favorite Denim & More by Katrina Rodabaugh, Visible Mending: Artful Stitchery to Repair and Refresh Your Favorite Things by Jenny Wilding Cardon or Stitch Stories: Personal Places, Spaces and Traces in Textile Art by Cas Holmes.]

[ official Mending Life web site ] | [ official Nina Montenegro web site ] [ official Sonya Montenegro web site ]

 

Recommended by Carrie K.
Bennett Martin Public Library – Public Service

 

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Miss Rose's Spice of Life Quilts

Miss Rose's Spice of Life Quilts
by Carrie Nelson [746.46 qNel]

Thirteen quilt patterns using favorite blocks - Sawtooth Star, Log Cabin, Flying Geese, Hour Glass, Four Patch, Ohio Star, a House block, Bear Paw - combined together to appear intricate but are actually not. She uses strip sets and a neat, quick, cheater method for making Flying Geese. Fabrics shown are current and colorful but not blinding. Each chapter begins with her explanation of how she came about to make that particular quilt. The usual General Instructions on quilt-making are included. If nothing else you'll love browsing through the photos. Recommended for those who especially like the traditional patterns in soothing colors using cotton fabrics - no geometrics, batiks, or loud colors here. -- recommended by Charlotte K. - Bennett Martin Public Library


[ official Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. web site ]

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide web site. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month.