Why I Knit

We wanted to let you know that we will be running our first ever live cohort of our course Self-Care One Stitch at a Time in January 2027. Join the priority waiting list If like me, you find it hard to stick with a pre-recorded online course and fit it into your schedule, and prefer the accountability and community of a live course then this is the course for you! The course will run for 6 weeks f...

Game of Wool finalist and knitwear designer Ailsa Stephen joins me for the final episode of Series 10. Ailsa speaks about learning to knit as a young child and returning to it during the pandemic, and how this soon turned into her love of knitting vintage patterns. Ailsa talks about her experience of appearing on Game of Wool, and how she was surprised to be chosen to appear on TV as a quiet perso...

Dr Hannah Barham-Brown is a GP and lecturer living in rural Scotland. Hannah speaks about learning to knit during lockdown around the same time she was diagnosed with ADHD, and found that this was something productive she could do with her hands. Hannah speaks about bringing knitting to board meetings and as a lecturer, and advocates for this as a reasonable adjustment to help with focus. She talk...

Knitting coach Nessa Hubbard joins me to discuss her own journey with knitting and crochet, going from being taught to knit as a very young child to help her to sit still to teaching other people to knit and crochet, and helping them to boost their skills and crucially also their confidence. As someone with ADHD, Nessa speaks about feeling that knitting helps to hold her brain in a way that nothin...

Tommy gurumi on instagram This 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, whi...

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...

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 creat...

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 h...

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...

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...

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 Inspire Series 1 episode 3 wi...

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. ------------- 🧶 We are host...

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 imp...

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...

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 S8E8 Madison Siegel S6E4 Lisa Silv...

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.2023.1062001 This study is specifically focussed on whether knitting can affect our executive function skills, and found that primary school children had signific...

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 taki...

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...

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 ------------- 🧶 We are hosting a LIVE version of our webinar The Healing...

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 croc...

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 inf...

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 w...

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 Restorat...

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. ------------- 🧶 We are hosting a LIVE version of our webinar The Healing Power of Knittin...

For this bonus episode I am joined by Dr Paula Redmond who specialises in working with health professionals experiencing burnout. Paula speaks about her own journey into this work during Covid, and how creativity in her personal life has encouraged her to bring this into her work. We talk about what burnout is, and who might be more likely to experience it, and why knitting is a great tool to prev...