• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Rebecca Gallop

The Art Of Healing

  • Home
  • Portfolio
  • Journal
  • About Me

Life’s Tapestry – Bringing Stitch into the Therapy Room

April 16, 2019 by Rebecca Gallop Leave a Comment

Kingfisher Handwoven Wool Shawl by Rebecca Gallop

Why knitting?

Since early childhood I have been inspired by the textures and potential of wool. The journey began when I learnt to knit. Looking back, knitting was, a hugely powerful healing tool for me throughout my life. It introduced me to the potential of wool, the process of taking the wool and turning it into cloth was a curiosity for me.

Over the years I wrote my own knitting patterns and ran knitting workshops.  I featured in knitting magazines and blogs, and was the resident textile artist and set up many knit and natter groups in local library service in Staffordshire, UK. I was resident textile artist for a play at mac Birmingham called Yarning based around the lives of women who knit through the ages. I provided knitted props for photographers and sold my knitting at various events.

I enjoy the feel of the cloth growing as I knit, the yarn moving in my fingers, the slow rhythm of the knitting needles clicking as I worked with the stitches.

A small diversion into weaving

It was a tour of the Outer Hebrides that was set to put me on a weaving path. I took inspiration from seeing the weavers on Harris with their looms. I could see how the land connected to the cloth that was woven and I brought this philosophy back home with me and started to weave, drawing inspiration from my local landscape. I found that the slow methodical rhythm and texture and feel of the wool on the loom really soothed my soul. I handspun my own wool from fleece, tracing the wool back to the sheep was important to me. I was working in a mindful way, the healing threads were connected together to make cloth that I could wrap myself up in, I felt safe, protected, warm, just like with knitting.

The process of knitting, and weaving is a slow contemplative journey, I now intuitively and mindfully knit and weave cloth that creates memory shawls, prayer shawls, mourning shawls, scarves, and cowls.

Knitting in the therapy room

From these experiences of working with wool in different ways, I realised that others could benefit from this whole process too. Knitting helps us to feel okay, is not a ‘cure all’ but it does make daily living much more enjoyable, and also, by sharing with others, I hope to give something back, helping others to find comfort in the cloth too.

I feel that there is a close connection between knitting and therapy. Working with wool, threads and stitches is healing, both in the process of making and also in creating a voice for when there are no words. I offer counselling including knitting, weaving and stitching, in the therapy room and also as patterns and kits, as I know and appreciate how healing working with wool and stitch is.

Filed Under: Textiles, Therapy Tagged With: counselling, healing, healing with wool, knit, knitting, knitting pattern design, knitting therapy, mindful, mindfulness, textiles, weaver, weaving, wool

About Rebecca Gallop

Join me on a journey to find out what it means to live an authentic life and to discover the incredible healing power of art & creativity.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Look…

Recent Work

Read…

Art
Writing
Textiles

Connect…

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn

Contact…

I'd love to hear from you!

Contact Me
  • Therapy
  • Contact Me
  • Privacy & GDPR

Copyright © 2021 · Rebecca Gallop

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

SAVE & ACCEPT