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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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243 Items found Print
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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)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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)
$5.50 (1 in stock)
Adorable Crochet for Babies and Toddlers
by Lesley Stanfield
from Collins & Brown
for 6th-Adult
in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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)
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 Book of Sports and Games
from Lyons Press
for 3rd-8th grade
in Dangerous Books for Kids (Location: SS-DAN)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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)
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 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)
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)
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)
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 Americans (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)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
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)
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 (3 in stock)
Boys' Book of Model Railroading
by Raymond F. Yates
from Harper & Brothers
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Button Blanket
from Sasquatch Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Native Americans (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)
Carpentry for Children
by Lester Walker
from Overlook Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Carpentry for Kids (Location: SS-CARP)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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 and Hobbies
from Reader's Digest
for 9th-Adult
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$3.00 (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)
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)
Cutting Garden
by Sarah Raven, foreword by Penelope Hobhouse
from Reader's Digest
for Adult
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
David Hicks Garden Design
by David Hicks
from Routledge & Kegan Paul
for Adult
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
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 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)
Dough Book
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Easy and Attractive Gifts You Can Sew
from Dover Publications
in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Easy Carpentry Projects for Children
by Jerome E. Leavitt
from Dover Publications
for 1st-6th grade
in Carpentry for Kids (Location: SS-CARP)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Easy to Make Dolls' House Accessories
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Ed Emberley's Fingerprint Drawing Book
by Ed Emberley
from Little, Brown & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Drawing for Beginners (Location: ELE-ARTDRAW)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Encyclopedia of Flower Arranging
by Rona Coleman & Sylvia Pepper
from Wellfleet Press
for Adult
in Hospitality (Location: SS-HOS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Encyclopedia of Origami & Papercraft Techniques
by Paul Jackson
from Running Press
for 9th-Adult
in Paper Crafts & Origami (Location: ELE-ORI)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Encyclopedia of Paden City Glass
by Carrie and Jerry Domitz
from Collector Books
for Adult
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Encyclopedia of Sewing Machine Techniques
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for Adult
in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Essential Outdoor Gear Manual
2nd edition from Ragged Mountain Press
for Adult
in Hiking & Outdoor Adventures (Location: NAT-HIKE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Everyday Mysteries
by Jerome Wexler
from Dutton Children's Books
for 3rd-5th grade
in Brain Teasers & Puzzlers (Location: LOG-PUZ)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Fiendishly Frustrating Brain-Twisting Puzzles
by Ivan Moscovich
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 9th-Adult
in Brain Teasers & Puzzlers (Location: LOG-PUZ)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Floral Borders on Layout Grids
by Stefen Bernath, designer
from Dover Publications
for 6th-Adult
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Flower Garden Quilts
in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Folk Toys Around the World
by Joan Joseph, illustrated by Mel Furukawa
from Parents Magazine Press
for Adult
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Ford Treasury of the Outdoors
by W.D. Kennedy, Editor, Head of the Ford Publication Department
from Simon and Schuster
for Adult
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Fruits & Berries of the Pacific Northwest
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Fun with Hieroglyphs
by Catharine Roehrig
from Metropolitan Museum of Art
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$19.00 (2 in stock)
Fun with Next to Nothing
by Wesley F. Arnold and Wayne C. Cardy
from Harper & Row
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Garden Almanac
by Penelope O'Sullivan
from Hearst Books
for Adult
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Garden Flowers Iron-On Transfer Patterns
by Claire Bryant
from Dover Publications
for 6th-Adult
in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Garden of Quilts
in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Gardening With Children
from Brooklyn Botanic Garden
for 3rd-8th grade
in Gardening for Kids (Location: SS-GAR)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Gardening Wizardry for Kids
by L. Patricia Kite
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Gardening for Kids (Location: SS-GAR)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Get Crafty
by Jean Railla
from Broadway Books
for Adult
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Getting Up and Down
by Tom Watson with Nick Seitz, introduction by Jack Nicklaus
from Random House
Golf Techniques for Adult
in Hiking & Outdoor Adventures (Location: NAT-HIKE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Giant Encyclopedia of Art & Craft Activities
by Carrie Barnes
from Gryphon House
for 4th-8th grade
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Gifts from the Heart
in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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