September book review

We're looking at something a little bit different this month with 'Mindfulness in Crochet - Meditations on Connection & Calm' by Emma Friedlander-Collins (Leaping Hare Press 2026 ISBN: 9781805705109), one of the latest additions to the 'Mindfulness In' series of books by various authors. Emma has been crocheting for over 20 years  and her patterns have been featured in Mollie Makes, Simply Crochet, Inside Crochet, Love Crochet and Crochet Now magazines. She also recently published a paper on wellness, crafting & hope. 

Even the first impressions of this book are calming. The small size of the book makes it easy to hold and the understated colours used on the cover work well with the theme. There are seven chapters in total, covering themes as wide ranging as the smart phone and social media to some of the socio-historical background of crafting in women's lives, together with a sprinkling of patterns and mindfulness exercises among them.

In the Introduction the author talks about how, alongside therapies, crochet helped her to cope with difficult thoughts following recovery from a mental health crisis, by enabling her to really be grounded in the present rather than becoming distracted with escalating thoughts and worries. 

There are simple exercises placed throughout the book encouraging the reader to really think about things when they are crocheting. Notice how the crochet hook feels in the hand, what material it is made of, to feel the embossing of the size mark, is it indented or raised? Then move on to the yarn and think about the qualities of the yarn. Is it smooth or rough, does it have a bounciness to it or a more solid feel? For example cotton has a completely different feel to acrylic. Look closely at the yarn and think about how many strands of fibre make up the yarn, are they loose or tightly plied, is there a twist to the ply? As stitches are made focus on what the hook is doing with the yarn for each movement that is made. All of these tiny observations help to focus the mind on exactly what is happening right in that moment and can pull the mind away from everyday worries and concerns. 

Another of the exercises really struck a chord with me. Do you ever find yourself scrolling endlessly on your phone, whilst at the same time saying to yourself 'why am I doing this? I don't need to be reading all these irrelevant stories'? I certainly do and I have started leaving my phone downstairs deliberately so that I don't get drawn into this at bedtime or when I wake up in the morning. It also means that I am far more likely to pick up a knitting or crochet project and add a few rows or rounds here and there, which is far more useful and satisfying than reading about an incident in a car park in a town I have no connection with! The exercise on page 55 suggests that when being 'sucked into a scroll hole' (love that phrase), put the phone down, pick up a hook and yarn and just start making. There doesn't need to be an end goal in mind, just start making stitches and feel your mind start to slow down and relax. If it doesn't start turning into anything it can always be pulled apart ready for use another time. 

Each chapter is marked with the same monochrome drawing depicting crochet as part of nature. It would have been nice to see a different image in the same vein for each chapter but I like the drawing style nonetheless. I guess one of the overall aims of the book is to promote calmness and therefore it really feels like a 'low stimulation' approach has been taken with the illustration and layout of the book. The simplicity itself is calming. 

I haven't leapt straight in and read this book from cover to cover, but I am enjoying dipping in here and there and taking little snippets to apply in my own life. I have recently been adjusting to a new routine with changes in educational placements for my daughters and as a result of this I have been able to incorporate some walks in a local park into my days. It's a lovely large park with a nature reserve/wet woodland as well as the children's play area, and large grassy areas. One of the exercises Emma suggests is to start really looking at the colours in nature. Notice the variations of blue in the sky, all the different greens in the trees, the colours of a flower close up and to take a photo. Then at home, with that photo try to find a way to record the colours, whether that be with colouring pencils, a palette app or even (and this is the one I'm going to try) with yarns from your stash! 

This isn't a book full of glossy photos of crochet makes or tempting squishy balls of yarn but it's perfect for snatching a moment of calm in a busy life and I'm looking forward to becoming more mindful in my own crafting activities as a result. 
Happy crafting (and reading)!