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Crafts & Hobbies

These days, the word "hobby" evokes a sense of blase interest. Children have hobbies; bored housewives might have a hobby or two; the rest of us can scarcely be bothered. The original connotation was much different, however—a person's hobby was their avocation, not a primary sense of income, but certainly the focus of passion and interest.

To put it in perspective: Rene Descartes was a mathemetician by trade, but his hobby or avocation was philosophy. Not everyone with a hobby is going to change the course of Western civilization, but the point is that Descartes' hobby wasn't a mere back-drawer doodad he pulled out when he was bored and lonely, it was a motivating force in his life.

We're not suggesting hobbies need to take over your life, like robots in some creepy sci-fi movie. Just the opposite, in fact—hobbies should keep us from surrendering to the doldrums of existence, make us excited, provide an opportunity to exercise our creative talents and explore our interests. They shouldn't be simply a way to pass the time, because that's just another name for boredom.

At the same time, making your hobbies (whether they include cooking, weaving, woodworking, book-binding, or origami) the focus of all your attention is just as harmful. If you find yourself only working to fuel your interests, your hobbies (however harmless they were to begin with) have become your idols and you need to put them aside and learn to prioritize. Still, you need to have interests outside of work, and they need to be cultivated and not just casually dabbled in from time to time.

Why do we take hobbies so seriously? Because what we spend our free time doing reveals a great deal about who we are. If your primary activity when you aren't at work or cleaning the house or whatever is buying clothes, then clothes are what's important to you. The same is true for playing video games, watching reality TV, and bare-knuckle boxing.

It's important to choose hobbies that are constructive. As Christians, we're to do everything to the glory of God, and while some activities done in moderation might be fun, doing them all the time is more a sign of selfish addiction than simple enjoyment. Hobbies should be relaxing, of course, but they should be good for something, and good for other people.

The books you'll find below won't tell you what your hobby should be. They will, however, help you develop the skills related to certain hobbies so you can pursue them to the best of your ability. In a world that excuses lack of excellence and even defends poor quality, we need to work even harder to do our best, whether in our vocations or our avocations.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.

 

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100 Cross-Stitch Gifts from Nature
in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
501 Quilt Blocks
in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
79 Decorative Alphabets for Designers and Craftspeople
by Carol Belanger Grafton, editor
2001 reprint from Dover Publications
for Adult
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
Adventurous Boy's Handbook
by Stephen Brennan and Finn Brennan
from Skyhorse Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Dangerous Books for Kids (Location: SS-DAN)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
All New Square Foot Gardening
by Mel Bartholomew
3rd edition from Cool Springs Press
for Adult
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
$24.99
All-New Woodworking for Kids
by Kevin McGuire
from Lark Books
for 5th-8th grade
in Carpentry for Kids (Location: SS-CARP)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
America's Knitting Book
by Gertrude Taylor
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 8th-Adult
in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
American Boy's Handy Book
by Daniel Beard
from Dover Publications
for 4th-9th grade
in Dangerous Books for Kids (Location: SS-DAN)
$12.95
American Girl's Handy Book
by Lina & Adelia Beard
from David R. Godine
for 4th-9th grade
in Dangerous Books for Kids (Location: SS-DAN)
American Patchwork & Quilting
from Better Homes and Gardens Books
for Adult
in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
American Ship Models and How to Build Them
by V. R. Grimwood, foreword by Howard I. Chapelle
from Bonanza Books
for 9th-Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Animated Origami Faces
by Joel Stern
from Dover Publications
for 4th-8th grade
in Paper Crafts & Origami (Location: ELE-ORI)
$5.95
Anna's Garden Songs
by Lena Anderson
from Scholastic Reference
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Art Flick's New Streamside Guide to Naturals and Their Imitations
by Art Flick
1983 Edition from Nick Lyons Books
Fly Fishing for Adult
in Hiking & Outdoor Adventures (Location: NAT-HIKE)
$5.50 (1 in stock)
Art of Manipulating Fabric
by Colette Wolff
from Krause Publications
for Adult
in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Art of Painting on Silk Volume 1
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
Art of Painting on Silk Volume 2
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Art of Painting on Silk Volume 3
from Search Press
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Asian Crafts
by Judith Hoffman Corwin
from Franklin Watts
for 4th-6th grade
in Asia (Location: HISMC-ASIA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Backyard Homestead
by Carleen Madigan
from Storey Publishing
for Adult
in Self-Sufficiency (Location: SS-Self)
Batsford Embroidery Course
in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
$5.50 (1 in stock)
Bears in the Woods Quilt
in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Beatrix Potter Mask Book
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
Beautiful Beading
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Beaver the Tailor
by Lars Klinting
from Douglas & McIntyre, Limited
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Beginner Book: Warfare by Duct Tape
by Steven Erickson
from Chinquapin Press
for 4th-Adult
in Dangerous Books for Kids (Location: SS-DAN)
$11.95
Belle & Boo Book of Crafts
by Mandy Sutcliffe; photography by
from Roost Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Bentwood Box
by Nan McNutt
from Sasquatch Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Best of Sewing Machine Fun for Kids
by Nancy Smith & Lynda Milligan
1st edition from Possibilities
for 4th-8th grade
in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Better Homes and Gardens: Annuals Perennials and Bulbs
from Meredith Corporation
for Adult
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Bible Puzzles to Solve
by Keith and Rosanna Heatwole
from Rod & Staff Publishers, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Brain Teasers & Puzzlers (Location: LOG-PUZ)
Big Book of Backyard Projects
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
Big Book of Geometric Designs and Illusions to Color
by Koichi Sato, Spyros Horemis
illustrated edition from Dover Publications
for 2nd-Adult
in Abstract & Mosaic Coloring Books (Location: COL-ABS)
$7.95
Big Book of Tricks and Magic
from Random House
in Brain Teasers & Puzzlers (Location: LOG-PUZ)
Bob Toski's Complete Guide to Better Golf
by Bob Toski with Dick Aultman
from Atheneum
for Adult
in Hiking & Outdoor Adventures (Location: NAT-HIKE)
$35.00 (1 in stock)
Book of Perfectly Perilous Math
by Sean Connolly
from Workman Publishing
for 4th-10th grade
in Math Games & Activities (Location: MATR-GAM)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Book of Perfectly Perilous Math
by Sean Connolly
from Workman Publishing
for 4th-10th grade
in Math Games & Activities (Location: MATR-GAM)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Book of the Earthworm
by Sally Coulthard
from Head of Zeus
for 8th-Adult
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Botanical Gardens - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Dot Barlowe
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Flowers & Plants Coloring Books (Location: COL-BOT)
$4.99
Boy Joiner and Model Maker
by E. A. Davidson
Reprint from Hope Chest Legacy, Inc.
for 4th-12th grade
in Carpentry for Kids (Location: SS-CARP)
$15.00 (2 in stock)
Bumper Book of Nature
by Stephen Moss
1st edition from Crown Trade Paperbacks
for 1st-Adult
in Hiking & Outdoor Adventures (Location: NAT-HIKE)
Button Blanket
from Sasquatch Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Caddisflies
by Gary LaFontaine, illustrated by Harvey Eckert
from Nick Lyons Books
for Adult
in Hiking & Outdoor Adventures (Location: NAT-HIKE)
$75.00 (1 in stock)
Calligraphic Ornaments
Dover Clip Art
by Kiyoshi Takahashi, designer
from Dover Publications
for Adult
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Camping for Special Children
by Thomas M. Shea
from The C.V. Mosby Co.
for Adult
in Special Needs / Learning Disabilities (Location: HSR-SPEC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Carousel Animal
by Tobin Fraley, photography by Gary Sinick
from Chronicle Books
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
Carpentry for Children
by Lester Walker
from Overlook Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Carpentry for Kids (Location: SS-CARP)
Carpentry for Children
by Lester Walker
Ninth Printing from Overlook Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Carpentry for Kids (Location: SS-CARP)
Carving Carousel Animals
from Sterling Publishing Co.
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
Carving for Kids
by Robin Trudel
for 2nd-6th grade
in Carpentry for Kids (Location: SS-CARP)
$8.50 (1 in stock)
Casting and Fishing the Artificial Fly
by John W. Ball
from Caxton Printers, Ltd
for Adult
in Hiking & Outdoor Adventures (Location: NAT-HIKE)
Cat's Cradle
by Anne Akers Johnson
from Klutz
for 3rd-6th grade
in Games & Toys (Location: FUN-GAME)
$12.99
CDC?
by William Steig
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 7th-10th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Christmas Crafts
from HarperCrest
for 3rd-6th grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
City Gardener's Handbook
from Random House
for Adult
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Civil War Paper Soldiers in Full Color
by A. G. Smith
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-5th grade
in American Civil War Era (1850-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
Classic Guide to Fly-Fishing for Trout
by Charles Jardine
from DK Publishing
for Adult
in Hiking & Outdoor Adventures (Location: NAT-HIKE)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Classic Knits
by Marianne Isager
from Interweave Press
in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Claymation Sensation: Underwater Claymation
by Emily Reid
from Windmill Books
for 3rd-8th grade
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Clothing for Women
Lippincott's Home Manuals
by Laura I. Baldt
1922 Printing from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Color Treasury of Stamp Collecting
from Orbis Publishing Limited
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
Colour Schemes for the Flower Garden
by Gertrude Jekyll, introduced and revised by Graham Stuart Thomas
1983 revised edition from The Ayer Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Common Weeds - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Stefen Bernath
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Flowers & Plants Coloring Books (Location: COL-BOT)
$4.99
Complete Book of Birdhouse Construction for Woodworkers
by Scott D. Campbell
40th edition from Dover Publications
for 7th-Adult
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$1.00 (1 in stock)
Complete Book of the Bow & Arrow
by G. Howard Gillelan
from Galahad Books
for Adult
in Hiking & Outdoor Adventures (Location: NAT-HIKE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Complete Miniature Quilt Book
in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Concoct it
from Walter Foster
for 2nd-5th grade
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Contained Garden
from Viking Press
for 10th-Adult
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Contest (Everest 1)
by Gordon Korman
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99
Cork & Wood Crafts
by Arden J. Newsome, illustrated by Nancy Coner
from The Lion Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Country Flower Drying
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Craft Academy
by Tim Imrie and Peter Williams
from Hermes House
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Crafts From Around the World
by B.J. Casselman
from Creative Home Library
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Craftster Guide to Nifty, Thrifty, and Kitschy Crafts
by Leah Kramer
from Ten Speed Press
for 6th-12th grade
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Crafty Art Book
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Creating Books with Children
by Valerie Bendt
2nd edition
for Preschool-1st grade
in Practical Home Schooling (Location: HSR-PRAC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Creating with Fimo Acrylic Clay
by Libby Nicholson & Yvonne Lau
from Kids Can Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Creations in Miniature
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Creative Crafts and Stitchery
from Meredith Corporation
in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Creative Shellcraft
by Katherine N. Cutler, illustrated by Giulio Maestro
from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Cross-Stitch Samplers
in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Curious Kids Nature Guide
by Fiona Cohen
from Sasquatch Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FG07)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Cut & Assemble a Medieval Castle
by A. G. Smith
from Dover Publications
for 4th-7th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$12.95
Cut & Assemble the Mayflower
by A. G. Smith
2020 Reprint from Dover Publications
for 6th-Adult
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Cut and Assemble a Crusader Castle in Full Color
by A. G. Smith
from Dover Publications
History Reference/Art Project for 7th-Adult
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Cut and Make Space Shuttles
by David Kawami
from Dover Publications
for 4th-9th grade
in How Things Work (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Cut, Crease, Create Snowflakes
from Melissa & Doug Toys
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
Dangerous Book for Boys
by Conn & Hal Iggulden
from William Morrow & Company
for 3rd-Adult
in Dangerous Books for Kids (Location: SS-DAN)
$23.99
David Hicks Garden Design
by David Hicks
from Routledge & Kegan Paul
for Adult
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Dazzling Designs - Coloring Book
by Koichi Sato
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-Adult
in Abstract & Mosaic Coloring Books (Location: COL-ABS)
$3.99
Decorative Workshop: Decoupage
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Devious Deductions
from Thunder Bay Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Brain Teasers & Puzzlers (Location: LOG-PUZ)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Deviously Difficult Mind-Bending Puzzles
by Ivan Moscovich
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 9th-Adult
in Brain Teasers & Puzzlers (Location: LOG-PUZ)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
DK Digital Photography Complete Course
from DK Publishing
for 6th-Adult
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
DK Digital Photography Masterclass
by Tom Ang
2nd edition from DK Publishing
Photography Instruction for 10th-Adult
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
DK Ready Set Grow!
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Gardening for Kids (Location: SS-GAR)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Do People Grow On Family Trees?
by Ira Wolfman
from Workman Publishing
in Genealogy (Location: XFA-GEN)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Dolls' House Accessories, Fixtures & Fittings
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Dolls' House Fireplaces & Stoves
by Patricia King
from Guild of Master Craftsman Publications Ltd
for 8th-Adult
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Double Dangerous Book for Boys
by Conn & Hal Iggulden
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-Adult
in Dangerous Books for Kids (Location: SS-DAN)
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