The Knitting Sutra: Craft as a Spiritual Practice
by Susan Gordon Lydon
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Book Summary Information
Author: Susan Gordon LydonEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2004-04-27
ISBN: 0767916336
Number of pages: 176
Publisher: Broadway
Book Reviews of The Knitting Sutra: Craft as a Spiritual Practice
Book Review: Her love shines through
Summary: 5 Stars
More than the author's stories of her spiritual and knitting quests, it is her love for the craft that makes this book glow with a warmth that is soothing to soak in. It kept me glued to the book so I finished it in two days. I don't know whether a non-knitter would be equally carried away, for, being a passionate knitter myself, I know exactly what she's talking about.
I do not agree with the reviewers that said this book was depressing; despite writing about several sad events in her life, the book did not reek of despair, rather, the author resorted to her craft for sustenance, and her passion for it shifted her attention away from the downward spiral of suffering and onto a journey of learning that bore her countless gifts.
The author's words about middle age as an invisibility cloak for women are as funny as they are revealing. Instead of choosing the negative aspect of becoming invisible, she celebrates the positive one. Women "can become themselves again, unmolested". It takes guts to make such a choice.
While the author takes us along through some of her quests into native American and Sufi mysticism, she does not indulge in the extremism that some New Agers adopt and proceed to club their readers with; instead, she just shares stories that speak of the philosophy or history of the people she encountered.
The book is filled with beautiful insights that would resonate with any passionate craftsperson, woman or man:
"I know how to pray with my hands"
The "sacred manuscript of nature" as "the one holy book"
(quotation from a sufi teacher)
"forget therapy, just knit"
(most knitters know it, non-knitters usually think it's nonsense, they don't know what they're missing...)
"the shadow of the maker that remains behind in the objects that come from her or his hands"...
"handknitting lends to a garment an almost totemic quality"...
"there is an ecstasy in the act of creation that matches the intensity of religious rapture"...
Her stories about the history of knitting, whether of native Americans or the British Isles are captivating. Again, it is the passion of craftspeople for their work, and the love of the author of that world, that shines through the lines and beckons the reader to reach for more. (My next order will be a book about the history of knitting !)
The only problem I had with the author's journey is that part of it that was expressed mostly in Chapter ten, entitled "dreaming of dragons". In that chapter, she wrote of how she decided to tackle an incredibly difficult knitting project of a design of dragons in the technique of "intarsia", saying that it "looked as difficult as it's possible for knitting to get." She then goes on to describe what a torturous feat that was and how long it took to complete it "the work was excruciating; a full day's knitting would sometimes produce only one inch of sweater"... It is clear that there was no enjoyment whatsover in "practising the craft"; instead, the feat seemed more like a test that the author decided she had to pass. At first, she said she did it "in order to become a master knitter". (Later, she declared that, more than the technical skills, it would help her achieve "self-mastery". A short while later, she added, "the point was to open my mind to the presence of dragons in symbology...etc...etc...) and then went on to repeat what a gruelling project it was...
She lost me in that chapter ... that seems to be the point she lost several other reviewers as well, who criticized her as being "whiney"...
As a fellow-knitter who has experienced the blessings of knitting first-hand, I feel sorry for her that she set herself up that way and see it as a completely unnecessary feat, reminiscent of practices of "self-flagellation" that some seekers indulged in in the past in order to reach some higher state of being... maybe it is due to the belief that one must suffer in order to reach anything of value, so that, (as if what life offers were not enough) she had to create new ways of suffering for herself in order to "deserve" the prize in the end..? A fulfilment of the "no pain no gain" credo, that, despite the author's decades-long involvement with eastern mysticism, she was still wired into, letting it dictate to her how she ought to practice her craft? Alternately, it could be due to a very sad but compulsive habit of self-punishment (which might make sense with her profile as a long-time practitioner of substance abuse), yet calling this need a "quest" in order to justify trudging through such an experience..? I don't claim to know the answer, it could be any of these, all combined, or something else altogether...
Luckily for her, after a long journey of hardships, some of which were self-inflicted, she finally allows herself the reward, and, we sigh with relief as we read her last words,
"sitting still, I had learned how to fly"
For anyone who has experienced the mysterious and blissful effects of knitting, this book, beside being a beautiful read in and of itself, is a heartfelt message in a bottle from another member of the vast but unregistered "fellowship" of knitters across the globe and the ages.
Summary of The Knitting Sutra: Craft as a Spiritual Practice
Available for the first time in paperback, The Knitting Sutra reveals how women can learn to knit their way to nirvana.When Susan Gordon Lydon was coping with a broken arm, her craft took on new significance. While knitting was essential to strengthening her hands, it also provided her with a newfound sense of peace and creativity. Immersed in brilliant colors, textures, and images of beautiful sweaters, Lydon found healing and enlightenment in a way she had never imagined. Capturing this journey of discovery, The Knitting Sutra recounts her remarkable membership in a community of craftswomen around the world, from sweater makers in Scotland to Navajo weavers, and the adventures that her craft led her on.
As she masters new techniques and conquers old obstacles, Lydon's story conveys how the lessons she learned from knitting, such as stillness and interdependence, later sustained her through a cancer diagnosis and even the incapacitation of her hands. The Knitting Sutra is both a meditation on craft and an affirmation for anyone seeking heartfelt comfort.
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