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PODCAST

Why I Knit

Welcome to the Why I Knit podcast! My name is Dr Mia Hobbs and I am a Clinical Psychologist who is passionate about the mental health benefits of knitting. Each episode of the podcast I interview a different knitter about why they knit and the (k)nitty gritty of how it impacts their mental well-being. I have an inspiring and diverse range of knitters lined up who have generously shared their stories with me. Find out more about the therapeutic benefits of knitting at my website and find our

leisure crafts

All Episodes

01:03:44

Knitting to manage overwhelm with Thomas of Tommy Gurumi

Why I Knit ·

2026/09/30

Tommy gurumi on instagramThis week on the podcast I am delighted to be joined by Thomas, who is known online as Tommygurumi. Thomas talks about learning to knit accidentally on a long car journey to impress someone, and then finding his own particular love for creating knitted models of characters. Probably unlike most knitters, Thomas usually knits things that don’t have an existing pattern, which means that he has to do a lot of trial and error and figuring things out himself, which is a big part

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01:17:05

The human stories of knitting with Salina Jane

Why I Knit ·

2026/09/23

Salina Jane is an artist and knitter who brilliantly captures the feelings many of us have about our knitting in her art work. It was a pleasure to speak to Salina about her experience of using knitting throughout her recovery from a recent period of illness, and how she uses both knitting and visual art to tell human stories.You can find out all about Salina's work at her website Salina Jane Art or on Instagram or Ravelry.-------------🧶 Come and join our new community on Patreon! Perks include

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01:00:26

Knitting as creative collaboration with Kitey The...

Why I Knit ·

2026/09/16

This week I am delighted to be joined by yarn dyer and yarn shop owner Kitey, who is also known as The Yarn Whisperer. Kitey speaks about his journey from crochet to knitting, and how dying yarn unexpectedly brought together lots of different parts of his heritage.He also reflects on the importance of keeping some craft projects for himself as someone who works in the yarn industry, and the creative collaboration that happens when we combine yarns with a pattern and then add our own interpretation

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54:23

Knitting for the ups and the downs with Lydia of Weku...

Why I Knit ·

2026/09/09

Series 10 returns for a series of interviews exploring why we knit and how knitting benefits our mental health. This week I am joined by Lydia who is the Co-founder of Weku Yarn which she runs alongside her sister Hannah. You may also know Lydia as one of the finalists from the first series of Game of Wool.Lydia joins me to speak about how she learned to knit, how her relationship with knitting has changed and evolved over recent years, including the times that high levels of stress has meant that

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02:40

An exciting announcement...

Why I Knit ·

2026/09/02

Series 10 is on the way, and with it a new and exciting development! We have created a Patreon Community and we'd love you to join us there - the perks for supporting the podcast will include early access to episodes, our behind the scenes weekly videos and you can join us at our monthly online knitting circle.We are really looking forward to growing the community element of Creative Restoration so we really hope to see you there. Find out more here: Join the CommunitySeries 10 of the podcast will

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48:09

Knitting for addiction recovery - Journal club

Why I Knit ·

2026/08/05

In this Journal Club episode Dr Paula Redmond joins me to discuss a journal article about using knitting in a center for drug and alcohol rehabilitation. This is a narrative of a knitting group within a rehab center for women living with addiction.The paper is here:Duffy, K. (2007). Knitting through recovery one stitch at a time: Knitting as an experiential teaching method for affect management in group therapy. Journal of Groups in Addiction & Recovery, 2(1), 67–83.

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42:45

Knitting for depression and low mood - a bonus relisten

Why I Knit ·

2026/07/01

This week Dr Paula Redmond joins me to discuss how knitting can help with depression and low mood. We've chosen three episodes of the podcast in which my guests have discussed using knitting as a strategy to help with low mood, and we discuss our reflections and themes from these conversations.The episodes we listened to were:Series 4 episode 1 with Ellen of Sew and InspireSeries 1 episode 3 with James McIntoshSeries 5 episode 6 with Kathryn Vercillo-------------🧶 We are hosting a LIVE version of

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39:14

Journal Club - Knitting and Eating Disorders

Why I Knit ·

2026/06/17

This week Paula and I discuss the journal article investigating whether knitting can reduce anxious thoughts in people diagnosed with anorexia nervosa.Find the article here: Clave-Brule, M & Mazloum, A & Park, Rebecca & Harbottle, E. (2009). Managing anxiety in eating disorders with knitting. Eating and weight disorders : EWD. 14. e1-5. 10.1007/BF03354620. -------------🧶 If you'd like to learn more about how to use knitting for your self-care, check out our course Self-Care One Stitch

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50:03

Book Club - Art Cure and Your Brain on Art

Why I Knit ·

2026/05/20

In this bonus book club episode Paula joins me to discuss two great books about art, health and well-being. Both books take a deep dive into the research into how the arts impact on our health, well-being and education.Mia has read the New York Times bestselling book: Your Brain on Art by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross. This is a summary of research across different areas of the arts and how the impact on health, welll-being and learning.Paula has read Art Cure by Daisy Fancourt who has conducted a

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34:36

Journal Club - Can knitting reduce blood pressure?

Why I Knit ·

2026/04/22

For this journal club episode we discuss the commonly made claim that knitting can reduce blood pressure. We discuss the origins of this claim in the research and look at a new paper which examines the impact of a creative handicraft group, which included knitting, on a group of older adults living in a residential home.You can find a link to the abstract and reference here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/psyg.70044?af=RTo find out more about Self-Care One Stitch at a Time: an audio

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47:57

Bonus Episode - Knitting and ADHD

Why I Knit ·

2026/02/26

This is our first bonus relisten episode where Paula and I choose 3 episodes on a theme and relisten to them and give our reflections.This month we are listening to 3 episodes with knitters who discuss their experiences of ADHD and how they use knitting to benefit their well-being as an ADHD knitter.If you'd like to listen back, the episodes we discuss are:Una S8E8Madison Siegel S6E4Lisa Silver S4E4If you'd like to see the full list of episodes featuring discussions of ADHD you find them on the

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40:10

Journal Club - Can knitting improve attention?

Why I Knit ·

2026/02/19

This week Paula and I discuss a research paper about knitting and attention in children.Sonnier F, Lussiana E and Gueraud S (2023) Boosting inhibition control process by knitting at school. Front. Psychol. 14:1062001. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1062001This study is specifically focussed on whether knitting can affect our executive function skills, and found that primary school children had significant better scores on a test of inhibition after 20 minutes of knitting compared to spending 20 minutes at

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42:23

Knitting to focus on the present moment with Simon of...

Why I Knit ·

2026/02/12

For the final episode of series 9 I am joined by Simon, also known as Veteran Knitter and one of the contestants from Game of Wool, the knitting and crochet based TV show in the UK.Simon speaks about how he first came to pick up some knitting needles and his journey from a secret knitter who handed out hand knit gifts to his surprised friends and family, to going public on Instagram and then taking his knitting onto our TV screens.We speak about his experience of telling his work colleagues on a

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53:58

Knitting to feel like myself again with Annah of...

Why I Knit ·

2026/02/05

This week I am delighted to be joined by Annah of Needle and Feather. Annah is a designer of colourwork knitting designs often inspired by nature and if you follow me on Instagram you'll have seen that I am enjoying knitting her Year by Piece blanket which is made up of a square inspired by each month of the year.Annah speaks about turning to knitting during a period of anxiety when she needed a small achievable creative project to keep her brain busy and to give her a sense of acheivement.Connect

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57:05

Knitting for Self-Reflection with Nicole Nehrig

Why I Knit ·

2026/01/29

Clinical Psychologist and author Nicole Nehrig joins me this week to discuss her own relationship with knitting and how this lead to writing the book 'With Her Own Hands: Women Weaving Their Stories' in which she explores the meaningful role that textile work has played in so many women’s lives.Find out about Nicole Nehrig-------------🧶Join us at our next webinar Knitting for Attention and Focus. We will explore how knitting and crochet can support concentration, attention and mindful awareness,

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54:42

ADHD, dopamine and flow with Theodora Burrow

Why I Knit ·

2026/01/22

Joining me this week on the podcast is designer Theodora Burrow.Theodora is a knit and crochet designer who taught herself to knit and crochet from books, way before there was an internet. After her ADHD diagnosis at the age of 50 she realized just how important knitting and crochet had been in her life, and how it both soothes and sparks creativity in equal measure. She creates knitting and crochet patterns with a playful and whimsical twist, with colour as a source of dopamine.Instagram:

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35:24

Knitting to find pause with Maya from Knit With Attitude

Why I Knit ·

2026/01/15

Maya is the owner of Knit With Attitude, one of the longest running yarn shops in London. She speaks about using knitting as a strategy to manage her own health difficulties, and about the sudden change that lead her to speak about knitting and mental health on a daily basis in her shop.Maya is also running the Knit Calm Retreat on Sunday 22nd February where both she and Mia are speaking. For information on how you can join us click the link.Find out about Knit With Attitude Shop-------------🧶Join

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01:00:40

Knitting to channel anxiety with Lauren Aston

Why I Knit ·

2026/01/08

Series 9 kicks of with a conversation with Lauren Aston, the founder of Lauren Aston Designs. I first came across Lauren when looking up some of Claudia Winkleman's excellent knitwear on the second series of The Traitors UK. I was delighted to find Lauren's knitting pattern behind one of them!Lauren speaks about the phenomenon that is 'The Claudia Sweater' and the challenge of continuing to get well-being benefits from knitting once it becomes your job. She also speaks about really realising how

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47:46

Bonus episode - Knitting and Creative Restoration in...

Why I Knit ·

2025/12/18

For our last episode of 2025, Paula and Mia reflect on their own knitting and craft projects over the past year, and the ways in which they have used knitting as part of their self-care.They also look back at the new developments in Creative Restoration over the past year, and share their thoughts on the TV show Game of Wool.They share their plans for their own knitting and for Creative Restoration for the coming year including news on the next season of the Why I Knit Podcast which returns in

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39:02

Book Club Episode - Wintering by Katherine May

Why I Knit ·

2025/11/13

For this bonus book club episode we have read the brilliant bestselling book 'Wintering' by Katherine May and speak about how it links to burnout. Wintering takes us through living through personal and seasonal winters and how knitting can be a brilliant activity to accompany us through both types of winter.-------------🧶Join us at our LIVE Webinar: Unravelling Burnout: How knitting can help you rest, reset and restore on 18th November at 7pm UK time🧶 If you'd like to learn more about how to use

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