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Transcript

The magic of creating with Casey Bernard · Why I Knit

0:03
Mia Hobbs: Hello and welcome back to series two of the Why I
0:05
Knit podcast. My name is Dr Mia Hobbs and I'm a clinical
0:09
psychologist who's passionate about knitting and its benefits
0:12
for our mental wellbeing. Each episode I interview a different
0:16
knitter about why they knit and how it benefits their mental
0:19
health. This week on the podcast, I'm joined by Casey
0:23
Bernard who co-presents the VeryPink Knits podcast along
0:26
with Staci Perry.
0:34
Hi Casey. Welcome to the podcast.
0:37
Casey Bernard: Thank you! Thanks for having me.
0:38
Mia Hobbs: I always start the podcast with asking where your
0:40
relationship with knitting began. Where did yours start?
0:45
Casey Bernard: Well, I've been thinking about this since you
0:46
sent me the questions. I was in graduate school in my mid 20s
0:53
and then I finished and suddenly I was like, "I have all this
0:55
free time!" I've always dabbled in some kind of crafty thing,
1:02
and I started cross stitching and... I don't know what else I
1:05
was doing. And then I started with crocheting because I knew
1:08
the basic crochet chain from when I was a little kid. And
1:11
then I was looking at patterns and looking at things, and I was
1:14
like, "I really don't..." I had like knitting envy, I often say,
1:19
because I like the finished product of knitting versus
1:21
crochet. And so it came after graduate school. It came to be a
1:25
thing that I could do, and something that I could pick up
1:28
and put down. I have a tendency to fall asleep if I'm watching
1:32
TV, so...
1:34
Mia Hobbs: I do that if I'm not knitting.
1:36
Casey Bernard: Yeah, exactly! [Laughs] Because my husband
1:39
would get so mad, he would say, "You've watched the beginnings
1:43
of so many great movies." [Laughs] And so knitting kept me
1:50
awake on the couch. And then it just got to be a thing where now
1:53
it's just part of my life.
1:56
Mia Hobbs: Yeah. And did you teach yourself?
1:58
Casey Bernard: Yes, this was pre-YouTube so...
2:01
Mia Hobbs: Yeah, same! I always say that: "Pre-YouTube" [laughs]
2:04
from a... Well, my mum taught me, but when you had problems it
2:08
was harder! You can't just look stuff up [laughs].
2:11
Casey Bernard: Yeah. And it took a while for me to figure out
2:13
which schematic in a book worked better for me. I found there
2:18
were some that showed hands and some that didn't show hands, and
2:22
when I saw the hands it helped. And then my mom had knit in the
2:26
past. But now I've gotten her into it again, and she's like
2:31
more obsessed with it than I am. So she was there to help me, but
2:34
it took her a while to kind of get going with it too. But yeah,
2:38
I just pretty much taught myself through books. And then it was
2:41
kind of around the time of Stitch 'N Bitch; that book came
2:45
out... that was like early 2000s. Then I took a couple
2:53
classes at the local yarn shop, and that's where I met Staci
2:58
Perry.
2:59
Mia Hobbs: Okay, and you guys obviously host the VeryPink
3:02
podcast together. Okay, so you met her through knitting?
3:07
Mia Hobbs: She didn't teach you. Okay. What kind of things were
3:07
Casey Bernard: Mm-hmm.
3:10
you knitting at the beginning?
3:13
Casey Bernard: I think I was knitting scarves. So the reason
3:16
I switched and I like knitting more than crochet is you can
3:20
keep track of the stitches. I crocheted a scarf that was just
3:24
like wonky, because I kept losing track of the number of
3:28
stitches. [Laughs] So once I found knitting, I was like, "Oh,
3:32
it's all there on the needle. I can keep track a little better."
3:37
I think I was knitting like... you know, my friends were
3:41
starting to have babies so I was making baby things. I never
3:45
really enjoyed making scarves that much. I have a few that
3:49
I've made, but they just take too long. I find them tedious.
3:53
And then I soon started doing weird stuff like a bikini. [Laughs]
3:59
Mia Hobbs: How did that go?
4:01
Casey Bernard: It turned out really small, and I gave it to
4:03
my sister-in-law who's really skinny.
4:06
Mia Hobbs: Is it usable in water?
4:08
Casey Bernard: Well, it's kind of like, you know, the 70s
4:11
crocheted kind of thing.
4:12
Mia Hobbs: I always just felt like it would just stretch the
4:16
minute it got wet and that would not work well for me. [Laughs]
4:22
Casey Bernard: Some yarn has elastic in it, so it kind of
4:25
holds its shape. It's cotton with elastic.
4:28
Mia Hobbs: Okay. Yeah, I guess it's not like alpaca then it's
4:31
just going to hit the floor, isn't it, as soon as you get out
4:33
the water! [Laughs]
4:36
Casey Bernard: Yeah, I don't think you're really supposed to
4:37
swim in it.
4:38
Mia Hobbs: No, it's more for like hanging out. Okay. And why
4:42
do you still knit? I guess one of the reasons I contacted you
4:46
is because I'm really interested from listening to your podcast,
4:49
the conversations that you and Stacy have about process versus
4:53
project knitter. And I think you're both quite different ends
4:57
of the spectrum, maybe, in that. And I've always wondered...
5:03
Stacy seems to think that she loves knitting and is a process
5:08
knitter and it's almost like all knitting is equal. Whereas you
5:12
seem to be more of a somebody who gets bored. [Laughs] Like
5:16
you said, you don't like knitting scarves. Why do you
5:19
still knit? What is it about knitting for you?
5:22
Casey Bernard: I mean, I love the finished project, obviously.
5:24
And I think we've talked about this before, that I feel like my
5:28
knitting time is a little bit more limited, because I don't
5:30
have as much free time as she... not free time, but she has her
5:34
own day. She's single, doesn't have kids, she's got the dogs
5:39
and the business to run. But, you know, I have kids, I have a
5:42
job, I have to cook for everybody, and so I feel like my
5:45
time is limited. So I want to accomplish something, which may
5:49
make me more project-oriented. I'm also just a project-oriented
5:52
person, I think. In my job I worked on projects. I was just
5:59
talking about this with my son last night. I could never have a
6:01
job where I think about one thing for like 30 years, and I'm
6:05
focused on that one topic. I need some variety. I mean,
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knitting is relaxing to me. I'm working on a hat right now that
6:16
has taken me so long, because I just haven't had the energy.
6:21
Then I'll sit down at the end of the day and I'll start knitting
6:23
it, and I fall asleep! Or I'm watching TV and I'm falling
6:27
asleep because I've just been really busy. But sometimes when
6:31
I'm in the morning getting dressed, my husband will find me
6:34
standing at the bed, just knitting a row real quick,
6:36
because it just kind of like centres me. I just enjoy the
6:41
rhythm of having that project going.
6:46
Mia Hobbs: Would you knit every day?
6:48
Casey Bernard: I would if I had more time. But yeah, I do at
6:51
least a little tiny bit, usually. Even if it's one row.
6:56
Mia Hobbs: You said you feel like it kind of centres you
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or... I don't know if you said it makes you feel calmer. Do you
7:04
feel like it gives you other things in terms of benefiting
7:07
your mental wellbeing?
7:10
Casey Bernard: Yeah. I'm not a good meditator, and it just kind
7:16
of shuts everything out, I guess, and I can just kind of
7:21
focus on this thing. And I just love having the the tactile
7:26
input too, with my hands. And yeah, I like having a finished
7:33
project, even if I don't keep it. I think about who I'm going
7:36
to give it to and it just allows my mind to kind of like work
7:41
through things I'm working on, while I'm working on my
7:42
knitting.
7:43
Mia Hobbs: Do you feel like the finished product benefits you?
7:47
The experience of giving it to someone, or when you wear it, if
7:51
someone says, "Oh, did you make your sweater?" or...
7:53
Casey Bernard: Oh, for sure! I feel really excited. I made a
7:57
Christmas sweater that has a Christmas tree on it, and I'm
7:59
like,"Oh, I need to wear my Christmas sweater!" It's the
8:02
week I get to wear this. And now, living in Maine, I
8:06
definitely get benefits from having all the hats and scarves
8:09
that I have made, or cowls.
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Mia Hobbs: As opposed to Texas where you were before?
8:15
Casey Bernard: Yeah. I knit some gloves for myself last year and
8:20
they really are better than store-bought gloves. They are
8:23
warmer. They're just better!
8:27
Mia Hobbs: Okay, so you're enjoying that aspect of it. Does
8:30
it matter what you knit? Does that make a difference? Like
8:33
does it make a difference what the stitch pattern is or the
8:35
colour or...?
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Casey Bernard: I have a tendency to buy the same colour. I find
8:41
that I've knit multiple things that look just like the other
8:44
thing I knit.
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Mia Hobbs: I find I have phases of that. Like at the moment I'd
8:50
say I'm in a wine-red phase [laughs] probably influenced by
8:56
the season, and then I have other times when I'm like "Oh,
9:00
all of my projects are teal! I've just bought more yarn in
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that colour!" [Laughs] Does it go in phases like that? Or is it
9:07
like overall you tend to knit one colour more than others.
9:10
Casey Bernard: I tend to do purples and greens and then I'll
9:13
be like "I am not buying more purple yarn!" I really like
9:18
black, but black is so hard to knit with because it's hard to
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see. I'm working on a sweater right now that's like a grey
9:23
marl, like a... it's not variegated, it's kind of a mixed
9:27
black and grey. So I've been trying to expand but this last
9:34
year or so I've been trying really hard not to buy yarn
9:37
because I have so much. I've bought so much yarn or I've
9:39
received yarn as a gift and I'm just so behind in my production
9:43
this year. [Laughs] I don't want to buy any more.
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Mia Hobbs: And the stitch pattern? Does that make a
9:48
difference?
9:49
Casey Bernard: I like to mix it up. I like to do some colourwork
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or I like to do some lace. Staci actually last Christmas bought
9:57
me a sweater pattern, and the yarn for it, that's got a little
10:01
bit of textured stitch pattern, and then it's got some
10:05
colourwork in it. So it's kind of like a mixture of both. But
10:10
sometimes, I like to just sit and knit stockinette. I really
10:14
don't like garter stitch. It doesn't matter, necessarily. I
10:22
will probably not take on a super complicated lace pattern
10:25
anytime, if I know that I don't have the time to focus on it.
10:28
Mia Hobbs: Sure. Do you have different projects for different
10:32
occasions? Like if you're sitting waiting for a kid to do
10:36
sports or...
10:38
Casey Bernard: Yeah, I usually have a pair of socks that... I
10:40
don't really like patterned socks. I like this self-striping
10:44
yarn. I've knit a couple pairs of socks that have like the lace
10:48
pattern in it and I don't really enjoy that. I like my socks to
10:51
be simple. And I even really have gotten to where I only want
10:55
to do one kind of heel and toe. So I usually have a simple thing
10:59
like a sock that I can just like carry around that's small. Or
11:03
just get that done when I don't have focus but I do want to knit
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something that I just need to get a row in. And then I'll
11:09
usually have something that's got a little more something to
11:13
it. More pattern to it. But yeah, I usually have at least
11:17
four projects going on, and one may sit for months before I pick
11:20
it up again.
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Mia Hobbs: You said you gravitate towards the same
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colours. I suppose that I have times that I think, "Oh, I want
11:27
to knit some bright colour" because I feel like it gives me
11:29
a little boost to my mood that day or something. Does it make a
11:33
difference when you're working on it? Or are you thinking more
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about, "No, I want to WEAR that purple sweater" or whatever it
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is.
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Casey Bernard: Yeah, so I have this sweater that I'm working
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on. It's like a navy blue base and it has a bright gold and
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then magenta colour pattern. And when I'm knitting that I'm like,
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"Oh, I love these colours so much." And it does make me want
11:53
to work with it a little bit more. And you get excited! Like
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I love the self-striping yarns. The colour changes and so it
12:00
gets kind of exciting to switch to the other colour.
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Mia Hobbs: Yeah. So that keeps your interest going. Is knitting
12:07
ever unhelpful for your mental health?
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Casey Bernard: Sometimes, when I feel like I have too many
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projects going on and I feel a sense of dread... not dread, but
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I feel like it's just another thing on my list. Like right now
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I've been trying to make some hats using a little knitting
12:24
machine. My friend has a shop here in town and she asked me to
12:29
make a few hats. And it was enjoyable, but at the same time
12:32
it felt like a chore. I would never want to do it for a job. I
12:36
would never try to sell my stuff because I don't enjoy that
12:40
feeling of having to get it done.
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Mia Hobbs: So were they like shop samples?
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Casey Bernard: No, I just made like six or eight little hats
12:49
that you can make on the little crank machine.
12:51
Casey Bernard: Yeah. Or, you know, I made a hat for a friend
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Mia Hobbs: Yeah. So then it felt like pressure.
13:00
that we went to dinner with the other day and the dog ate it.
13:02
[Laughs]
13:03
Mia Hobbs: Your dog?
13:04
Casey Bernard: Yeah, right before we left.
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Mia Hobbs: Oh no!
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Casey Bernard: He just like grabbed it and pulled on it, and
13:08
so it kind of ruined it. When you're making something for
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somebody as a gift for a specific day, it was just like
13:17
that kind of same feeling.
13:19
Mia Hobbs: Yeah, sure. I'm not great with deadline knitting. I
13:25
think I couldn't also do it as a job. I think it would reduce the
13:29
enjoyment, and it wouldn't be relaxing. Are you gifting a lot
13:37
of the things you make, or mainly for yourself?
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Casey Bernard: No. I mean, sometimes I'll knit something
13:41
and maybe the socks come out a little too big, and I'll give
13:44
them to a friend. Or while I'm knitting this hat that I'm
13:46
working on that's taking forever, I'm thinking about
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giving it to a friend, just because I have a lot of hats and
13:53
I thought she might like a hat. I've knit for my husband, I'll
13:58
knit for my kids. My son wants a scarf so I'm going to use my
14:06
machine to make him a scarf.
14:08
Mia Hobbs: So they're still good recipients of knitted gifts?
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Casey Bernard: Yeah, they recognise the need for it!
14:13
Mia Hobbs: Oh yeah, now that you're living somewhere cold!
14:18
Okay. I wonder, Casey, if you could tell me about a
14:21
significant knitting project.
14:23
Casey Bernard: Significant in what way?
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Mia Hobbs: Any way. Some people have spoken about something they
14:27
were knitting at a specific time in their life, or it could be
14:37
when you mastered some certain skill, or it could be the first
14:40
thing you ever made, or a complete disaster. It could be
14:43
anything!
14:45
Casey Bernard: Well, I think about this sweater that I made.
14:48
I bought this mohair yarn (this is when I was a new knitter),
14:51
beautiful mohair yarn, and there was a pattern in interweave
14:54
knit. And I didn't really (obviously) understand gauge. So
15:01
I had like an extra 12 inches of fabric on my sleeves. It was
15:08
this pillowy, lovely thing and I worked so hard on it. It was
15:12
huge. And I got everything right but yeah, it was gigantic. So it
15:18
really was a lesson to me, how to do that properly.
15:24
Mia Hobbs: What became of it? Mohair's also horrendous to rip
15:28
back, isn't it?
15:28
Casey Bernard: I know! I gave it to Goodwill, to the charity
15:33
shops. So hopefully somebody found it and is loving it.
15:36
Mia Hobbs: Yeah. I'm sure they are.
15:38
Casey Bernard: Yeah. But I do think a lot about... I had this
15:42
purse that I made that was pretty intricate intarsia, and
15:47
then it was felted, and I just really love it. I forget about
15:50
it every once in a while and then I'll find it. And I'm like,
15:52
"This is gorgeous, a gorgeous design". It's got a big flower
15:55
on it. So I just remember that was a complicated piece, and I
16:02
stuck with it and made a nice little thing out of it.
16:05
Mia Hobbs: And you still have it?
16:07
Casey Bernard: Mm-hmm.
16:07
Mia Hobbs: Did you make it a while ago?
16:08
Casey Bernard: Oh, yeah. It's been probably 10+ years.
16:12
Mia Hobbs: That's great. I also normally ask about a knitting
16:16
high and a knitting low. They could be events; they don't have
16:21
to be projects.
16:25
Casey Bernard: A knitting low is when I've worked so hard on
16:30
something and then it comes out and it doesn't fit right or
16:34
doesn't look the way you wanted it to look. But a high... last
16:42
year I finished a sweater that's got this rainbow variegated
16:46
yarn, and it's a super basic sweater. It's just a pullover,
16:52
but it's like a sweatshirt: cosy. It makes me happy every
16:57
time I put it on. I purposely knit it knowing that in the dark
17:01
winter days here, I would be like, "I need some happy rainbow
17:05
in my life". [Laughs] So this rainbow sweater... it's cosy and
17:10
every time I put it on, I'm like "I need to make another sweater
17:13
like this because it's so comfortable."
17:15
Mia Hobbs: Is it quite a thick yarn?
17:17
Casey Bernard: No it's DK. It's really soft. It fits me
17:23
perfectly, and it just fit the bill, you know?
17:27
Mia Hobbs: So that's something that makes you feel happy when
17:29
you put it on?
17:30
Casey Bernard: Yeah, for sure.
17:32
Mia Hobbs: And with the lows, are you someone who will rip
17:34
back if it's not looking how you want it to?
17:36
Casey Bernard: Yeah, for sure. And there's been many projects
17:37
Mia Hobbs: Put it in the naughty corner!
17:37
Casey Bernard: Yeah, for sure.
17:40
that I've ripped back and then just given up on, and put the
17:44
Mia Hobbs: But do you feel like that gets any easier over time?
17:44
yarn away and can't figure out what to do with it.
17:54
Casey Bernard: Yeah, especially when you're a project knitter
17:58
like me, and I was a younger knitter, I hated to rip stuff
18:03
back, and I would just deal with the mistake. But now I
18:07
recognise, no, you want to have that thing look good and you
18:10
want it to look right. It makes such a difference. I'm thinking
18:15
about a tank top that I made. The whole back was lace and it
18:20
was with a thick yarn so it didn't take forever, but I must
18:25
have pulled that thing apart like three or four times. And I
18:29
was so frustrated when I was doing it, but I'm glad that I
18:32
did because the final product is perfect!
18:38
Mia Hobbs: I suppose I feel like I've got more tolerant of
18:40
ripping back, the longer I've been knitting. I've accepted now
18:47
that that's just part of... like all knitters make mistakes,
18:51
that's just how it goes. And sometimes I'll rip stuff back,
18:55
especially maybe at the beginning of a project, trying
18:57
to get something right. But I often think if I was cast on a
19:04
desert island with one ball of yarn, and I didn't need it to
19:08
catch fish to eat or something, I would still knit, even if I
19:12
had so little I couldn't make a thing. I don't know whether you
19:14
would?
19:15
Casey Bernard: Yeah, for sure. I would probably start finding
19:18
ways to turn palm tree leaves into yarn or something like
19:23
that. [Laughs]
19:24
Mia Hobbs: Very resourceful.
19:26
Casey Bernard: Well, I learned how to do basket weaving a
19:28
couple months ago, so now I see, "I could make baskets out of
19:33
that!" But basket weaving and knitting... there's a lot of
19:35
similarities! You have fibre and you're weaving. But finding
19:41
fibre in different kinds of plants... yeah, I would totally
19:46
do that. [Laughs] Weaving and taking the strings out of
19:50
coconuts and turning it into yarn.
19:53
Mia Hobbs: I didn't even think about all of these things!
19:55
[Laughs] I think I feel like I'm more tolerant of ripping back,
20:01
and that maybe I've become more process-focused in other areas
20:05
of my life. I don't know what you think... whether there's
20:07
been any overspill from knitting?
20:10
Casey Bernard: Yeah. Like I said, I'm a project-based person
20:14
anyway, but I've got a lot more patience with myself. And like,
20:19
a hat that I'm working on that should not take this long, is
20:22
taking me a couple months... it's like, whatever. There's no
20:25
deadline. I'll always have something going on. Although my
20:30
husband... I'm working on a sweater for him and I have put
20:32
it away and have not picked it up again, and he's like,
20:35
"Where's my sweater?!"
20:36
Mia Hobbs: Okay. But I guess at least he's keen for the end
20:39
product, which is also a good thing.
20:41
Casey Bernard: Yeah. It's one of those big oversized cardigans.
20:49
The Big Lebowski sweater.
20:51
Mia Hobbs: Oh, yeah. I guess that is probably one of the
20:54
bigger things to knit, isn't it? An oversized man's sweater?
20:59
That's a not insignificant project.
21:01
Casey Bernard: Yeah. And the yarn is just not super
21:04
forgiving. So I think I put it away mostly because there's a
21:07
pattern to it, and it was getting warmer, and I didn't
21:11
want this giant thing in my lap. I just haven't had the time.
21:15
Like I said, I haven't really had a lot of time and energy to
21:18
knit. My kids have to get to school earlier here than they
21:23
used to in Texas, and normally I would stay up late at night and
21:26
I just can't do that because I have to get up so early here. So
21:30
I'm really tired! It's messing up my circadian rhythms and my
21:34
knitting rhythm, staying up when everybody else is in bed.
21:39
Mia Hobbs: Do you need an easier project for times like that?
21:42
Reading a pattern, if you're tired, it's just too much and
21:45
you need something...
21:46
Casey Bernard: Yeah.
21:50
Mia Hobbs: Sure. I guess getting back into it is probably a
21:53
challenge in itself, finding where you were in the pattern.
21:56
Casey Bernard: Yeah, for sure.
21:57
Mia Hobbs: Okay. Casey, I always end with asking what's the
22:00
biggest gift knitting has given you for the rest of your life?
22:04
Casey Bernard: That's a good question. I mean, if I'm stuck
22:07
on a desert island, I can make clothes.
22:11
Mia Hobbs: [Laughs] Yes! You won't be naked; you've made a
22:12
bikini before.
22:13
Casey Bernard: That's right! I'm going to pull those coconut
22:16
strands and make some yarn. No, I just feel like it's always an
22:20
opportunity to make something for someone or, you know, have
22:27
that... I kind of feel sorry for people who don't have a hobby
22:30
like knitting, and they don't have a thing that they can claim
22:34
to be their own; that they'll just spend all their days
22:36
watching Netflix or whatever. It just feels like I have this
22:43
special talent and special magic, that I can turn something
22:47
into something.
22:50
Mia Hobbs: Okay. So for you, it's about the magic of the
22:54
creative process or the crafting process, that you've got this
22:58
special skill that you can make something like that.
23:03
Casey Bernard: Even in times when I'm not knitting a lot, I
23:05
will always know how to knit. And I will always be able to
23:09
help somebody learn how to knit. I can't imagine not creating
23:13
something all the time.
23:15
Mia Hobbs: So it sounds like even before you found knitting
23:17
you were a person who was making things with your hands or doing
23:20
things like crafting, I suppose.
23:22
Casey Bernard: Right. Like I have my little macrame here.
23:24
Mia Hobbs: Yeah, they're amazing! So have you got other
23:28
hobbies on the go, as well as knitting, like that kind of
23:30
thing still? Or do you think knitting has kind of superseded
23:33
the others?
23:34
Casey Bernard: Yeah, knitting is the thing because I can pick it
23:37
up and put it down, I can travel with it. Like I said, I started
23:41
with cross stitch, and I didn't like that I had to get all the
23:43
strings out and figure out what colour I was on, and I felt like
23:46
it just was... Anything that takes too much setup time, like
23:50
sewing to me takes up too much setup time. I like to have
23:54
something that I can just stand there, knit a row, get it done,
23:57
get a little creative energy out and move on.
24:02
Mia Hobbs: I think that's a really common thing, in the
24:04
conversations I've had, certainly. When I was talking to
24:07
Betsan Corkhill who talks about therapeutic knitting, about why
24:10
it's so helpful, it's that it's very accessible. I think a lot
24:15
of people return to it after having kids. So having small
24:19
children and needing to do something for themselves. I
24:22
think that's a common story. And you can just do... you know,
24:26
when a baby sleeps you never quite know how long that's going
24:28
to be for! [Laughs] You could do one row or you could end up
24:31
doing a couple of inches of something or other.
24:34
Casey Bernard: Yeah. And I love it for aeroplane travel and all
24:38
those times when you're just sitting and waiting. There's a
24:40
lot of times when I've been like, "Oh, I don't have a pair
24:43
of socks going and I'm sitting here at the doctor's office.
24:45
What am I doing?
24:48
Mia Hobbs: I once had to wait some really long waiting times
24:51
for some appointments for my eye. I was there for three hours
24:54
and everyone else in the waiting room's phone battery had died
24:57
hours ago and I'd been doing... I don't love just stockinette,
25:03
generally. I quite like... Like with a yoked sweater, I'm super
25:07
interested in the colourwork yoke, and then it gets to the
25:10
inches and inches of just knitting in the round, and I get
25:13
a bit bored really? So for my knitting in the evening,
25:16
watching TV, that generally isn't enough to sustain my
25:20
attention. But it was great for sitting in a waiting room in a
25:24
hospital, because then I felt like I'd achieved three inches
25:27
of a sleeve. Whereas everybody else was sitting there by the
25:30
end, just watching my hands move. [Laughs]
25:34
Casey Bernard: Yeah, for sure.
25:36
Mia Hobbs: And I suppose for me, I think my feeling of the
25:38
superpower is slightly different. It's more that I have
25:41
this hobby I can whip out at any point that makes me feel calmer
25:45
and gives me a sense of purpose. And that's the way I feel the
25:50
superpower, rather than turning something into... using sticks
25:54
and a ball of string or coconut fibre or whatever you're using
25:57
to make something. [Laughs]
25:59
Casey Bernard: Yeah. And it's so much better than scrolling on
26:01
your phone, for sure, in a waiting room.
26:05
Mia Hobbs: Do you feel like it makes you feel different from
26:07
scrolling on your phone?
26:08
Casey Bernard: Oh yeah! Scrolling just makes you more
26:10
anxious and more frustrated, or feeling like you need to buy
26:16
something or all those different feelings you have. Knitting -
26:21
it's a sense of accomplishment. Sometimes it's frustrating, but
26:25
it's a totally different feeling.
26:28
Mia Hobbs: Mm. I was interested in something you said earlier
26:31
about the idea that it gives your mind a chance to think
26:36
about other things, or almost like process things while you're
26:40
doing it.
26:41
Casey Bernard: Yeah, for sure. I mean, it's like meditation in
26:46
some ways, especially if you're on a long stockinette thing, and
26:50
you don't really have to think about what you're knitting. Just
26:52
to be able to do that. You can be working on other things in
26:55
your head.
26:56
Mia Hobbs: Yeah. Do you think you're deliberately doing that,
26:59
or do you think that's just what happens?
27:01
Casey Bernard: Well, I think that my brain is going all the
27:04
time. [Laughs] It just happens that knitting is giving me
27:09
something to work on while it's running in the background.
27:13
Mia Hobbs: Do you think that's why you find knitting an easier
27:16
way to access calm than traditional meditation, because
27:19
you are someone with quite a busy brain?
27:22
Casey Bernard: Yeah, I think so.
27:23
Mia Hobbs: Yeah, I think that's true for me.
27:25
Casey Bernard: Having your hands moving, you can see that sensory
27:28
feedback too.
27:33
Mia Hobbs: Great. Well, Casey, it's been super interesting to
27:35
talk to you. If anyone wants to find out more about your
27:39
knitting, or follow you on Instagram, or the podcast, how
27:44
would they find out about those things?
27:46
Casey Bernard: My Instagram is @kc.knits - that's where I'm
27:50
more active, although lately I've been kind of taking a
27:53
little bit of a break. I have a website, www.kcknits.com - it's
27:58
the letter K and the letter C, even though that's not how you
28:01
spell my name [laughs]. And then our podcast is the VeryPink
28:06
Knits podcast. You can get it on any podcast app. And we're on
28:10
Patreon. We have extra episodes for our Patreon subscribers
28:15
only. And VeryPink Knits is Staci Perry's YouTube channel
28:20
for all the tutorials and knitting lessons you need.
28:23
Mia Hobbs: The podcast is a Q&A about knitting-related dilemmas.
28:31
Thank you for your public service. [Laughs] Okay, great.
28:35
Thank you so much, Casey!
28:37
Casey Bernard: Sure! Thanks for having me.
28:43
Mia Hobbs: Thank you so much for listening to the Why I Knit
28:45
podcast. If you'd like to find out more about therapeutic
28:48
knitting, you can follow me on Instagram at
28:50
@knittingistherapeutic, or at my website
28:53
www.therapeuticknitting.org. If you're enjoying the podcast, I
28:56
would really appreciate it if you could leave a rating and a
28:59
review on your podcast app. This will help grow the podcast and
29:02
let more people know about the therapeutic benefits of
29:05
knitting. And don't forget to subscribe too. Thank you!