Patchwork

“Charming….. This gently captivating memoir [finds] poignant resonance in the ups and downs of a single person’s life during a tumultuous historical moment. It’s a delight.”—Publishers Weekly

“Sewing became a ballast as [Ballard] figured out herself and what came next. Her memoir is a thoughtful progression of mistakes and corrections and fabric, as well as in her outlook.”—NPR Weekend Edition, Top Nonfiction Books We Love

“Through her expert use of language, similar to the simplicity of a single seam, she ties this collection up with a perfect silk ribbon and inspires me to create . . . and to savor the creation.” —The Rumpus

“Powerful . . . a creative way of challenging the fleeting trend cycles and flimsy garments that rule much of the ready-to-wear fashion landscape today.”—Full Stop

“A beautifully observed meditation on the emotional resonance of clothing and sewing. It will make you look with a new eye on what you wear and how it was made.”—Tracy Chevalier, New York Times bestselling author of The Glass Maker

“Maddie’s Patchwork, with its beautifully woven reflections, is evidence of how making things with our hands can change us—and the world.” —Nina Montenegro , author Mending Life

“Nimble, surprising, edifying and even sexy, Maddie Ballard’s Patchwork is a document of living and being lived in, a record of staying enlivened through catastrophe, and a graceful experiment in imagining how the tactile world might be the real one.” —Emma Copley Eisenberg, nationally bestselling author of Housemates

“Maddie Ballard’s Patchwork deftly and poetically reminds us that sewing is more than an act of creation. It reminds us that a sewing is an act of self-creation too.” —Betsy Greer, author of Craftivism: The Art of Craft and Activism

“Maddie Ballard makes making clothes into a celebration of living and suffering and finding joy. Wonderful.”—Victoria Finlay, author of Fabric: The Hidden History of the Material World

“A gorgeous, tender exploration of the craft of sewing and how we carve out spaces for ourselves.”—Nina Mingya Powles, author of Small Bodies of Water

“A beautifully layered narrative that celebrates how the simple act of sewing our own clothing can help us define ourselves and find belonging. Maddie’s writing is a joy to read.”—Clara Parkes, author of Vanishing Fleece: Adventures in American Wool