MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
So, A, you know, I know our work is so fun.
(LAUGHTER)
MARTIN: But having said that, do you ever feel the need to unwind from work?
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
I would love to, if I ever knew how. I mean, if you've got a plan, please share.
MARTIN: Well, here is an idea. Maybe you should check out a grannycore meetup because Gen Z is getting together to knit, to do needlework or other things traditionally considered granny hobbies. And that is according to the events website Eventbrite.
CASSANDRA DOMINICK: It can be really engaging in terms of, like, there can be a lot of different colors, a lot of different texture. There's a lot of sensory satisfaction that goes along with it, too.
MARTÍNEZ: That's Cassandra Dominick. She's a therapist who wrote her graduate dissertation on knitting.
DOMINICK: There's research that shows that repetitive movements release serotonin. So, you know, that helps with, like, depression. That helps with pain management.
MARTIN: Cassidy Sutter (ph) says she finds it relaxing.
CASSIDY SUTTER: You can use a lot of brainpower, depending on what you're making. Or you can do something that's kind of mindless. So it's really versatile in that way.
MARTIN: She says she's been knitting since last March and has made about 20 pieces since then.
SUTTER: In this era of automation and fast-paced living, it's nice to practice the delayed gratification of working on something for weeks or even, like, months. It's, like, just a really rewarding thing.
MARTÍNEZ: That's a common feeling among people who craft. A 2024 study from scientists at Anglia Ruskin University in England found that crafters reported higher levels of happiness and life satisfaction. They also reported a stronger sense that life is worthwhile.
MARTIN: Manda Tran (ph) says knitting meetups bridge a lot of generations.
MANDA TRAN: There's not a lot of spaces where I would find myself talking to people that have lived much more life than me and are wiser than me, but that can share their skill and then also just their life stories.
MARTIN: And as for labeling kitting as grannycore, Tran says...
TRAN: I think anyone who knits is cool, regardless of their age.
MARTÍNEZ: So, you know, Michel, my wife and I are grannies, or grandparents, you know?
MARTIN: (Laughter).
MARTÍNEZ: And when I took this job at NPR, that means I had to take my wife's sewing room for this home studio. Surrounded by spools of thread, bundles of yarn, bolts of fabric, all sadly unused. So now Mrs. A is gardening.
MARTIN: What do you mean you had to take your wife's sewing room?
MARTÍNEZ: There was no other place to put this contraption where I speak to people.
MARTIN: I think I want to ask Mrs. A about that.
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