Author Archives: teachingyourbraintoknit

Ep. 049 Knitting Helps Depression — Another Study

Posted in Knitting by

Welcome to Episode 49:  Another Study show that Knitting (specifically) Out Performs Other Ways to Treat Depression

Brainy Thing: 18:46                 Behind the Redwood Curtain: 24:36

What We’re Learning From Our Knitting:

vanessa-2

Vanessa Ives Knitalong shawl by Bunnymuff

vanessaCatherine scores a spectacular finish to the Vanessa Ives Knit-along by Bunny Muff or Mona8pi http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/vanessa-ives

Margaret struggles with a crocheted stuffy, Aitches by Brenda K. B. Anderson  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/aitches

Brainy Thing:

Catherine find a study that specifically links “mood repair” or depression relief from knitting done at the Arizona State University Well Being lab study by Ann Futterton Collier  http://www.jkp.com/jkpblog/2012/02/interview-ann-futterman-collier-using-textile-arts-and-handcrafts-in-therapy-with-women/

Behind the Redwood Curtain

pavi3_001_svpA pretty, yellow  stalk like glandweed flower unexpectantly  pops up in Margaret‘s back yard.  http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=PAVI3

Knitting tip  — round out curved edges

Catherine offers a solution for those awkward stair-step like edges on parts of your knitting that is supposed to be curved.

Ep. 048 How to Learn the Holistic Way

Posted in Knitting, Learning by

Welcome to Episode 48:  How You Can Learn the Holistic Way

Brainy Thing:   22:20      Behind the Redwood Curtain:  29:50

What We Learned From Our Knitting

Margaret learns a lot about her knitting by not knitting.

sweater-with-buttons

Cotton baby sweater knit by Jacque of Foggy Bottom Yarns in Ferndale, CA. She included a set of blue and pink buttons to customize it.

jacques-sweater

Close up of Jacque’s sweater with the blue sail boat buttons.

smartwoolBelow is the hand knitted baby sweater that she bought.   It was expertly knit by Jacque of Foggy Bottom Yarns in Ferndale, CA  (https://www.yelp.com/biz/foggy-bottoms-ferndale)  The other item is a pair of Smart Wool socks Margaret  bought for her physical therapist.  Not as nice as hand knit socks but a whole lot faster.

Catherine confronts some of the challenges of long term knitting projects, this time the Meadow Lark  Shibori Jacket http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/meadowlark-shibori-jacket by Gina Wilde out of Alchemy yarns.  meadowlark-2

Brainy Thing:  Holistic Knitting

When is learning like a piece of knitting?  When it’s holistic and interconnected.  Margaret shares the theories of Shawn Whitely from his now out-of-print book Memletics.

Behind the Redwood Curtain:

Sumeg Village in Patrick’s Point State is a recreated Yurok village that is not a museum but a living location for local native events.

Sweat lodge of Sumeg Village from the Redwood Coast website.

Sweat lodge of Sumeg Village from the Redwood Coast website.

Knitting Tip:

Danica53  from our Ravelry group shares a new loose bind off:   Lori’s twisty bind off  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWS77BKk5NQ
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.

Ep. 47 Does Knitting Impact Your Brain like Breathing and Meditation ?

Posted in Brain Function, Knitting, Learning, Meditation by

Welcome to Episode 47 of Teaching Your Brain to Knit

Brainy thing:      11:29   Behind the Redwood Curtain 21:56

What We’re Learning from Our Knitting

Margaret has been looking for modifications of the Afterthought Heel to prevent (or reduce) those strained stitches in the corner.   She found Afterthought Heels Revisited (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/afterthought-heels-revisited) by Laura Linneman of the Knitgirllls (yes, three “l”s) Podcast fame and the Knit Better Socks blog by RMD (http://knitbettersocks.blogspot.com/2011/12/improving-afterthought-or-forethought.html).  She used Vesper yarn  in a color way she calls “Neopolitan ice cream with blueberries”— pink, blue white and blue.
neopolitans
Catherine finished up her Double Lattice Dishcloths by SmarieK (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/double-lattice-cloth).  She used various leftovers from Knit Picks and Peaches and Cream.  dish-cloth-swap

The Brainy Thing: Breathing and the Brain

Margaret was inspired by this topic by Memletics writer Sean Whitely which unfortunately had no references.  So she looked for some research the (self evident) idea that breathing would help your brain function.   She started with Breathing and the Brain (http://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddisalvo/2013/05/14/breathing-and-your-brain-five-reasons-to-grab-the-controls/#2e5150ae52aa) then found a MIT study from 2005 headed by Sara W. Lazar, et al (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1361002/)  (she also has a Ted Talk at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8rRzTtP7Tc.

Behind the Redwood Curtain:  Trees of Mystery

home-02Catherine focuses on the giant interactive Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox of Trees of Mystery in Klamath, CA.  https://www.treesofmystery.net/ Hear the radio show This American Life report on the Trees of Mystery:  http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/506/secret-identity

Knitting Tip: decreases on the edges of garments

Catherine shares a tip for making neater knitting decreases along the edges of garment.

Links:

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

Ep. 046 Synthesis: Two Year Anniversary

Posted in Knitting by

Welcome to Episode 46:  Synthesis:  Two Year Anniversary of Teaching Your Brain to Knit

Brainy Thing:   13:19       Behind the Redwood Curtain:
We modify our podcast a bit this podcast as we synthesize and review two years of our podcasting episodes.

What We’ve Learned from Our Knitting (and Crochet)

Catherine and Margaret talk what they’ve learned from their knitting over the past two years.  Margaret has learned about her ADD with knitting and how she needs variety.   Catherine has learned that she needs two projects — one a simple carry-around project and another one that challenges her.  Catherine mentions that she knit the Harmonia’s Ring Cowl (http:/

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Sivia Harding’s Harmonia’s Ring Cowl

/www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/harmonias-rings-cowl)  by Sivia Harding but although she loves it, she can’t wear it because she knit it out of wool and she’s sensitive about it.

Brainy Thing:

Margaret and Catherine review some of the most notable (for them) topics they’ve covered in the Brainy segment over the past two years.  For Margaret, they include Open Mindset (Episode 1), Flow (Episode 2 and 3), Betsan Corkhill (Episode 9), and Novelty.  For Catherine the the Open Mindset (Episode 1), Focus (Episodes 2, 3, 6),  Flow (Episode 2 and 3) and Novelty (Episode 16.)

Behind the Redwood Curtain:

Banana_slug_at_UCSCMargaret was inspired to create this segment by Paula or Prairie Piper’s (http://www.ravelry.com/people/PrairiePiper) Nature Notes on the Knitting Pipeline Podcast (http://www.ravelry.com/groups/knitting-pipeline)  .   One place in the area that stands out for Margaret is Table Bluff discussed in Episode 7 and for Catherine the lowly but resilient banana slug in episode 3.

Knitting Tip:

This segment has been the most challenging for Margaret and Catherine is the Knitting Tip and they are grateful to readers who post their tips on the Knitting Tip thread on Ravelry.  One of the recent tips most helpful for Margaret was the the cd case converted to a bead holder submitted by Knitty Barb from Two Knit Lit Chicks podcast (http://www.ravelry.com/groups/2-knit-lit-chicks-podcast).

A Little Podcast Business:

Catherine and Margaret are both grateful for their listeners and for those who communicate via the Ravelry Group.
Teaching Your Brain to Knit Podcast:  https://teachingyourbraintoknit.com/
Teaching Your Brain to Knit Podcast group on Ravelry:  http://www.ravelry.com/groups/teaching-your-brain-to-knit

Ep. 045 Shinrin Yoku (Forest Bathing): An Ancient Healing Technique Supported by Modern Research

Posted in Brain Function, Knitting by

Welcome to Episode:   Shinrin Yoku (Forest Bathing):  An Ancient Healing Technique supported by Modern Breathing

Brainy Thing: 18:27     Redwood Curtain:  33:43

What We’re Learning from Our Knitting (and Luceting):

Ta Dah!  Catherine finished her Garden Arbor Shawl  by Kira K Designs, a  kit she got from The Natural Fiber Fair in 2015. The yarn is the Sky colorway in Bamboo from Be Sweet Yarns.
garden arbor close
garden arbor
Margaret made a lucet bracelet that was a modification of the pattern that Jennifer Hansen, from Stitch Diva offered as a bonus after completing her free 7-Day Llucet braceletucet Challenge.  https://app.convertkit.com/landing_pages/38006.  She used Magnetic clasps. She also tested out the KonMari method http://tidyingup.com/ of organizing all her knitting, crocheting and lucet supplies.

Brainy Thing:  Shinrin Yoku (Forest Breathing)

Catherine introduces us to Shinrin Yoku the Japanese codification of a worldwide ancient custom of Forest Breathing. 0315305F-155D-4519-3EB2071A3180CA23-smallThe phenomenon of the healing from forest is getting a lot of research interest and an American study shows that walks in nature can help children with ADD and ADHD.  Some resources:
The Little Handbook of shinrin yoku   http://www.shinrin-yoku.org/
The Association of Forest Therapy:   http://www.natureandforesttherapy.org/
On ADD and ADHD:   Andrea Faber Taylor and Frances E. Kuo  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1448497/

Behind the Redwood Curtain:

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Breaking news (at least relatively from us) — Redwood trees are  best at fixing oxygen– converting Carbon Dioxide into Oxygen in the process of photosynthesis therefore they can be helpful resources in battling Global Warming.
Teaching Your Brain to Knit Podcast:  https://teachingyourbraintoknit.com/
Teaching Your Brain to Knit Podcast group on Ravelry:  http://www.ravelry.com/groups/teaching-your-brain-to-knit