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Susan Gordon Lydon: The knitting Sutra (2004, Broadway Books) 2 stars

Review of 'The knitting Sutra' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

Disclaimer: I'm not actually a knitter. I mean, I knit, but I am in no means an actual knitter. It doesn't stop me from enjoying stories related to knitting.

Initially, I thought this would be a more of a workbook that would help guide you through spiritual knitting. When I deciding whether or not to take this book out of the library, I read a snippet. Nope, it seemed to be largely a memoir. Admittedly, I was a bit disappointed but like I said, I enjoy stories related to knitting.

Lydon seems to be a very spiritual person. I didn't expect a knitter would be crossing the country seeking guidance from spiritual leaders. It was a bit out of the ordinary but I quickly grew to wish I had known Hayat and Jimmy and the likes. Lydon seems like a very well traveled and knowing person so I enjoyed following her around in her attempts to make peace with the spiritual.

Of course, the main lesson of the story is mindfulness. The main reason why I felt this book didn't satisfy me was because I didn't necessary learn anything new. While I do like how Lyndon approaches mindfulness, I was still left for wanting more.

What I appreciated the most however was her advice on knowing yourself. Several times throughout the book, Lyndon refers to making sweaters that never really appear like she thought they would. The sleeves would turn out too big or the garment would be slipping off her shoulders. It was best to make your own tweaks to patterns so that whatever you were making was fit for you. And mistakes were okay. Arabic weavers would often put in mistakes into their works because "Nothing but Allah is perfect." I thought that was a good metaphor.