Knitting saved my life with James McIntosh

TW: Homophobia, suicide and depression

James McIntosh taught himself to knit with chopsticks and string when he had been so low in mood that he couldn't leave his bed. He now credits knitting with saving his life.

See the transcript for this episode on the captivate player

James is the owner of McIntosh yarn, see their website

Follow James on Instagram: @knitmcintosh

Yarns, patterns and research discussed in this episode:

Erika knight men’s knits Men'sKnits A New Direction by Erika Knight - Yarn etc...

Pussy hat project (including the critique that it is not inclusive for all races and gender identities) Pussyhat - Wikipedia

Information on mindfulness: Mindfulness- NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Evidence on mindfulness for depression: mindfulness depression | Search results page 1 | Evidence search | NICE

Ravelry: Hue Shift Afghan pattern by Kerin Dimeler-Laurence

Betsan Corkhill Stitchlinks.com

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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

Knitting for Attention and Focus. We explore how knitting and crochet can support concentration, attention and mindful awareness, particularly for people who struggle with restlessness, distractibility or overwhelm.

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Mentioned in this episode:

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Self-Care One Stitch at a Time - Live!

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 from the 6th of January, and will consist of 6 pre-recorded videos which you can watch at a time that suits you, and 6 live online sessions (on Zoom) run each Wednesday evening for 6 weeks. Self-Care One Stitch at a Time is based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) techniques and is designed to help you use knitting intentionally to benefit your well-being. We cover topics including how to connect with your values, using knitting for mindfulness, how to choose your next knitting project with your self-care needs in mind. Plus we look at mistakes and traps that crop up in our relationship with knitting and how to navigate them. We are limiting the group size to just 12 spaces in order to keep the group small enough for discussions – so if you’d like to join us you can click here to join the priority waiting list and you’ll be the first to know when tickets are released.