Monthly Archives: March 2016

Ep. 35 Celebrate Neurons with Knitworks

Posted in Knitting by

Welcome to Episode 35 about Australia’s Neural Knitworks Project to Celebrate National Science Week

Brainy thing:  23:33        Behind the Redwood Curtain:  33:33

What We’re Learning from our Knitting

Catherine’s been doing some knitting for a theatre production of Jungalbook:  She made a pair of fingerless mitts in bright pink for the monkey, relying on measurements and her memory of doing mitts.   She used Deceptive Cookie’s  http://www.ravelry.com/people/DeceptiveCookie Bias Stripe Shawl Recipe http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bias-stripe-shawl-recipe  (free) for a black and orange scarf for the tiger character.

C monkey mitts

Catherine’s monkey mitts with a novelty yarn.

C tiger scarfC tiger scarf 2

Margaret talks about her marathon sock-darning event using different methods on socks of hers that have developed holes.
basket of darned socks

Brainy Thing:   Neural Knitworks:   http://www.scienceweek.net.au/neural-knitworks/

Catherine shares Australian Pat Pillai’s idea to knit and weave brain cells as a way to celebrate Australia’s National Science Week in August.  Knit, crochet, and knotting patterns of neurons are available for free on the website.   The program is called Neural Knitworks.
One of the Neuron patterns from Neural Knitworks

One of the Neuron patterns from Neural Knitworks

Behind the Redwood Curtain

North side of Trinidad Head

North side of Trinidad Head

 

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Margaret talks about the area hiking trail, Trinidad Head in Trinidad, California — a short but pretty steep uphill climb that rewards with a fantastic almost 350 degree view at the top of ocean and shoreline.

Podcast Business:

The incentive for joining the Ravelry group Teaching Your Brain to Knit and the contest for Knitting Tips continue.

Ep. 034 The Forgetting Curve and Knitting

Posted in Brain Function, Knitting by

Welcome to Episode 34:  The Forgetting Curve and Knitting

Brainy thing:   21:40  Redwood Curtain 31:40

What We’re Learning from our Knitting:

Margaret doesn’t realize that the Forgetting Curve threw her a curve on the Fish Lip Kiss heel until she messed up.    She made a sparkly pair of blue socks out of Knit Circus Pixie Dust fingering  weight  merino/silk/nylon/polyamide/metallic yarn.   Persie's sparkle socks
Years ago she got a similar yarn as a kit from Knit Circus for Jaala Spiro’s half circle Corrina Shawl in the Casseopeia  color way.   When she ran out (she didn’t do a gauge swatch—for shame)  Jaala Spiro dyed a skein that would especially go with the older color way.  So she had quite a bit of the yarn leftover.
corrina shawl
Along with the Vanessa Ives Mystery Shawl, Catherine continues making socks for the Afghans for Afghans organization.  This time she use Kate Atherly’s Baby Socks pattern .   She also made Lee Burstein’s Organic Cotton Heirloom Baby Hat , but out of wool instead of cotton.
Catherine continues to make progress on her meditative Vanessa Ives Shawl.

Catherine continues to make progress on her meditative Vanessa Ives Shawl.

BABY SOCKS Kate Atherley
Brainy Thing:   The Forgetting Curve
Baffled by her botched attempt at the Fish Kiss Lips Heel (she did it once and she thought she remembered it) Margaret delves into the world of forgetting and meets our old friend Hermann Ebbinghaus who first described the Forgetting Curve.  Elizabeth Loftus, a cognitive psychologist, describes different types of forgetting.
Behind the Redwood Curtain:
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Catherine tells us about an icon of the Humboldt Bay, the statue of “The Fisherman” by Dick Crane.  (http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2011634667/)  He and his wife Salli own Dancing Crane Studios.
Knitting Tip:
Listener Kate Pricey offers a tip about making knitting into the Backward Loop Cast-on easier — go through the back loop.
Knitting Tip Contest:
Five back issues of Pom Pom magazine is the prize for a randomly selected winner from our Knitting Tip thread of on our group on Ravelry.pom pom smallest
Podcast Business:
We continue to have an on-going incentive prize for each 100 people who join our Teaching Your Brain to Knit podcast group on Ravelry.  (http://www.ravelry.com/groups/teaching-your-brain-to-knit)
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