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Amish Knitting Circle #1
Beginnings
Readers have spoken: They want their serial novel, broken into episodes, back!
Amish Knitting Circle is a serial novel, episodes coming out every 3 weeks. Published first in 2011, readers liked the “old-fashioned Victorian feel”, awaiting each new visit to Granny’s knitting circle, accompanied by an authentic Amish recipe served at the circle.
If you’d like to read the complete series, set from winter-spring, showing Amish Christmas, weddings, Easter, you can purchase Amish Knitting Circle: Smicksburg Tales 1. If you’re hooked on continuing short story serials, Granny story starts here:
Beginnings ~ Granny Weaver starts the circle, and all the women have a reason not to come, but push back fears and eventually go. Amish weddings are typically in November. The knitting circle women see happy newlyweds everywhere, but for two, it’s a painful season; one wishing she was married, another wishing she was not.
SUMMARY:
Granny Weaver is praying for five women in her Old Order Amish community in Smicksburg, PA., but nothing seems to be happening. Spinning wool one day she ponders the fact that fibers wrapped around each other make a yarn that’s hard to break. Maybe the women she sees unraveling need to be spun together so they don’t break.
So Granny starts a knitting circle to make items for tornado victims in Joplin, MO. She invites Maryann who looks too tired and needs a break from her eight children. Ella seems mighty down since a doctor told her she can’t have children. Emma feels she’ll never get married because of her weight. Ruth has been depressed since the day she got married and won’t tell anyone why. Elizabeth never married to take care of her handicapped father, but others suspects she has a broken heart over a broken courtship.
Over the course of a year these women open up at the knitting circle. Their hearts are encouraged, being knit together in love as they face trials and troubles…together.”
About Karen Anna Vogel:
A trusted English friend among Amish in Western PA and Western NY, my four grown children call me an ‘Amish Addict.’ My husband of thirty years shares my addiction. Our Old Order Amish friends have taken us back to a time when life was slower. Slow enough to enjoy our faith, family and friends. Slow enough to make me relax and join a knitting circle and learn to spin wool. Wanting to share what I’ve learned from these gentle people led me to write Amish fiction.
Amish Knitting Circle is a serial novel, episodes coming out every 3 weeks. Published first in 2011, readers liked the “old-fashioned Victorian feel”, awaiting each new visit to Granny’s knitting circle, accompanied by an authentic Amish recipe served at the circle.
If you’d like to read the complete series, set from winter-spring, showing Amish Christmas, weddings, Easter, you can purchase Amish Knitting Circle: Smicksburg Tales 1. If you’re hooked on continuing short story serials, Granny story starts here:
Beginnings ~ Granny Weaver starts the circle, and all the women have a reason not to come, but push back fears and eventually go. Amish weddings are typically in November. The knitting circle women see happy newlyweds everywhere, but for two, it’s a painful season; one wishing she was married, another wishing she was not.
SUMMARY:
Granny Weaver is praying for five women in her Old Order Amish community in Smicksburg, PA., but nothing seems to be happening. Spinning wool one day she ponders the fact that fibers wrapped around each other make a yarn that’s hard to break. Maybe the women she sees unraveling need to be spun together so they don’t break.
So Granny starts a knitting circle to make items for tornado victims in Joplin, MO. She invites Maryann who looks too tired and needs a break from her eight children. Ella seems mighty down since a doctor told her she can’t have children. Emma feels she’ll never get married because of her weight. Ruth has been depressed since the day she got married and won’t tell anyone why. Elizabeth never married to take care of her handicapped father, but others suspects she has a broken heart over a broken courtship.
Over the course of a year these women open up at the knitting circle. Their hearts are encouraged, being knit together in love as they face trials and troubles…together.”
About Karen Anna Vogel:
A trusted English friend among Amish in Western PA and Western NY, my four grown children call me an ‘Amish Addict.’ My husband of thirty years shares my addiction. Our Old Order Amish friends have taken us back to a time when life was slower. Slow enough to enjoy our faith, family and friends. Slow enough to make me relax and join a knitting circle and learn to spin wool. Wanting to share what I’ve learned from these gentle people led me to write Amish fiction.
36 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 5, 2011
34 people are currently reading
397 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
November 22, 2011
The author lays the groundwork for a moving tale. While the setting is an Amish community, the issues that these women face are common to all women (and men). They have the same issues of family, romance and faith.
I liked the added bonus of the authentic recipe at the end!
I liked the added bonus of the authentic recipe at the end!
September 13, 2011
My husband said I had to do this one, he knows how much I enjoy these types of stories. Up to this point the only types of Amish stories I have been able to find were full length novels. When he told me this is a brand new short story series, I was very happy to read it. I had not heard of this author before, but she instantly won me over with her definitions in the beginning and her recipe at the end; I just loved the little touches she added.
The story in between is the best part though. Karen Anna Vogel has me hooked on her knitting circle of Amish characters. She has put a reality to this fiction that makes her characters believable, tangible, and engrossing. The story seemed to be just the right size and I enjoyed that, a nice jolt of what I enjoy to read, Amish fiction, but in a new age style, a digital short story, who would have thought? I can hardly wait for the next one; I am anxious to see what develops with each of her characters. This promises to be a great new series!
This is the first installment in the series so here is the synopsis and a little bit about Karen Anna Vogel:
“Granny Weaver is praying for five women in her Old Order Amish community in Smicksburg, PA., but nothing seems to be happening. Spinning wool one day she ponders the fact that fibers wrapped around each other make a yarn that’s hard to break. Maybe the women she sees unraveling need to be spun together so they don’t break.
So Granny starts a knitting circle to make items for tornado victims in Joplin, MO. She invites Maryann who looks too tired and needs a break from her eight children. Ella seems mighty down since a doctor told her she can’t have children. Emma feels she’ll never get married because of her weight. Ruth has been depressed since the day she got married and won’t tell anyone why. Elizabeth never married to take care of her handicapped father, but others suspects she has a broken heart over a broken courtship.
Over the course of a year these women open up at the knitting circle. Their hearts are encouraged, being knit together in love as they face trials and troubles…together.”
About Karen Anna Vogel:
A trusted English friend among Amish in Western PA and Western NY, my four grown children call me an ‘Amish Addict.’ My husband of thirty years shares my addiction. Our Old Order Amish friends have taken us back to a time when life was slower. Slow enough to enjoy our faith, family and friends. Slow enough to make me relax and join a knitting circle and learn to spin wool. Wanting to share what I’ve learned from these gentle people led me to write Amish fiction. I’m represented by Joyce Hart of Hartline Literary Agency and blog under Amish Crossings: http://karenannavogel.blogspot.com/ Member of Pittsburgh East Scribes and ACFW.”
Check out the newest releases from Trestle Press: April Pohren ”Welcome to the Land of Insanity” , Angelique LaFontaine & Eddie Frantom ”Thirty -1: Salvation”, B.R. Stateham ”Insatiable” from the “Drunk on the Moon” series by Paul D. Brazill, David Hoof ”Sharpshooter”, Karen Anna Vogel “The Amish Knitting Circle”, Lisa Taylor “Shana Black: The Invention” , Mark Cooper “Infection” ,Mark Cooper “How I met Your Mother: First Date”, De Miller “12 Steps” volume 2 of the “One” series by Mark Miller, Sam Lang “Reprisal: Shadow Boxing” volume 3, Michelle Vasquez “’Til Death Do Us Part”, Darren Sant ”Community Spirit” volume 2 of “The Tales of the Longcroft Estates”, J.E. Seymour “Pale Horse”, Tom Sumner “All I wanted was a Haircut #5”, Jeffrey Martin & Giovanni Gelati from The Author’s Lab/Collaboration series “Forsaken”, CQ Scafidi “Time Couriers” (Barnes & Noble’s Nook version), Darren Sant “Flashes of Revenge”,S.L. Schmidtz “Mina’s Daughter…The Harker Chronicles: The Wolf Vol.1”, Chantal Boudreau “Weird,Wicked & Wonderful: Technopathy ,Volume 2”, Werner Lind & Giovanni Gelati from The Author’s Lab/Collaboration series “Mrs. G’s Vampires”
The story in between is the best part though. Karen Anna Vogel has me hooked on her knitting circle of Amish characters. She has put a reality to this fiction that makes her characters believable, tangible, and engrossing. The story seemed to be just the right size and I enjoyed that, a nice jolt of what I enjoy to read, Amish fiction, but in a new age style, a digital short story, who would have thought? I can hardly wait for the next one; I am anxious to see what develops with each of her characters. This promises to be a great new series!
This is the first installment in the series so here is the synopsis and a little bit about Karen Anna Vogel:
“Granny Weaver is praying for five women in her Old Order Amish community in Smicksburg, PA., but nothing seems to be happening. Spinning wool one day she ponders the fact that fibers wrapped around each other make a yarn that’s hard to break. Maybe the women she sees unraveling need to be spun together so they don’t break.
So Granny starts a knitting circle to make items for tornado victims in Joplin, MO. She invites Maryann who looks too tired and needs a break from her eight children. Ella seems mighty down since a doctor told her she can’t have children. Emma feels she’ll never get married because of her weight. Ruth has been depressed since the day she got married and won’t tell anyone why. Elizabeth never married to take care of her handicapped father, but others suspects she has a broken heart over a broken courtship.
Over the course of a year these women open up at the knitting circle. Their hearts are encouraged, being knit together in love as they face trials and troubles…together.”
About Karen Anna Vogel:
A trusted English friend among Amish in Western PA and Western NY, my four grown children call me an ‘Amish Addict.’ My husband of thirty years shares my addiction. Our Old Order Amish friends have taken us back to a time when life was slower. Slow enough to enjoy our faith, family and friends. Slow enough to make me relax and join a knitting circle and learn to spin wool. Wanting to share what I’ve learned from these gentle people led me to write Amish fiction. I’m represented by Joyce Hart of Hartline Literary Agency and blog under Amish Crossings: http://karenannavogel.blogspot.com/ Member of Pittsburgh East Scribes and ACFW.”
Check out the newest releases from Trestle Press: April Pohren ”Welcome to the Land of Insanity” , Angelique LaFontaine & Eddie Frantom ”Thirty -1: Salvation”, B.R. Stateham ”Insatiable” from the “Drunk on the Moon” series by Paul D. Brazill, David Hoof ”Sharpshooter”, Karen Anna Vogel “The Amish Knitting Circle”, Lisa Taylor “Shana Black: The Invention” , Mark Cooper “Infection” ,Mark Cooper “How I met Your Mother: First Date”, De Miller “12 Steps” volume 2 of the “One” series by Mark Miller, Sam Lang “Reprisal: Shadow Boxing” volume 3, Michelle Vasquez “’Til Death Do Us Part”, Darren Sant ”Community Spirit” volume 2 of “The Tales of the Longcroft Estates”, J.E. Seymour “Pale Horse”, Tom Sumner “All I wanted was a Haircut #5”, Jeffrey Martin & Giovanni Gelati from The Author’s Lab/Collaboration series “Forsaken”, CQ Scafidi “Time Couriers” (Barnes & Noble’s Nook version), Darren Sant “Flashes of Revenge”,S.L. Schmidtz “Mina’s Daughter…The Harker Chronicles: The Wolf Vol.1”, Chantal Boudreau “Weird,Wicked & Wonderful: Technopathy ,Volume 2”, Werner Lind & Giovanni Gelati from The Author’s Lab/Collaboration series “Mrs. G’s Vampires”
December 19, 2011
This is a very good start to what will be a wonderful story. Vogel gives us a variety of characters so that every reader might identify with one. She establishes story lines well and makes me want to read more!
January 5, 2012
Good but way to short! Can't wait to get the next volume. This one is basically an introduction to the people and surroundings.
October 6, 2011
This book was a sweet and refreshing tale told by a master story teller.
January 3, 2012
This is a review on the first six volumes of The Amish Knitting Circle, they are very short stories and I've read all that are available at this time, there are more to come, Karen is already working on volume seven.
I just finished these short stories by reading the last two volumes this afternoon and evening, not steadily but while stopping to to other things too, the first four I read during the short drives to town and back only, so they took a while longer. Yes, they are very short and I read the last ones so fast because the stories are so good.
Granny Weaver decides to start a knitting circle with five ladies, to make items for people in Joplin, MO after the tornado hit that community. Granny had all boys and no girls, until her sons married that is, then she had daughters. Every lady she invites has some problem that Granny 'casts' prayers for. She is doing it as much for the ladies and herself as she is Joplin, they all need the interaction with other wives and mothers, as we do. Reading these stories, you find out how the Amish deal with a lot of the same health, personal, marital and emotional problems that we have. There are some problems you wouldn't think about them having to deal with.
You can get these eBooks at Amazon or Barnes & Noble for $.99 per book. They are quite enjoyable and a very quick read.
P.S. I will post the same review for all six books.
I just finished these short stories by reading the last two volumes this afternoon and evening, not steadily but while stopping to to other things too, the first four I read during the short drives to town and back only, so they took a while longer. Yes, they are very short and I read the last ones so fast because the stories are so good.
Granny Weaver decides to start a knitting circle with five ladies, to make items for people in Joplin, MO after the tornado hit that community. Granny had all boys and no girls, until her sons married that is, then she had daughters. Every lady she invites has some problem that Granny 'casts' prayers for. She is doing it as much for the ladies and herself as she is Joplin, they all need the interaction with other wives and mothers, as we do. Reading these stories, you find out how the Amish deal with a lot of the same health, personal, marital and emotional problems that we have. There are some problems you wouldn't think about them having to deal with.
You can get these eBooks at Amazon or Barnes & Noble for $.99 per book. They are quite enjoyable and a very quick read.
P.S. I will post the same review for all six books.
January 19, 2012
I did enjoy this-however, it is just a chapter or lead in. Apparently if I want to read the whole story it will be .99 a chapter--oh well=less than a magazine. Interesting Amish chracters with real problems.
January 19, 2012
Very brief, very simple, but enjoyable. I like Amish books.
June 21, 2017
I loved it!!!! It starts out with granny wants to start another knitting circle and she know who she will invite to its
each woman she picks has their own set of problems . Granny does want she calls casting off prayers,
She calls the preys casting off prayers because it is a lot like casting off when you are knitting this book will pull you right into it , and will not to put down By the end of this its like you know everybody
each woman she picks has their own set of problems . Granny does want she calls casting off prayers,
She calls the preys casting off prayers because it is a lot like casting off when you are knitting this book will pull you right into it , and will not to put down By the end of this its like you know everybody
December 7, 2019
Read in 2011 because a friend was racing me on who could finish the series faster. I don’t remember a thing about them other than the race and that they were sort of cute. Finished them all that day.
October 1, 2020
Knitting
This was interesting and glad I read it . Would read a other book by her. I enjoy Amish reads
This was interesting and glad I read it . Would read a other book by her. I enjoy Amish reads
August 24, 2024
Great read
This is a great, short read. Very easy to get sucked into the scene with the characters. Can't wait to read more of Karen's books.
This is a great, short read. Very easy to get sucked into the scene with the characters. Can't wait to read more of Karen's books.
May 30, 2022
Great book!
February 26, 2013
This book was excellent. Ms. Vogel's books are a continuing saga. They take place within the Amish Community in Smicksburgh, Pennsylvania. She tell's about the day to day life of Granny Weaver and her friends. Problems develop and problems are solved all within this wonderful circle of friends.
I can relate so well to Maryann and her bout with breast cancer.
I am enjoying these stories so much. Perhaps it's because I live close to the area and have been there many times. Perhaps it's Anna's fantastic abilities to tell a story. For years I have read Beverly Lewis books. She was my favorite. Poor Beverly was been moved to second place and Anna Vogel get's first place. I feel I have learned more about the Amish way of live from her books that I have from Beverly's.
If you are a fan of Amish fiction. These books won't dissapoint.
I can relate so well to Maryann and her bout with breast cancer.
I am enjoying these stories so much. Perhaps it's because I live close to the area and have been there many times. Perhaps it's Anna's fantastic abilities to tell a story. For years I have read Beverly Lewis books. She was my favorite. Poor Beverly was been moved to second place and Anna Vogel get's first place. I feel I have learned more about the Amish way of live from her books that I have from Beverly's.
If you are a fan of Amish fiction. These books won't dissapoint.
July 13, 2012
Who knew that this was a short story? I actually bought the complete series for my Nook, and am very glad. This book tries hard to be like Jan Karon's Mitford series, but comes up short. The knitting circle tries to tie all the women together, but it is pretty lightly brushed over. This series deals with lots of issues, single parents, love and loss, aging, breast cancer, jealousy, conversion, and of course the Amish way of life. It was a fine quick read, but not spectacular. I did enjoy the "casting off prayers"--with the double-entendre of knitting and casting off your burdens.
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April 30, 2012I didn't realize when I downloaded this, but it is more like a chapter than a book. Now that I've done a little bit of research, I discovered it's a digital short story series. With that in mind, I think this was enough of a taste for the series for me to say that it's not for me. The way she describes knitting and spinning didn't really connect for me, and the problems set up for the group of ladies seemed to be rather ... obvious. I'm sure there are people this would appeal to, I am just not one of them.
January 1, 2013
This is the first of a series by Karen Anna Vogel. It was described as written in the style of The Pickwick Papers in a series. I borrowed this one from my mother's Nook and really enjoyed it. It is very short and leaves you wishing the complete book was there before your eyes to read if you are a fan of Amish fiction.
Granny Weaver is spinning the wool from her six sheep one afternoon when she decides to set up a knitting circle. Inviting the women in her community that she is praying for, in this first volume, you meet the various Amish women.
Granny Weaver is spinning the wool from her six sheep one afternoon when she decides to set up a knitting circle. Inviting the women in her community that she is praying for, in this first volume, you meet the various Amish women.
February 7, 2012
A freebie on my kindle that I actually enjoyed. Although, I do have a thing for books about the Amish.
January 25, 2014
A good short story, I'd recommend it to others.
December 31, 2016
Love the whole series.
October 5, 2013
Amish and knitting.... So much enjoying these short stories. Complete with Amish recipes. Love it
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December 2, 2017This is a wonderful story of a group of amish women who love and support each other through tough times. They may seem closer to God but they have daily problems just like the rest of us. And with God and prayer they get through it.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews