Author Archives: teachingyourbraintoknit

Ep. 059 The Dana Foundation Supports Brain Research and Education

Posted in Brainy Stuff, Crochet, Knitting, Learning by

Welcome to Episode 059:  The Dana Foundation Supports Brain Research and Education

Brainy Thing:  20:45     Redwood Curtain:  25:50

What We’re Learning from Our Knitting:

Margaret is learning Intarsia, a technique she’s been wanting to learn for a long time.  She presents her experiences so far and a variety of sources for learning intarsia from books, videos, You tube, Craftsy
You Tube
Catherine has been struggling to find knitting time but sneaking in a row or two of Absolutely Essential by Bunny Muff. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/absolutely-essential

Brainy Thing:

The Dana Foundation supports Brain Research and education about the brain.   Dana foundation  http://www.dana.org/

Behind the Redwood Curtain:

Knitting Tip

Crochet more foundation chains than you need and count your stitches in each row as you finish them.

A Little Podcast Business

Winners for joining the Ravelry Group announced.

2017 Learn Along:

Ends on May 1st.   Get those projects done and post them on the thread in the Teaching Your Brain to Knit Ravelry Group.  

Links:

website https://teachingyourbraintoknit.com/ for show notes, photos of our knitting and crochet projects, Behind the Redwood Curtain places and things and anything else we decide to post.

Summary

Today on Teaching Your Brain to Knit learn how the Dana Foundation supports research and education  about the brain;  Margaret offers sources and tips for learning intarsia; Catherine discovers how absolutely essential knitting is for her while she works on Bunny Muff’s shawl:  Absolutely Essential, Get the details on the Redwood Craft Stomp April 27 -29, Learn two crochet tips from our listener thread and finally find out who wins prizes for joining the Teaching Your Brain to Knit Group on Ravelry.

Ep. 058 What Appreciation and Gratitude Do for Your Brain

Posted in Brain Function, Crochet, Knitting by

Welcome to Episode 58:  Appreciation and Gratitude fire the same places in the brain

Brainy Thing:   25:25    Behind the Redwood Curtain:   35:25

What We Learned From Our Knitting

Catherine knit not one, but two Poncho Perfectos by The Knit Cafe Toronto for a production of Julius Caesar.   Listen to her tale.   
The pattern is no longer  available but Catherine used raveler raplib’s Pacific NW Poncho notes as a guide.   http://www.ravelry.com/projects/raplib/poncho-perfecto  She used Jenny’ super stretchy bind off
Margaret has been playing with a number different projects but she finished two crochet ball ornament covers.  The directions are free and are:  Joy M. Prescott’s  Elegant ornaments:  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/elegant-ornaments  in #10 orange cotton thread and Teresa Richardson’s Thread crochet ornament   http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/thread-crochet-ornament—christopher  The video tutorial  is   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EL0i4TTlGyM

Brainy Thing:

Catherine tells us that receiving appreciation and giving appreciation fire the same parts of the brain as offering gratitude does and it does great things for our well being.  She mention the O T Tanner company, Positive Psychology Researc, Psychiatry Seven, Dr. Tard Khastan from George Mason University and Dr. Robert A Emmons, the world’s leading expert on Gratitude.  He’s at UC Davis and is the founder of the Journal of Positive Psychology.

Behind the Redwood Curtain:

Today Margaret Explore the Temperate Rainforest, the ecosystem of the Redwood Forest.

Knitting Tip:

Seven7seven (one of our group members) gives a tip that to keep track of yarn care instruction, take a photo of it when you’re photographing the yarn to add to the Ravelry stash pages.

The Learn-along

The Learn-along continues.   It ends May 1.  There’s prizes and learning to be had.

Links:

website https://teachingyourbraintoknit.com/ for show notes, photos of our knitting and crochet projects, Behind the Redwood Curtain places and things and anything else we decide to post.
Today on Teaching Your Brain to Knit, how you can improve your quality of life with gratitude and appreciation;  Catherine takes a journey in knitting for the theatre;  Margaret enjoys the plasticity of crochet;  We learn what a temperate rain forest is, we get a tip about how to never lose your yarn’s care instruction, and we give a reminder about the 2017 Learn along.

Ep. 057 Personality, Mood and Color (a not very scientific approach)

Posted in Knitting by

Welcome to Episode 57 — A Not Very Scientific Look at Personality, Mood and Color

Brainy Thing:  17:29           Behind the Redwood Curtain:  27:00

What We’re Learning from Our Knitting:

Catherine rages against the bulky yarn she’s using in some mystery yarn she’s using and returns to a more comfortable yarn she used for but the Funky Baby Kimono by Melilab   http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/funky-baby-kimono    by Melilabkimono
Margaret muses about several shades of black after finishing a generic top down,   Fish Lip Kiss Heeled generic sock with Soft Like Kittens yarn from independent dyer, Annette M Russell in Auckland, New Zealand (now on indefinite hiatus)  http://www.softlikekittens.com/  black-sock

Brainy Thing:

Catherine takes a playful (but probably not scientific approach) to playing with color, first on Facebook and then with Pantone’s color of the year, greenery.    Check out the color and personality quiz on our Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/Teachingyourbraintoknitpodcast/ and see the information about the color “greenery” from Pantone:  https://www.pantone.com/color-of-the-year-2017

Behind the Redwood Curtain:

Margaret shares the story of the Little Sailboat Who Could, The Golden Rule which is a project of the Veterans for Peace to teach the world about the dangers of nuclear war and testing.   search-1

Tip:

Our Ravelry board is a great source of information.   Check out what BeadWeasel has to say about Beads on our Episode 54 thread.

Learn Along

Remember, there are prizes and fun on our 2017 Learn-along.  Check out the thread on our Ravelry page.
img_2880
bamboo-yarn
Links:
website https://teachingyourbraintoknit.com/ for show notes, photos of our knitting and crochet projects, Behind the Redwood Curtain places and things and anything else we decide to post.
This time on the Teaching Your Brain to Knit Podcast we explore probably a not very scientific view of how personality and mood impact color and vice versa, Catherine rages against bulky yarn but gets comfort from baby yarn, Margaret muses on several shades of black, she also tells the story of the Little Sailboat Who Could, a veterans for peace project teaching about the dangers of nuclear war and testing and then there’s a tip from one of our listeners, bead weasel about beads.

Ep. 056 Aging and Depression Studies from the Frontal Brain

Posted in Brain anatomy & physiology, Knitting by

Welcome to Episode 56:  Studies on Aging and Depression and the Frontal Brain

Brainy Thing:  14:14              Behind the Redwood Curtain: 22:40

What We Learned from our Knitting

Finish up Party
Margaret finally finished her grandson’s socks (for the second time (no pattern— the first time it was too tight) and Catherine finished up two
img_2512
projects.  fox cowl side fox cowl  Margaret mulls over the product versus process question with the help of some famous knitters:
img_0604 img_0603Catherine’s finishes another baby sock recipe that she usually donates to Afghans for Afghans and two little cowls for a friend’s children — on of a fox and the other a teen aged ninja turtle.  Heidi May of Velvet Acorn Designs is the designer  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/search#query=heidi%20may%20&page=1&view=captioned_thumbs&sort=best

Brainy Thing:

Two new-ish studies explore depression and agin looking at the brain split front and back.

Behind The Redwood Curtain:

Arcata’s Sister City, Camoapa, Nicaragua,  supported in part by the I Street Party  https://www.facebook.com/sistercityproject/

search

I Street Party in Arcata

A Little Podcast Business:

Prizes for for the 2017 Learn-along.

bamboo-yarn

img_2880

Links:

website https://teachingyourbraintoknit.com/ for show notes, photos of our knitting and crochet projects, Behind the Redwood Curtain places and things and anything else we decide to post.
Today in Teaching Your Brain to Knit we find two studies that focus on the front of the brain one on depression, the other aging;  , in knitting synchronicity both Margaret and Catherine finish-up- languishing projects,  we share the story of  how the little  town of Arcata helps a sister city in Nigaraguan with a big party, Catherine gives us a knitting tip from her hard earned wisdom, and don’t forget the Learn-along where you try some new technique, pattern, yarn or craft to sharpen your brain and maybe win some prizes.    Check out the details on Teaching Your Brain to Knit Page on Ravelry

 

Ep. 055 Increasing the “Love Hormone” Oxytocin to Increase Happiness

Posted in Brain anatomy & physiology, Knitting by
Brainy thing:   17:11  Behind the Redwood Curtain:  30:42

Welcome to Episode:  Dog Studies show how to increase the “Love Hormone” Oxytocin to Increase Happiness

What We’re Learning From Our Knitting:

Catherine was deep into the production of Pussy hats by   Jayna Zweiman and Krista Suh https://www.pussyhatproject.com/knit/ .   Bunches more patterns on:  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/search#query=pussy%20hat&view=captioned_thumbs&page=1&sort=best  Margaret steals, uh, appropriates one of them.  pussy-hatsCatherine took this opportunity to repurpose a cowl that was beautiful —Cuppa Java Cowl  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/cuppa-java-cowl  by Sarah Wilson or The Sexy Knitter http://www.ravelry.com/designers/sarah-wilson— but didn’t quite work for her.   She loved the yarn, though: A Gothling merino cashmere blend by Rainy Days and Wooly Dogs Goth Sox in the colorway “Home Coming Queen’s got a gun.”  catherine-in-pussy-hatShe made other hats out of Cascade 220 and some mystery yarns from her stash.
Margaret features some knitting made by other people and shares her delight with the Faberge’ egg-like ornament designed by Laura Lamers’ (http://www.ravelry.com/people/northcoastknit)  of the Northcoast Knittery.jaquies-rolled-sweater

Ornament designed by Laura Lamers of the North Coast Knittery Shop in Eureka CA inspired by a Faberge Egg.

Brainy Thing:

Catherine describes the “Love Hormone” Oxytocin and some recent research that shows bonding between dogs and their owners.  There are lots of studies on this including several by Jessica Oliva.

Behind the Redwood Curtain:

A paved, multi-use trail just south of Bay Shore Mall and along the Eastern Edge of Humboldt Pave meets lots of needs.   It’s the Hikshari’ trail   http://www.redwoods.info/showrecord.asp?id=5666

bamboo-yarnPodcast Business:

There’s an ongoing incentive to sign up for the Teaching Your Brain to Knit Podcast Ravelry Group and a current contest for the 2017 Learn-along.
How the hormone Oxytocin can increase happiness, How knitting can unite sides in activism, The discovery of a new stitch which brought joy,  Finding a new humboldt trail that accommodates a range of needs, Repurposing yarn for a -not-quite-right finished project