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...
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...
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...
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...
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.
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...
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...
Kaleb decided to return to knitting during the pandemic as a way of managing anxiety and to feel connected to his mum who had been a prolific knitter. Kaleb speaks about finding that knitting allowed them to slow down, feel calmer and connected to a different community of people. Kaleb Instagram: @all_things_kaleb -------------🧶 If you'd...
I knew I wanted to interview Lisa for the podcast when I heard her speaking about her experience of having ADHD on Irina Shaar’s ‘Humans of Westknits’ series during the recent Westknits mystery knit along. As someone who isn’t great at just sitting and watching TV or listening to something, I feel knitting improves my...
Ailie hosts the Thoughtful Knitter YouTube channel. She speaks about returning to knitting in recent years as her health problems meant that she wasn’t able to connect with friends and family in the same way. Ailie speaks about her journey from a slightly reluctant knitter to someone who knits every day and focuses more on...
You can tell by the way Irina Shaar interviews knitters and other fibre artists that she loves connecting with people and finding out how they tick, so it was brilliant to hear her story and to get the chance to find out what she has learned from interviewing hundreds of knitters about their craft. Irina...
