Why I Knit

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 significant better scores on a test of inhibition after 20 minutes of knitting compared to spending 20 minutes at recess. They also found that knitting reduced the impact of emotion on response times.
You can read the full text here
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🧶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, particularly for people who struggle with restlessness, distractibility or overwhelm.
🧶 If you'd like to learn more about how to use knitting for your self-care, check out our course Self-Care One Stitch at a Time.
🧶Catch up on our on-demand webinars:
The Healing Power of Knitting where we take a deep dive into the mental health benefits of knitting
Unravelling Burnout where we look at how we can use knitting as a tool to prevent burnout
Here's how to stay in touch:
💌 Sign up to the Creative Restoration newsletter
📲 Follow us on Instagram at @knittingistherapeutic and @drpaularedmond

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 building site that he is a knitter, and how he uses knitting to help him bring his focus into the present.
Connect with Simon on Instagram and TikTok
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🧶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, particularly for people who struggle with restlessness, distractibility or overwhelm.
🧶 If you'd like to learn more about how to use knitting for your self-care, check out our course Self-Care One Stitch at a Time.
🧶Catch up on our on-demand webinars:
The Healing Power of Knitting where we take a deep dive into the mental health benefits of knitting
Unravelling Burnout where we look at how we can use knitting as a tool to prevent burnout
Here's how to stay in touch:
💌 Sign up to the Creative Restoration newsletter
📲 Follow us on Instagram at @knittingistherapeutic and @drpaularedmond

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 with Annah:
@needleandfeather on Instagram
Needle and feather on Ravelry
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🧶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, particularly for people who struggle with restlessness, distractibility or overwhelm.
🧶 If you'd like to learn more about how to use knitting for your self-care, check out our course Self-Care One Stitch at a Time.
🧶Catch up on our on-demand webinars:
The Healing Power of Knitting where we take a deep dive into the mental health benefits of knitting
Unravelling Burnout where we look at how we can use knitting as a tool to prevent burnout
Here's how to stay in touch:
💌 Sign up to the Creative Restoration newsletter
📲 Follow us on Instagram at @knittingistherapeutic and @drpaularedmond

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
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🧶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, particularly for people who struggle with restlessness, distractibility or overwhelm.
🧶 If you'd like to learn more about how to use knitting for your self-care, check out our course Self-Care One Stitch at a Time.
🧶Catch up on our on-demand webinars:
The Healing Power of Knitting where we take a deep dive into the mental health benefits of knitting
Unravelling Burnout where we look at how we can use knitting as a tool to prevent burnout
Here's how to stay in touch:
💌 Sign up to the Creative Restoration newsletter
📲 Follow us on Instagram at @knittingistherapeutic and @drpaularedmond

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: @theodora_goes_wild
Website: www.theodoragoeswild.com
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🧶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, particularly for people who struggle with restlessness, distractibility or overwhelm.
🧶 If you'd like to learn more about how to use knitting for your self-care, check out our course Self-Care One Stitch at a Time.
🧶Catch up on our on-demand webinars:
The Healing Power of Knitting where we take a deep dive into the mental health benefits of knitting
Unravelling Burnout where we look at how we can use knitting as a tool to prevent burnout
Here's how to stay in touch:
💌 Sign up to the Creative Restoration newsletter
📲 Follow us on Instagram at @knittingistherapeutic and @drpaularedmond