The Real Reason I Started The Spinning Hand

This morning, I received an email that stopped me in my tracks.

“Hey! I am super excited for my kit. I have been struggling with mental health and I'm very hopeful that this new hobby is going to do great things for me. Thanks, I cant wait!”

I wrote back immediately, because I understood exactly what she meant.

Years ago, I was hospitalized for depression.

At the time, knitting was one of the only things that could quiet my mind. One of the only things that helped me feel grounded and present instead of spiraling.

The nurses allowed me to knit as long as I sat at the nurses’ station, so they could keep an eye on me.

So I sat there and knit.

Row after row.

Loop after loop.

Somehow, through the repetition and rhythm of it, my nervous system slowly began to settle.

Now, I'm not saying that knitting “fixes” mental health struggles. (I've taken the proper medications for 20 years and gone through years of therapy, and am so grateful to the professionals who've helped me!)

But... there is something powerful and even magical about knitting.

Something about counting stitches.
Feeling the yarn move through your fingers.
Watching a piece slowly grow from nothing.

It gives your brain somewhere gentle to land.

Over time, knitting became much more than a hobby for me. It became part of rebuilding my life.

Eventually — after many years of late nights, side hustles, and knitting at my kitchen table after work — I built The Spinning Hand.

And honestly?

The Learn to Knit kits were created for people exactly like the version of me who sat at that nurses’ station all those years ago.

People who want something calming.
Something creative.
Something real.

People who might be intimidated by yarn stores, confusing tutorials, and patterns that assume you already know what you’re doing.

I wanted beginners to feel supported instead of overwhelmed.

That’s why the kits include video tutorials.
Why the instructions are broken down carefully.
Why I answer emails from customers who get stuck.
Why I still care so deeply about every single order that goes out.

Because knitting isn't just a "grandma hobby."

Sometimes it’s the beginning of feeling like yourself again.

And if that’s where you are right now — whether you’re anxious, overwhelmed, grieving, burned out, or simply searching for something grounding — I hope knitting brings you even a fraction of what it brought me.

One stitch at a time.

Another Blog Post You Might Enjoy:

Unraveling the Health Benefits of Knitting