The Crocheted Prayer Shawl Companion: 37 Patterns to Embrace, Inspire, and Celebrate Life by Janet BristowMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I was lucky to get an e-version of this book through netgalley.com.
I am a crocheter, and have made many, many shawls to give away to people. Though in my mind, I don't call them "prayer" shawls, they are along the same idea - to give comfort to someone needing help. I was very eager to both read, and to make something out of this book. The shawls are beautifully photographed, with a variety of skill levels. Each shawl has a little intro, usually a little story about why the shawl was made or designed, and who it was given to. Heartbreaking stories, that make you want to save the world, one shawl at a time. There's also a little section about the history of the prayer shawl, a story which I'm already familiar with, but went into a little more detail.
I was a little disappointed in the actual shapes of the shawls - I prefer to make shaped shawls, i.e. a triangle, a half circle, a farose or 3/4 shawl, etc., and there were very few in the book. There were also a couple of extremely basic, granny square type shawls which I personally felt was a waste of space in the book. Granny squares have been around as long as there have been crocheters, and there are dozens of free patterns for granny square shawls, both in leaflets & on the internet (I have one, too).
All in all, though, I do believe that this book is a wonderful resource, and it's worth buying just for the stories if nothing else.
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