The Mindfulness in Knitting

I received an advanced reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

This book is about the mindfulness that can be found in and from knitting. I dont knit myself but I crochet (which is a recent hobby I've started) and could understand some of the thoughts within this book from linking them to crocheting.
This book is a brilliant book for knitters new and old but not a book I unfortunately enjoyed personally.

The Mindfulness in Knitting Meditation on Craft and Calm by Rachel Matthews
Wanted to read this book because it is about knitting and I love to knit.
Talks about connection between your mind and your hand movements. Like how they teach you to get over the problem things in knitting, try sketching instead or do some math.
Learn your learning style: i can just look at an outfit and know basically what i need to do to make it. Probably has something to do with my blindness.
Also I have connection with the peacefulness of knitting-gives me so much time to either listen to books on tape or pray and think.
Love how hidden textures will tell you a story about me or one that I've made for another.
I do that with Irish fisherman stitching. Like how they relate the knitting process to computing.
Love the warm up exercises, never thought to do them. All kinds of tips and techniques to use to solve problems with your knitting.
Discussions of where the yarn came from and how it was made and under what conditions.
Like how the way i treat my sacred space has crossed over to other places in my home.
Like the connection with numbers also, different sequences. Ends with index and acknowledgements. Very thoughtful book.
Received this review copy from Quarto Publishing Group - Leaping Hare Press via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.
#TheMindfulnessinKnitting #NetGalley

I'm admittedly one who attempts (and often "fails") at mindfulness, but knitting has been my place of peace and solace since I picked up my first pair of knitting needles. In other words, I am the target audience of this book.
I think it's wonderful that an entire line of mindfulness books was created to help people find inner peace in their preferred methods of relaxing.
This book offers many exercises that let you see a bit deeper into yourself through yarn, even without actually knitting. There are guided to intertwine mindfulness and knitting and yoga, there is a craftivism section (mindfully crafting for charity can be rewarding in multiple levels). I'm definitely happy I checked it out and will be giving it as a gift.

Rachael Matthews describes perfectly the therapeutic nature of knitting. Many of us know that when life gets complicated the urge to sit down and start a new project becomes overwhelming. When a loved one is ill for example, we sit and knit a scarf or a jumper for them, focusing all our energy into the project and the recipient, hoping that the love and energy helps them through. Most of us will have picked up our work with a head full of anxieties from work etc only to find that after 20 minutes of knitting the anxieties have been minimised or resolved.
Passing a wool shop a certain wool appeals to us for its hue or its texture or a memory.
Rachael captures the feelings and emotions behind this and sets tasks for us to deepen our self knowledge, restablish our connections with our family and community, through Knitting Circles and Craftism.
I would recommend this book for all knitters both experienced and new.

#TheMindfulnessOf Knitting#Netgalley

As a knitter I have experienced so many of the things mentioned in this short book. Knitting is meditative, and mindful in so many ways.

I'd recommend this book to any knitter, but also to anyone, who might want to learn to knit, or is a struggling beginner, or thinks knitting is a waste of time.

The Mindfulness in Knitting is an interesting look at the intersection of knitting and its effects on our mental and physical being. Released 14th April 2020 by Quarto on their Leaping Hare Press imprint, it's 144 pages and available in hardcover, paperback, and ebook formats. This is one of a series of books examining mindful habits, with titles including birdwatching, traveling, compassion, music, reading, silence, singing, and many others.

This is a surprisingly intimate conversation between the author and the reader. There are musings and stories about knitting and how it can be used as a method of self discovery and actualization. There are anecdotes about learning to knit and how knitting can be a solace and sometimes even a barrier between the knitter and their peers.

The chapters provide observational and practical guidance for self discovery through knitting. Each topic (structured learning, textiles and other basic needs, creativity and the concept of sacred space, activism and creativity, the complex and nuanced consequences of giving our creativity) is accompanied by varied and interesting discussions of the author's experiences as well as sidebars with interactive questions for the reader to explore alone.

This would make a brilliant read for a fibrearts friendly journaler. There are quite a surprising number of deep concepts and takeaways. I admit I came for the knitting discussion and found myself touched and affected by the philosophy. Quite a lot of the material was relevant and fascinating for me. As a lifelong knitter, I have given knitted gifts to others and been bewildered when they were 'hit or miss' without me being able to predict with any degree of accuracy whether the recipient would love or hate the item. This book gave me some good insights as to why (and how to potentially navigate future gifts to increase the odds in my favor).

All in all a surprisingly dense but useful read. This is one for contemplative reading interspersed with knitting and tea and chocolate. (Or wine, wine's good). It would also make a great buddy read or bookclub selection for fibrearts friendly groups. It's full of good discussion starters.

Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Nice book to justify that one can find balance and happiness while creating something authentic. I am a long term knitter and a proponent that knitting does help to isolate thoughts from every day worries. Knitting helps to focus thoughts to creating something special. This book explores all the components and connections between meditation and knitting, disruption and focus on creativity.

I received an ARC of this book to read through NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. The Mindfulness in Knitting by Rachael Matthews is a series of essays and some creative exercises to work through. I asked to read this book because I struggle with mindfulness, but I love to knit, and so I thought hey this might be a breakthrough for me. The result is that I still struggle with mindfulness, I probably always will because that is just how my brain works, but I found the ideas expressed in the essays to be intriguing and I enjoyed reading them. I think this book would be an excellent resource for someone who is more in touch with their spiritual self than I am, as the essays are thought-provoking and the exercises were fun to do. I would suggest getting a physical copy of the book as the e-book version that I read was difficult to read unless I had it in landscape mode as in portrait mode having two pages on the same screen made it the print too small for me to read. Publishing Date April 14, 2020. #NetGalley #QuartoPublishingGroup #LeapingHarePress #TheMindfulnessInKnitting #KnittingBooks #MindfulnessBooks #RachelMatthews #bookstagram

The Mindfulness of Knitting by Rachel Matthews is a wonderful book. You might ask why would someone write a book about about knitting and mindfulness? Well the best explanation is given by the author “Knitting and mindfulness have worked together over millennia to guide us through our growth. The utterly absorbing process of creating textiles provides us with an informal meditation space while connecting us with a heritage we cherish and ultimately a universe we understand”
The idea and reason the author wrote this book was from all her conversations with creative people who shared the joy of making. “Making beautiful things can be exciting enough for a craftsman, but for a non-craftsman, the process looks like magic”.
First let me say that this book is very well written by an author who clearly has a wonderful command of the English language. I say that because it is usually difficult to express ones feelings about many things and this author is able to articulate, in great detail, how being a craftsman feels. As an avid quilter there are countless times that the actual process is mindful and ‘zen-like’.
While this book is definitely directed toward knitters, I went through the whole book changing the word knitter to quilter. The experience is the same. I would dare to say that sewing, woodworking, crocheting, painting, drawing, coloring etc could be substituted as well. So don’t let the title fool or discourage you.
This book is well worth the read and I highly commend the author for writing a book about this subject. Well done!

I would like to thank Quarto Publishing Group, Rachel Matthews and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I requested this book as I thought that this book contains instructions of knitting. But I was wrong. This book is even better than what I expected. The books talks about the connection between mindfulness and knitting (hand movements, to be precise). It is a very short read, but it is very enlightening. It is a book that every knitter (beginner or expert) must read.
I thank the publisher and NetGalley for giving me this wonderful opportunity.