Knitting is the miracle of creating new
dimensions from a strand of yarn.
Let it bring that miraculous transformation
to your spiritual life too.
This book is about seeing and listening.
It’s about becoming aware that through knitting you can
hear and give attention to what’s in your heart and
soul—that knitting can be a place of rest and thought and
a place for the Divine. It’s about connection—to
yourself, to the world, to others and to the Holy.
—from the Preface
What can you learn about yourself through
your knitting? 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
knitting journeys of the authors and other knitters to discover
how they have used their knitting 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 are
invited to:
Find time and space
that was previously hidden in plain sight
Try creative,
thought-provoking original knitting patterns
Recognize and deepen
spiritual connections through knitting
Meet other knitters
on the journey to spiritual and self- discovery
Explore new ways to
expand and savor your knitting community
Recognize your own
power to pass along the knitting wisdom
“An enlightening, entertaining and
affirming text on the spiritual depth of knitting. Finally,
Skolnik and MacDaniels have put into words what I have been
trying to express for so long about why knitting means so much
to me.”
—Melanie
Falick, author of Handknit Holidays, Weekend Knitting, Kids
Knitting, and Knitting in America
“A fascinating tale, knitting
together the often disparate strands of science and religion,
faith and reason, art and technology. Expert knitters and
spiritual seekers, Skolnik and MacDaniels have filled their
book with stories about design and wisdom to enrich our
journeys, and guide us gently into Mystery.”
—Susan S.
Jorgensen, spiritual director,
retreat leader, and coauthor of Knitting
into the Mystery: A Guide to the Shawl-Knitting Ministry
“Can make some of our knitting time
not be about product or even process, but about understanding,
meaning and connection. Linda Skolnik brings to The Knitting
Way an enthusiasm, curiosity and honesty that we
trust.”
—Elaine
Rowley, editor of XRX Books
“A heartfelt journey that inspires
us all to look both outward, into our culture and families, and
inward, into our hearts, to seek the true meaning of our own
knitting pathways.”
—Deborah
Newton, author of Designing Knitwear
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.
Also a serious knitting enthusiast, Janice MacDaniels,
who was the store manager at Patternworks, excels at
encouraging knitting freedom and creativity and has led
women’s study groups in churches and at spiritual
retreats.