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 had the pleasure of speaking to an inspiring and diverse range of knitters who have generously shared their stories with me.
We also have a series of bonus episodes where my colleague and fellow Clinical Psychologist Dr Paula Redmond joins me to discuss the research into knitting and mental health.
Why I Knit Episodes...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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. -------------🧶...
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...
