A MASSIVE MASSIVE thank you to the awesome ladies at WOOL AND THE GANG for making our first Mothers Meeting at Nancy’s Pantry absolutely amazing!!

Not only did we actually learn to knit, we also met some amazing new friends and learnt the benefits of knitting which are something we could all do with.

Knitting has been named a “natural anti-depressant” in CNN’s report, as crafters receive a surge of dopamine while their hands work.

CNN discuss one study of more than 3,500 knitters, published in The British Journal of Occupational Therapy, where 81% of respondents with depression reported feeling happy after knitting. More than half reported feeling “very happy.”

The benefits of knitting isn’t a new topic among psychologists. At a TED talk in 2004, psychologists Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi noted then when a person is completely absorbed by an activity, nothing else seems to matter.

“When we are involved in (creativity), we feel that we are living more fully than during the rest of life,” Csikszentmihalyi said. “You know that what you need to do is possible to do, even though difficult, and sense of time disappears. You forget yourself. You feel part of something larger.”

Studies have found intellectually stimulating activities can help prevent cerebral atrophy and significantly delay dementia.

Knitting stimulates many different areas of the brain including memory and attention span while involving your visuospatial processing, creative side and problem-solving abilities - therefore the pastime could also help protect your brain against ageing.

What WOOL AND THE GANG had to say
We’re feeling a bit broody here at Wool HQ, we’ve just had an awesome morning knitting with some London Mommas and their Baby Gangstas (met through super-cool organisation Mothers Meetings). Needless to say, our wool school quickly turned to drool school as the Baby Gang watched their mums knit up a storm. There was laughter, there were tears (and only a few teething tantrums) but by the end of our workshop the mums had knitted The Bib Kahuna and were already seeking their next project. Here are some snaps…. much respect to these Super Women - they taught us a thing or two about multi-tasking!