Contemplative Crochet: A Hands-On Guide for Interlocking Faith & Craft

by Cindy Crandall-Frazier, Linda Skolnik (Foreword by)

Overview

With Hook in Hand, Enrich Your Spiritual Practice and Renew Your Awareness of the Connections of Creativity to Spirit

What can you learn about yourself through your crocheting? What deeper symbolism lies behind the loops and patterns that you create? How can this simple activity help you make your way down a spiritual path? Delve into these questions and more in this imaginative book that will become your spiritual friend, your teacher and your sanctuary. Follow the crochet journeys of the author and other crocheters to discover how they have used their crocheting to explore and strengthen their spiritual selves, and how you can do the same. In this joyful and engaging look at a time-honored craft, you will discover ways to:

• Find a Sense of Fullness and Gratitude
• Have More Within a Structure of Less
• Combine the Spiritual Practices of Meditation and Prayer
• Create Tools for Intensifying Spiritual Practice
• Find Your Spiritual Path with Crochet
• Connect with Community Through Crochet
• Make Crochet Uniquely Yours
• And Much More

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781594732386
Publisher:	TURNER PUB CO
Publication date:	10/01/2008
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Cindy Crandall-Frazier is the author of Single Crochet for Beginners and Sock Doll Workshop: 30 Delightful Dolls to Create and Cherish and Contemplative Crochet: A Hands-On Guide for Interlocking Faith & Craft (SkyLight Paths). She is an educator and member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quaker).

Linda Skolnik created one of the most popular knitting resources in the world—Patternworks, a high-end knitting mail order company whose catalog has become a knitting bible for the world's most passionate knitters.She is coauthor of The Knitting Way: A Guide to Spiritual Self-Discovery (SkyLight Paths).

Table of Contents

Index of Projects vi
Foreword vii
Introduction ix

1 • Roots and Wings: Soaring while Keeping Our Feet on the Ground 1
2 • Plenty: Finding a Sense of Fullness and Gratitude 15
3 • The Power of Limits: Having More within a Structure of Less 35
4 • Meditation Meets Prayer: Two Practices in One 51
5 • Circles and Cycles: The Art, Meaning, and Use of Mandalas 69
6 • Prayers on a String: Tools for Intensifying Practice 87
7 • Pathfinding: Finding Our Way with Crochet 107
8 • From Heart to Hand: Sharing Our Craft 123
9 • The Creative Spirit: Making Crochet Uniquely Ours 147
10 • The Blessings of Hands: An Appreciation of the Hand that Holds the Hook 165

A Concluding Letter 183
Acknowledgments 184
Suggestions for Further Reading 185

Editorial Reviews

"An extraordinary gift to the crochet community…. Teaches us how to tap the deep wellsprings of creativity and love with our crochet. You won't be able to look at your yarn and hook in quite the same way after ingesting the rich contents of this book."
—Dora Ohrenstein, editor, Crochet Insider

“Deepens and expands what crocheters have long known—that crochet is a meditative and soulful pursuit. Mindful, heartfelt and philosophically engaging, this book is a blessing and a gift.”
—Noreen Crone-Findlay, author, Creative Crocheted Dolls: 50 Whimsical Designs

“One of the most important books ever written on evolving through handwork, the connection of the heart and our hands. Crocheting and the patterns are just the gravy on top.”
—Pardis Amirshahi, editor, Living Crafts Magazine

From the Publisher

"Crochet is hands-on meditation," writes Cindy Crandall-Frazier in this alluring craft book. "It is intimate, and with it we can create beauty or we can compassionately warm another person. Meditation and intimacy with God, compassion for others—aren't these the concepts that are taught around the globe as responses to the Divine? Through crochet, we can also discover more of who we are and align ourselves with the Mystery of Creation. We can feel our roots and enjoy our flight. Between the threads of our daily rhythms and realities, our spirits can soar."

The author is an educator and member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). She begins with a chapter on the creative delights of crochet and ends with an inspiring meditation on other spiritual practices involving the hands. In between, she muses on plenty and limitation, crochet as a centering vehicle and a path to connection with God, the use of prayer beads, the importance of pathfinding and ways to listen to your hands. From the author's perspective, everything we do is spiritual as long as it is done mindfully, inviting the Sacred into it.

Spirituality & Practice

Skylight Paths of Woodstock, Vermont has just published a book that draws together the craft of crocheting with prayer and spirituality. The book is titled Contemplative Crochet: A Hands-On Guide for Interlocking Faith and Craft, by Cindy Crandall-Frazier. It is a large size paperback that includes in each chapter a project for crocheting with pictures and instructions. The list price for the book is $16.99.

Two chapters are of special interest to Catholics. Chapter 4, called "Meditation Meets Prayer," connects to the Prayer Shawl which several parishes in the diocese have as a ministry. The chapter teaches ways of crocheting the prayer shawl while learning new forms of prayer. Forms of meditation and silence are stressed as the artist creates the shawl that will be used by someone else as an aid for prayer and refection.

Chapter 6 is called "Prayers on a String." It speaks of the use of beads for prayer in many different religions. There is a section on Christian traditions that includes the rosary. The author speaks of the connection of the rosary to rose gardens and to the 150 Psalms. She speaks of one tradition where the beads are made of rose petal paste, shaped into beads, and dried, while retaining the scent of roses for many years.

Contemplative Crochet looks like a wonderful source book for an individual or a group who enjoy crocheting. The prayer aspect may already to a part of their lives, but this book would seem to be a helpful addition to growing in prayer with the art of crocheting.

Inland Register

Contemplative Crochet is a good read. I'm a "soft-sell" for any theme that puts the spotlight on crochet as an important influence on those who are seeking positivity while here on earth. My intense passion for crochet is intertwined into my daily life and I have written about how it is connected to my outlook on the world. Cindy's book, however, amazed me and I was moved in many ways. It called to me as I read it cover-to-cover in two days!

Cindy Crandall-Frazier is a talented writer who has done a fantastic job of combining her passion for crochet and her passion for striving to live a faith based life. Passionate and seasoned crocheters will be amazed and proud at the same time by the vast number of examples that elevate their beloved craft to new heights. Newcomers to the craft will be educated and convinced that they have chosen a valuable way to spend their time.

She has divided the book into ten thoughtful chapters that guide the reader through each topic. Cindy’s consistent and logical manner makes reading this book a joy and a resource for realizing the potential that the rhythm of the crochet hook has for broadening our spiritual dimension.

Each chapter is chock-full of well-researched historic and philosophical references that illuminate Cindy’s premise. Anecdotes from her life and faith as a Quaker are thought-provoking and in no way "preachy." A crochet project in each chapter incorporates its message or invites contemplation through the stitches. I hesitate to even mention the black and white photos because in the scheme of things they are minor, but want you to know that I noticed-they could be much sharper. Finally, a set of questions at the end of each chapter encourages “deeper thinking and listening for the Spirit.”

As founding “mother” of the Crochet Guild of America (CGOA) looking over a flock of highly capable crocheters, I am always thrilled when I see contributions from the talented members. Cindy has definitely tapped into the resources of CGOA and the experiences of many familiar members as she highlights Noreen Crone Findlay, Karen Klemp (Past President), Melody MacDuffee and Carol Ventura to name a few.

Contemplative Crochet is a gift from Cindy to us all. I highly recommend that you own a copy and buy this superb gift for a stitching friend! My only regret is that I didn’t read this book sooner!

CrochetQueen.com

For those who love crafts, their connection to personal faith and spirituality is a natural fit. This is a refreshing spiritual book for practitioners of the beautiful craft of crochet, which is too often overshadowed by knitting. Contemplative Crochet author Cindy Crandall-Frazier comes from a Methodist background, and is now a practicing Quaker. Her work here intersperses a narrative examining the interconnectedness of crocheting to personal expression of faith, with short questions for contemplation, and even patterns for relevant projects.

The author's stated objective is to demonstrate that work done with our hands is sacred and serves a spiritual purpose both for creator and recipient. She addresses practical topics such as meditation while crocheting and use of prayer beads, as well as broader themes, such as finding one’s spiritual and vocational path, and discovering personal creativity within one’s practice of crochet. The included patterns are designed in such a way that even beginning crocheters can partake—one only need know how to create single, double, and half-double crochet stitches from a starting chain. The designs are for a diverse group of projects, from a traditional prayer shawl and prayer beads (not a rosary; rather, beads similar to an Eastern Christian chotki), to a small tea pot cozy and motif made of crocheted morning glories.

This is a well-written book on an inspirational and timely topic. It would make a thoughtful gift for a crocheter, and a nice addition to one’s spiritual reading list.

Catholic Library World - Tiffany R. Walsh