Gillard still knits to stitch up stress

18 Jan 2013, 9:59 am   -   Source: AAP
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Prime Minister Julia Gillard relaxes after a long hard day at the office by doing some knitting and says the repetitive task is soothing. (AAP)

Prime Minister Julia Gillard relaxes after a long hard day at the office by doing some knitting and says the repetitive task is soothing. (AAP)

Prime Minister Julia Gillard relaxes after a long hard day at the office by doing some knitting and says the repetitive task is soothing.

Julia Gillard has again extolled the benefits of knitting as a means of escaping the many cares of high office.

The prime minister says hers is a pretty stressful job, often involving her arriving home late at night and needing to get some sleep ahead of early morning starts.

"The thing that's good about the knitting is it takes enough of your attention that your mind can't be racing a million miles an hour on everything else," she told ABC radio on Friday.

She said the repetitive activity was "soothing".

"It helps you transition from full-on work speed to `I need to go to bed now quite quickly'."

Ms Gillard managed to get some time away from work over the Christmas and New Year season, taking 10 days off and leaving the nation in the hands of deputy Wayne Swan.

She and partner Tim Mathieson spent time with family in Adelaide, undergoing the trying experience of preparing the Christmas lunch.

"Producing turkey and all the rest of it isn't the sort of thing Tim and I do every day," Ms Gillard said.

"But we managed to get it done. It was all edible so it was all good."

During the break the prime minister said she did manage to read a few books and do some knitting.

Last year it was revealed Ms Gillard had knitted a little jacket for the baby girl of Finance Minister Penny Wong.

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