The Analogue Knitter, And The Dopamine Fast.

The Joy Of Going Analogue

“The Dopamine Fast” became a fad in Silicon Valley way back in the late 20-teens, after Californian Psychiatrist, Dr Cameron Sepah, created the catch phrase that highlighted our addiction to feel-better-quick-fixes. The concept has been misunderstood (you cannot fast from a natural brain chemical response), and the core tenet has been lost; that we should practice mindfulness regularly, get out in nature more, connect with people around us, and get off our freaking screens. But what (I hear you ask), has this got to do with knitting? Well, this week I was called ‘The Analogue Knitter’ by someone on Instagram, and it got me thinking. 

Back in 2022, Lenstore Hub published an article claiming that the average person in the UK scrolls the length of the Eiffel Tower each day, and in December 2024 The Guardian wrote about how doom-scrolling is shrinking our grey matter. In the Journal of Integrative Neuroscience (2022), a peer reviewed research paper linked screen time in the early years of brain development to early onset dementia. You get the point… screens aren’t great, and it is understandable that the idea of a “Digital Detox”, or “Dopamine Fast”, can sound very appealing, especially when it’s whipped up on Tick-Tock and the science is left to fester in the backwaters of academia. Why would we want to understand brain chemistry when the platforms we get our news from prefer us to have an attention span that is smaller than a goldfish (or is that also a myth?!).

A Creative Brian

Dopamine is often named ‘The Pleasure Hormone’, as we feel it when we get a jolt of pleasure from something; this reward loop keeps us doing something that makes us feel great. The irony of this hormone based neurotransmitter is that it can increase both when we use our phones too much, or meditate. 

There is little doubt that integrating mindfulness into our day-to-day activities is a better use of dopamine than wearing out our thumb pads as we scroll on our phones, and it won’t rot our brains as it increases grey matter instead of diminishing it. All of this is why, as a knitter, I have chosen to step away from screens when I knit. 

I have turned off all the notifications, and my ring tone is on silent, to the point where my brothers joke that lighting the beacons of Gondor would get my attention quicker than a WhatsApp message. But I am human and live with a phone, and so I know all too well how easy it is for me to pick up my device and swipe my way through an hour of my life; that block of plastic and rare earth minerals is just too tempting. However, my knitting makes me feel better. 

I am an analogue knitter and proud of it! I do not use Ravelry, Knit Companion, or a row tracker app. I purchase patterns through the designers' websites that I follow on Instagram, or I ask my local yarn shops to email the patterns if they are only on Ravelry (which supports our LYSs in the process), and I print them off, meaning I follow paper patterns. The reasons I do this are personal to me, but I hope that they spark some food for thought for you too. 

Less Screens, More Brain.

Our hands and minds are connected.

There are two fantastic bi-products of getting creative (away from a screen) on a regular basis; you calm down whilst your brain thickens up! 

Grey matter in your frontal cortex is stimulated when you create, and it has been shown that when you do it regularly that area of the brain ‘thickens’ (a bit like growing muscles getting stronger). The same is true for the hippocampus part of your brain, where memory and learning happen. These areas love knitting, especially when we challenge ourselves with new techniques, patterns, maths, problems to solve, and colour! It’s like a mental gym session as our brains love working things out and succeeding, which gives us the dopamine hit that keeps us coming back for more. (It’s pretty cool, really!)

Knitting also helps us calm down and feel better when we are feeling low (apart from when we are doing Italian bind-offs or frogging a whole sweater). Our breathing and heart rate drop to a steady, calm state, and the rhythmic, repetitive movement allows us to mindfully become present so that we can tune into a less chaotic thought process, with many saying that it helps to lift them out of depression.

For me, myself, and I, the idea that my brain can come to a quiet spot whilst I listen to gentle music of an audiobook whilst I knit is a wonderful way to spend my evenings. My stress is reduced, I am able to let my brain work away at things I need to process, and there is very little I need to worry about whilst I am enjoying my time with Finchley next to me on the sofa. The fact I get a thicker brain (in the best possible way!!) is a total bonus. 

People Power.

Cozy knitting at the pub with friends.

I love Instagram! It is the only social media I have, and it’s where I meet wonderful gentlefolk of the knitting community, see fresh inspiration, and generally have a grand old time sending anti-Trump and hobbit videos to my mates. However, you will never hear me say that it is better to be on the app than knitting with people. 

I knit with friends three or four times a week here in Falmouth; either at the pub with non-knitters, at the bookshop café with other makers, or at my regular knit-group on a Tuesday. (Last night, I even took my knitting to a sewing group I go to so that I could finish a sleeve!) Building a community through, and with, my knitting is the most precious part of my life. Indeed, The Knitted Wardrobe has changed my life, enabling me to step away from a career that was killing me slowly through diagnosed burn-out. 

Knitting will build your circle of friends and help combat the sense of loneliness that is becoming an epidemic in the western world. The connection with people in your local area is the healthiest part of being human; we need each other.

Peace On Paper

Books will always be part of my life.

For me, the whole point of knitting is to gain a sense of peace. Peace is hard fought for, and is taken easily, and my screens are the silent attackers. 

Reading is another quirky way to get the results of brain thickening through dopamine hits. I read paper books, rather than screens that tell me what percentage of the way through I am, or notify me when I haven’t read in three days. My books just sit there waiting for my attention and my old ticket stubs act as pretty good visual markers of how far I have until I finish the book.

Writing… it’s the same. More paper, more peace, slower breathing, slower heart rate, higher dopamine hits, thicker brain. 

So why would I have a screen on when I am knitting? Of course I print my patterns out, tally my rows and doodle on the edges, and then fold them into my project bags to spill coffee on them later on at the bookshop. 

Ravelry gave me panic attacks. 

All-the-things on all-the-needles.

My relationship with Ravelry needs a bit of explaining, and it is not an overly dramatic statement to say that it gave me panic attacks. 

I first logged on to Ravelry around 2014, and at first I thought it was the best thing to ever happen to knitting! However, I realised after a few years that I’d purchase patterns that I would never knit, and  I felt pressure from all the groups as well as the never ending ques of projects and stash. There were days when I felt bad for not knitting because I had projects that were backing up, which was the antithesis of why I started knitting. I looked in my closet and realised that I had lost my own sense of style, as I was only looking at the popular patterns that came up on the first page and knitting them for my older blogs and Instagram pages. Over the years, I realised that Ravelry was slowly eroding my love for knitting, as I felt as if I was knitting just to keep up with everyone else, rather than knitting for the pleasure of it.

Eventually I came off Ravelry when I realised that it is designed to keep you on the site, and companies only create platforms like that to make more money. If something is free to use, you are the one that is being used.

My Dopamine Fix

It’s pretty obvious that I am a dopamine chaser, just not in the way the tech companies want me to experience it. I love getting some regular dopamine fixes through my knitting, and I get a nerdy kick out of the fact that my brain is getting ticker and juicier every time I do it! 

I am fascinated that the simple act of knitting without a screen, or a Ravelry account, made someone want to label me as an analogue knitter. 

I know what my brain likes; PEACE. That doesn’t make me any better than anyone else, it just means I know how I roll. Neither does it mean that I live a low dopamine lifestyle, it means that I have found a healthy, constantly high, dopamine lifestyle based on mindfulness, creativity, and human connection.

I would encourage you to go down the rabbit hole and read the science on how our brains work, how our bodies react to different stimuli, and what is actually healthy. Dopamine is healthy, we just need to get it in better ways than scrolling on apps that are built to make us more addicted than heroin addicts. 

Until next time, may your needles bring you joy and your frogging be rare. 

Love, Jenny x

A Cornish Knitting And Rambling Retreat, With Raw Wool.

After a spring thunderstorm, this beautiful rainbow arched over the bay as I walked home last Friday.

As I walked down to Knit Group today, I felt the first true warmth of spring sun on my face, whilst on Saturday I met with a wonderful bunch of knitters who braved the blustery showers to walk along the coastal paths to knit on the beach. In short, Spring Time has truly arrived in Cornwall, and one of the best ways to celebrate was to hang out with the gang who were enjoying the Cornish knitting and rambling retreat with The Raw Wool Company.

Knitting retreats have often passed me by, as in truth, I can’t sit and knit all day. I am too fidgety, and the most amount of time I would knit in a weekend is a couple of hours a day. When I enjoy my days away from the writing desk, I make plans to meet friends for walks and beach visits, often getting out my knitting projects when we arrive at the local pub for chips and a pint. So when Anton started telling me about his Raw Wool Retreat ideas last spring, my ears pricked up; meeting new knitting friends over a weekend of coastal walks, pub knitting and trips to see the sheep that produce his yarn?! Sign me up! 

Anton and his very bouncy Spaniel, Moose, enjoying the spring weather.

Anton has a passion for connecting people with the nature that surrounds us here in West Cornwall, and it is the inspiration for both his knitting patterns for Raw Wool, as well as his personal knits (I have often seen his colour choices mimic the country that surrounds us). So it was with no surprise at all that his dream knitting retreat would be creating a space for people to be welcomed in the stunning surroundings of the Bosveal National Trust home on the banks of the Helford Passage. Just 20 minutes west of Falmouth and hosted over three days, knitters would be able to visit the farm where his flok of sheep are shepherded, enjoy lunch in the iconic Ship Inn at Porthleven, and learn about the history and design of the Gansey sweater as they created their own versions. Between walking around Durgan, knitting by the living room fire, and pottering down to the small coves on the banks of the river to cast on a new project on the beach, I knew that it was going to be a retreat to remember. It was so very Anton, and therefore so very Raw Wool! 

Braving the weather as we climbed the hills by Bosveal House, West Cornwall.

After putting all his plans in place, with a healthy dose of anticipation, and the support from Jonathan Days, the retreats were launched in October of last year. The first was such a success (and just a week after my move down here), that the March dates were published soon after, and I was delighted that I was able to join the group for part of it this past Saturday. 

It was fantastic to meet so many passionate knitters from all over the globe. Each brought their own love of natural fibres, joyful patterns, and vast knowledge on the subject of knitting lore. I learned how one knitter’s passion for bird watching inspired their own Gansey pattern, with the seed and bar stitches representing the steps they walked down during the weekend to watch the birds take flight. An American woman told me stories of how she and her husband took their motorbikes around Colorado as they sought out new yarns, as well as her passion for the country of Wales. The stories of how the English coast brought comfort to all of them through childhood memories, and their later life adventures, my feelings of happienss to be living here were renewed.

As we walked up the hill as the wind blustered around us, the view of the river flowing into the sea was simply breathtaking; waves chasing themselves up the Helford. After catching our breath and taking a walk around the 400 year old church, we headed east towards Mawnan. With the rain and sea spray dancing through the air, we made time to sit on the beach and knit a few stitches whilst Moose, Anton’s spaniel, ran rings around us. (I swear that dog did more than double the miles we completed that day!)

After we headed back to the house for a wonderful cream tea, we sat down to knit next to the fire. I cast on the Kintra Sweater that I have been gauge swatching for the past couple of weeks; the perfect sweater for late spring and early summer when the wind can still be a little chilly in the evenings. Listening to the chatter whilst the scones were baking in the kitchen, I felt the tension I had been holding over the past week simply slip away. To be warm, comfortable, surrounded by the gentle peace that knitting offers us, after a stunning walk, is the best way to spend my day. 

As I drove home, awash with tea, I knew that I had to arrange my diary to book in for the full retreat this coming autumn. Although I had only been there for a few hours, it felt as if I had enjoyed a magical time of rest and relaxation that I simply would not have had at home. Looking at the cast-on I did for the collar of the Kintra, I now also know that I will need to take my simplest stocking stitch projects, as I still have not mastered the art of chatting and following a pattern; my rib is wonky and my stitch count is off! 

I think there is a knitting retreat out there for everyone. From spa based knitting time in Bath, cruises around the Shetlands, and ranch style dying weekends in the Rockies, there is an experience to suit you and your textile interests. I am blessed not only to be able to be here in Cornwall and take full advantage of Anton’s friendship over coffee time at the Falmouth Bookseller on a regular basis, but also to witness his love of the countryside that embraces us whilst he shares it with us.

For myself, I think my ideas around textile retreats has changed from one of not quite knowing why I would go on one, to one of curiosity. I would like to explore natural dying, spinning, quilting, and different sewing techniques, and I think retreats may be a great way for me to gently travel and learn from experts in a relaxed environment. We shall see where I go next, but one thing is for sure, in the autumn you will find me back at the Helford, with Moose running amuck, surrounded by welcoming and warm-heated knitters. 

Raw Wool's beautiful mini yarns, and their wooden gauge rule.

The Joy Of Small Knitting Festivals.

Finchley, keeping me cozy with my now abandoned Beechmast, whilst I had flu.

‘Knitting Flu’ has to be one of the worst kinds of miasmas. Like a cloud, it creeped into my home, hanging low in my living room for the best part of two months. It sucked the joy out of my projects, so much so, I simply walked past my yarn basket without thought. 

It started to emanate when I had actual flu over Christmas as I tried to cast on the ‘Beechmast Pullover’ in the John Arbon yarn ‘Fallen Leaf’; a combination that I had been looking forward to since October. In fairness, I couldn’t even make a cup of tea at the time, so why I thought I could follow a cable pattern is now beyond me. But even the second attempt ended in catastrophe and I had to call my lovely friend, Sarah, and fog it with her on the phone as I was so despondent.

I also hadn’t been to my regular knitting group for a few weeks due to work. (I’m not going to lie; a Tuesday morning knitting group from 10:30 - 12:30 kind of kills a working day!) The regular encouragement that I receive from the kind hearted knitters at Stitches and Cream have helped me a lot over the winter, and not seeing them was felt. 

Spring Daffs.

All of this to say that I wasn’t really in the mood to go to YAFF, the Kernow Yarn And Fibre Festival, when Bron invited me to go with her, but looking back at it now, I am so pleased that I did.

I confess that until I moved to Cornwall, I had not heard of this local festival. YAFF is co-run by Gorgeous Yarns, who are based in Helston, and a wonderful team who want to highlight the talented dyers, spinners, weavers and felters in the South West of England, and they gather at The Royal Cornwall Showground in Wadebridge, (between Plozeath and Newque). It is a joy of a small knitting festival, and I am so pleased that I found it.

Sunday was what I like to call a ‘proper Spring day’. Daffodils bobbed their heads in the breeze, and clouds were skudding over a blue sky. As I drove past the farms, the first vibrant greens in the fields could be seen, lighting up the horizon that had been brown the week before. As I steered into the show-ground, I could see the cheery yellow flags guiding us in, and I was happily surprised to see how busy it was in the parking lot, as well as the presence of The Cornish Coffee Van!

Surprisingly, Sarah had got in touch with me the evening before to say that Yarn Food would be at the festival, and I happily offered to be the go-between for them both as Sarah was looking forward to welcoming the yarn wash into her shop; The Knit Lounge. I really had not understood Sarah’s enthusiasm for these particular soap suds until I met Helene and Oliver, and then it all fell into place. 

The couple have been in the knitting industry for years, and had noticed that wool soaps stripped the yarn of its natural property; Lanolin. Yarn Food incorporates this multi-purpose natural product, adding it back into the wool with each wash. As you don’t need to rinse your knitting after you have washed it, the fibres are not overly agitated. (They also offer a version for plant fibres, adding cotton milk to help protect them as well.) The blocking spray is also a unique development for both steam blocking, as well as a way to refresh for your knits between washes. To see a couple work so well together, and to help celebrate their first day of trading was such a joy! I can’t wait to get my own sweaters dunked into the lavender wash, and my socks into the tea-tree version. 

I then met up with Bron, and we spent a colourful time looking at all the yarns that were there to be enjoyed. I have to say that I was rather blown away with the variety of natural fibres on show, and the Cornish wool on display was some of the best I have come across in a long time. It reminded me that Britain has been known across the world for the quality of our wool, along with our spinning, dying, and weaving. To be at a festival that showcased such high-quality produce from my neck of the woods was a total joy! It was creatively refreshing in many ways. 

As we sat and chatted to friends we had bumped into at the show, we sat outside with coffee and pastries whilst getting a few rows knitted up. We must have been there for an hour, enjoying the warmth of the sun as well as nattering about our projects, before heading back in.

I have wanted to meet Kerry from Ginger Pink Yarns for years, but at Unravel, there was never a chance as it was always so busy, but on Sunday I finally snagged my chance to say hello and introduce myself. I love her colour pallets and the depth that she creates by using natural plant dyes. My eyes were drawn to her BFL/Gotland base in 'Weld', a colour that I was still thinking of this morning as I was looking through my sweater collection; it really needs a pop of deep citron! Based in Frome, Sommerset, Kerry uses British wool as the base for her dyes, and the results are bouncy, smooth worsted skeins that are great for both shawls, sweaters, and accessories. I am very much looking forward to ordering a sweater quantity of her yarns just as soon as I get my mojo back. 

Kernow YAFF was a delight to attend, and as it was the smaller Spring Festival, I will be looking forward to seeing what the larger Autumn one has in store for us in September. However, the Spring show was great to meet new-to-me dyers, as there was enough space to chat with them, see their beautiful yarns and squish all the wool. I shall be following Bluebell Yarns with a keen interest, along with Rosie’s Moments, both of whom have stunning colours running through their yarns that offered a lot of creative thoughts for next Autumn’s wardrobe. (Dartmoor Wool Sheep also gave me food for thought for an Aran sweater from one of my brothers…!)

I am convinced that we only get the best out of our knitting when we knit together, and our community is a rich and thriving one. Connecting back in, meeting new friends, and knitting under the spring sun whilst nattering is better than any flu remedy known to human-kind, and I am so happy that I took a great big dose of it on Sunday. 

I ended the day on Polzeath beach, a place I have not visited for a couple of years, but one where I always feel connected with friends, no matter how many miles separate us. My Knitting Flu has downgraded to a version similar to a bad cold. I am not quite over it, but I am enjoying designing my own V-Neck slip-over. I am using my Camel’s Yarn Comfort DK, in the colour-way ‘Studio Door’. I have had it for ages now, and as I only have 4 skeins due to it being the end of a dye lot, I hadn’t really found a use for it until now. As I start to reemerge and enjoy the spring sunshine, I can sense my mind moving to search out the styles of the coming season; boho dresses, linens and colour. I am looking forward to it, and sharing it all with you.