The Unlikely Yarn of the Dragon Lady
About the Book
A knitting group’s
change of scenery changes lives in unexpected ways
Margaret, Rose, Jane,
and Fran had a good thing going: meet every week in the quiet of their peaceful
chapel and knit prayer shawls. No muss, just ministry. That is, until their
pastor boots them out of the church in his last-ditch effort to revive the
dwindling congregation.
Uptight Margaret isn’t
having it. Knitting prayer shawls where people can watch is the most ridiculous
idea she’s ever heard of, and she’s heard plenty. Prayer belongs in the church,
not out among the heathen masses. How are they supposed to knit holiness into
these shawls if they’re constantly distracted by the public? But with no
choice, the others embrace the challenge. They pack their knitting bags and
drag Margaret—grumbling the whole way—to the mall with them. She can’t wait to
prove them all wrong when it fails miserably, and show the pastor that she
always knows best.
Without the familiar
mold the group has been stuck in, their own losses, pain, and struggles rise to
the surface. And the people and situations they encounter every time they try
to sit quietly and knit are taking them a lot further out of their comfort zone
than they ever imagined. Can they find the courage to tackle the increasing
number of knotty issues they learn about in the community--or will the tangle
be too much to unravel?
Sharon J. Mondragon’s
debut is warm and delightful, full of real laughter, grief, and personality. It
beautifully illustrates the power of women across generations to reach people
for Christ.
To read
an excerpt of The Unlikely Yarn of the Dragon Lady click here.
About the Author
Sharon J. Mondragón writes about the place where kindness and courage meet.
Her debut novel, The Unlikely Yarn of the Dragon Lady (originally titled
The Heavenly Hugs Prayer Shawl Ministry)
was the 2017 winner of the
American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis award in the Short Novel Category,
and she has also been recognized by The Saturday Evening Post where her
short story, “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” was an Honorable Mention Awardee in
the 2014 their Great American Fiction Contest.
Mondragón has been active in prayer shawl
ministry since 2008 and currently serves as facilitator for the prayer shawl
ministry at her church, St. Paul Episcopal in Waxahachie, TX. She also knits
with the Circle of Healing at Red Oak United Methodist Church. She is a Level 2
Certified Knitting Instructor through the Craft Yarn Council and teaches
beginning knitting at a local yarn store.
Mondragón is the mother of five grown
children and has four grandchildren. After 26 years as an Army wife, she has
settled in Midlothian, TX with her hero/husband, her laptop, and her yarn
stash.
Visit Sharon Mondragón’s website and blog at www.sharonjmondragon.com and follow her on Facebook (Sherry Mondragón) and Twitter
(@SJ_Mondragón).
Q & A with the Author
Q: Tell us a little bit
about your new book, The Unlikely Yarn of the Dragon Lady.
The four knitters of the
Heavenly Hugs Prayer Shawl Ministry are stuck—in a comfortable mold of
ministry, a stagnant church, and at the points of pain they each have in their
own life. All this changes when their pastor kicks them out of the comfortable,
quiet prayer chapel to take their ministry out into the world. They end up
knitting way out of their comfort zone at the local mall during the Christmas
shopping season where anything can happen.
Q: Introduce us to the
Heavenly Hugs Prayer Shawl Ministry. Who are the members and what is the
mission of the ministry?
The Heavenly Hugs Prayer
Shawl Ministry has met from 9:30-11:30 every Wednesday morning for the past
seven years to knit prayer shawls. They knit in the peace and quiet of the
Prayer Chapel of Hope of Glory Community Church, praying silently. Margaret is
the self-appointed leader of the group (she tends to take charge of whatever
she’s involved in). Jane, a mother of teens, gives Rose a ride from Fair
Meadows Retirement Community every week. Fran is a recent widow learning to
knit as she begins to emerge from the fog of grief.
The purpose of their
ministry is to make shawls to comfort and encourage people who are ill,
bereaved or otherwise going through a difficult time. They pray as they knit to
infuse the shawls with a sense of the presence of God. The shawls are a
tangible expression of God’s love and care—a hug from God.
Q: What happens once a
prayer shawl is finished? How is it decided who gets a shawl?
When one of the Heavenly
Hugs ladies finishes a shawl, Margaret attaches a tag with the words “Made for
you with love and prayer by the Heavenly Hugs Prayer Shawl Ministry” on one
side and “You are not alone,” followed by the church’s contact information on
the other. Then the shawl is delivered to the church, where Father Pete and the
congregation pray over it the following Sunday. The shawl is then stored in the
church office to be given out to those who request one for someone they know
and care about who is having a rough time. On occasion, Father Pete or Lucille,
the church administrator, give them to someone who has come for counseling or
support.
Q: You are involved in
actual prayer shawl ministry, aren’t you? Can you tell us more about it?
I made my first prayer
shawl in 2008. It was for myself, akin to how flight attendants tell us to put
the oxygen masks on ourselves before helping others with theirs. In 2009, I
joined my first prayer shawl group. I was, once again, the new girl at church,
due to a military move (my husband had been assigned to Fort Gordon, located
just outside Augusta, Georgia). I joined the prayer shawl group in hopes of
making some friends. It turned out to be so much more!
The Hands of Comfort
Prayer Shawl Ministry did not meet at The Church of the Holy Comforter, but in
the café of a local health food store. The pastor wanted
us to ply our needles in public, not hidden away in the church building. People
often stopped by our table to ask what we were making or to tell us about
someone they loved who also knitted or crocheted. We were a warm and comforting
presence in that space every week.
At first, I thought of
prayer shawl making as something nice to do for hurting people, but I soon
discovered that God wanted something deeper from me. Most of the shawls I made
went into the supply at church. They were an act of faith, as I never knew who
would receive them or exactly why the shawls were needed. Then I started to
experience what I call “The Nudge,” that urge to make a shawl for a particular
person. This involved a great deal of listening as I searched for the right
yarn and pattern for each shawl. I began to pay attention to the situations
that prompted the nudge and caught a glimpse of how much God cares about
fractured relationships, unspeakable sorrow, and weariness of soul. Prayer
shawl making has become a way to draw closer to the heart of God, to see people
and situations through His eyes.
At the end of my husband’s
military career in 2014, we moved to Texas to be closer to family (especially
our marvelous grandchildren). I’ve since become the facilitator for the prayer
shawl ministry at our church. Those who are able meet on Friday afternoons at a
local coffee shop. We are not only friends and knitting (and crochet) buddies,
but prayer partners, lifting up and encouraging one another.
Q: Do you have a new
writing project in the works?
Yes, I do. I’m working on
another prayer shawl novel. This story takes place at the retirement community
where my character Rose lives. Sam Talbot is barely existing since his wife
went into Memory Care at Fair Meadows Retirement Community. Life has lost all
color and meaning—until he gets tangled up with flirtatious Jenny Alderman,
crotchety crocheter Edna Booth, and the rest of the prayer shawl group Rose is
heading up at Fair Meadows. The Woolgatherers make prayer shawls for the
caretakers of folks with dementia, but they soon find out that God has much
more in mind for each of them. Jenny, Edna, and Sam come face to face with
uncomfortable truths about themselves and are challenged to embrace new ways of
living and relating to God and others. It’s a story of love and loss, the pain
of loneliness, and the power of community.
I’m excited about this
book because I feel it’s important to reach out and support those who love and
care for people with memory issues. We tend not to want to think about this
situation because the thought of developing memory problems ourselves is
frightening. It’s deeply distressing to watch someone’s memory and function
fade. Caretakers, however, need our love, concern, and support, even if it’s
simply a listening ear and a hug from someone who can recognize them. In this
book, I hope readers will gain a sense of God’s heart for caretakers and follow
Him in loving and caring for them. The care of both memory patients and their
caretakers is truly a place where courage and kindness meet.
My Thoughts
The Unlikely Yarn of the Dragon Lady is Sharon Mondragon’s debut novel. Every
Wednesday, four women (Heavenly Hugs Prayer Shawl Ministry) meet in the Prayer
Chapel of Hope of Glory Community Church to knit prayer shawls. One day, Father Pete tells them that for next
month they will be unable to use the Prayer Chapel because it is being
painted. He suggests that the group meet
in a public place. This throws the
groups unofficial leader, Margaret Benson into a tizzy. This just might be what each woman and others
in the community need. I enjoyed reading
this sweet story. It shows us that you
never know what God might have in store for you. The Unlikely Yarn of the Dragon Lady is a
charming story that really resonated with me.
I enjoyed how this group of women helped others by knitting and
praying. I thought the book was
well-written with steady pacing. The
characters are developed and realistic.
I loved Father Pete with his ideas, his enthusiasm, and clever
t-shirts. I liked that we get to see
what happens when we relinquish control and let God be in charge. There is a
prayer shawl pattern at the end of the story along with information on prayer
shawl ministries. The Unlikely Yarn of the Dragon Lady is a special tale that is emotional, encouraging, and uplifting.
Kris
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