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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 wellbeing. I have an inspiring and diverse range of knitters lined up who have generously shared their stories with me. You can follow me on Instagram @knittingistherapeutic and get more information on the therapeutic benefits of knitting at my website www.therapeuticknitting.org
Kathryn Vercillo is a writer and crafter who specialises in the intersection between art and mental health.
I particularly loved Kathryn's focus on her relationship with craft being something that is constantly evolving, and her celebration of every part of the process.
Kathryn speaks about crochet has helped save her life during periods of depression, and also talks about how she used crochet to help her through the grief following her friend's death through suicide.
Kathryn Vercillo
Instagram @createmefree
Substack: https://createmefree.substack.com/
Books: https://www.amazon.com/Kathryn-Vercillo/e/B001JPC6IO
Mia
Mia
Website: therapeuticknitting.org
Patreon: patreon.com/therpeuticknitting
Instagram: @knittingistherapeutic
Jessica Hendrickson is the Creative Design Director at Lion Brand Yarn. As a teenager she had such a strong desire to make and wear her own clothes, that she told her parents she had to attend a school without a uniform.
She continues to use knitting and crochet to express her identity, but over time she has also used them to help find her way through post-natal depression and to help her focus. Jessica speaks about how she manages her desire to knit all the things as quickly as possible, but also how her constant drive for new experiences is a superpower in her role as Design Director which requires her to come up with new designs and use new yarns on a daily basis.
Jessica and Lion Brand Yarn
Webiste: Lion Brand Yarn
Tom Daley's “Made With Love Collection," which will be
available for purchase in September 2023 at Michaels and on LionBrand.com.
Instagram: @lionbrandyarn
Mia
Website: therapeuticknitting.org
Patreon: patreon.com/therpeuticknitting
Instagram: @knittingistherapeutic
Dr Kaman Hansford is a GP who joined us on one of our retreats for healthcare professionals. She has lived experience of using mental health services and knitting is now a crucial part of her wellbeing plan.
Kaman speaks about feeling that she can use knitting as an early warning sign if her mental health is deteriorating, and also that it is one of the tools she uses daily to access some calm.
I also really valued Kaman's perspective on using knitting as a way of becoming more self-compassionate.
Kaman is not on social media, so if you have any comments on this episode I am very happy to pass them on!
Mia
Mia
Website: therapeuticknitting.org
Patreon: patreon.com/therpeuticknitting
Instagram: @knittingistherapeutic
Kesha Evans learned to knit 11 years ago when her son was born prematurely and was in the NICU. She was approached by Carol Caparosa from Project Knitwell who offered to teach her to knit. Despite not considering herself creative at all, Kesha agreed to learn and ended up feeling that the visits from Carol were as important to her as those of the doctors and nurses.
Today Kesha is on the board at Project Knitwell and I interviewed her as part of their Knitathon in March 2023. Project Knitwell's team of volunteers go into hospitals, schools and community settings to offer knitting as a wellness tool to people at challenging times of their lives.
This interview was one of several online sessions recorded during the Knitathon - you can access these recordings by donating online - find out more at Project Knitwell Knitathon
Project Knitwell
Website: projectknitwell.org
Instagram: @projectknitwell
Mia
Website: therapeuticknitting.org
Patreon: patreon.com/therpeuticknitting
Instagram: @knittingistherapeutic
Jude generously joined me to speak about how he found knitting and the knitting community during a difficult time, and how knitting was a crucial part of putting himself back together.
He also speaks about the death of his parents last year, and how he continues to feel connected to them both through the memories held in knitted items, and also in the other new hobbies and skills that Jude has discovered more recently.
Jude also dyes beautiful yarn and by coincidence I realised I was wearing a pair of socks knit in Stranded yarn during our interview, bought 5 years previously at Unravel festival!
Jude
Instagram: @strandeddyeworks
Stranded Podcast on YouTube: Stranded Podcast
Mia
Website: www.therapeuticknitting.org
Support the podcast on Patreon
Instagram: @knittingistherapeutic
Dr Shona Mason is a dentist and teacher who encourages her students to develop interests outside of dentistry to prevent burnout and encourage them to have a positive work-life balance. As part of this mission she runs a knitting group for students, one of whom got in touch with me and suggested that she'd make a great interviewee for the podcast!
Shona
Instagram: @shonamasonmakes
Mia
Website: Therapeuticknitting.org
Support the podcast by donating on Patreon
Instagram: @knittingistherapeutic
I am so sorry that it has taken much longer than planned for Series 5! However I am pleased to announce that episode one will be available this Thursday 15th June.
In the meantime you can listen to all the previous episodes here or on your favourite podcast app.
Thank you so much for listening to the podcast, I am so thrilled that so many of you have connected with the themes we have discussed. I would really value your feedback on how I can continue to create podcasts and grow this community of like-minded people who are using knitting to benefit their mental health. The survey takes only 2 minutes and I would really value your feedback!
Complete the survey by clicking here - if you were kind enough to complete the survey already from the link in my mailing list thank you so much!
You can also support the podcast by paying as little as £3 a month on Patreon. This will enable me to keep devoting time to recording and editing new interviews.
It was a joy to spend time with Marceline to hear her reflections on her relationship with knitting, how this has changed over time, and how she aims to be more intentional in her making.
Marceline speaks about tuning in to what she needs from her crafts at a given time in her life, and how connecting to 'the old way' of doing things has helped her to navigate the times when something needs to be unravelled.
Marceline
hey BrownBerry YouTube channel: heyBrownBerry
Instagram: @heybrownberry
Etsy: heybrownberry
Ravelry: heybrownberry
Mia
Website: www.therapeuticknitting.org
Patreon: WhyIKnit
Instagram: @knittingistherapeutic
Andrea is a physical therapist and passionate knitter who is perfectly placed to provide professional advice on what to do when we suffer pain when knitting, and how to prevent it in future.
Andrea speaks about how she returned to knitting as a new mum, and how it helped her to find a few minutes each day to do something for herself. She also shares her reflections as a physiotherapist on her important role in helping crafters to find ways of accessing their crafts in a sustainable way.
Andrea
Website: Andrea Lui
Instagram: @theknittingpt
Patreon: The Knitting PT
Youtube: The Knitting PT
Mia
Website: Podcast | Why I Knit Podcast (therapeuticknitting.org)
Patreon: Why I Knit Patreon
Instagram: @knittingistherapeutic
Amanda is a wife. A mother. A blogger. A Christian.
A charming, beautiful, bubbly, young woman who lives life to the fullest.
But Amanda is dying, with a secret she doesn’t want anyone to know.
She starts a blog detailing her cancer journey, and becomes an inspiration, touching and
captivating her local community as well as followers all over the world.
Until one day investigative producer Nancy gets an anonymous tip telling her to look at Amanda’s
blog, setting Nancy on an unimaginable road to uncover Amanda’s secret.
Award winning journalist Charlie Webster explores this unbelievable and bizarre, but
all-too-real tale, of a woman from San Jose, California whose secret ripped a family apart and
left a community in shock.
Scamanda is the true story of a woman whose own words held the key to her secret.
New episodes every Monday.
Follow Scamanda on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.
Amanda’s blog posts are read by actor Kendall Horn.
