Category Archives: Knitting

Ep. 020 Can your Right Brain help you organize your stash?

Posted in Brainy Stuff, Crochet, Knitting by

Welcome to Episode 20:  Organizing your stash with your Right and Left Brain

What we’re learning from our knitting (and crochet)

Margaret has learned a lot from her Charcoal Multnomah Shawl by Kate Ray including that “old Shale” and “Feather and Fan” are different patterns reported by Northern Lace.   There are also at least seven variations of feather and fan according to Angel Fire.  Margaret liked Mariann Nahl’s “Fast and Easy continental Knit and Purl” video.

Charcoal Sunshine Multnomah

Charcoal Sunshine Multnomah

multnomah

Catherine noticed that her tension for her fourth “Misty Rose” dishcloth by Kim Cameron was much looser and therefore a full one inch larger than her first.  Misty rose

She got it back down to the original size when she started focusing again on dishcloth #5.  She is also working on “Among the Wildflowers” by Sasha Ball Rives.   Northcoast Knittery has worked up this pattern in a number of different yarns shown here.

Brainy Thing:  Can your Right Brain help you organize your stash?

Margaret revisits the Right and Left Brain theory and mentions the neuroscientist Jill Bolte Taylor whose Ted Talk chronicles her experience of having a stroke in the left side of her brain.  She also talks about Corothy Lehmkuhl’s and Dolores Cotter Lamping’s book Organizing for the Creative Person which offers understanding of different styles of right-brain dominant and left-brain dominant people.

Behind the Redwood Curtain

Catherine discusses the Humboldt Marten, a weasel that controls rats and mice, but that is severely diminished in numbers.

Humboldt Marten

Humboldt Marten

Knitting Tip:

We correct our previous tip that using larger needles will make a stretchier cast-on when using the long tail cast on (Thank you, Paula, from Knitting Pipeline).   Catherine offers the tip that if you know you’re going to have a stressful day, you might want to begin it with a few minutes of knitting to reap the calming effects.

Podcast business

The Learn-along ends August 1.   The randomly selected prize will be three skeins of Studio Donegal , a real Irish Donegal tweed, 88 yards each in a dk weight.  donnegal

The next incentive prize for joining our Ravelry group for members 301 to 400 is a skein of Fiesta Rayon Boucle yarn in the Catalina colorway.  The 240 yards are enough to make an airy summer wrap.

Fiesta Rayon boucle Catalina colorway

Fiesta Rayon boucle Catalina colorway

Ep. 019 Growing Brain Cells with Physical Activity

Posted in Brain anatomy & physiology, Brain Function, Crochet, Knitting by

Welcome to Episode 19: How physical activity grow brain cells.

Brainy Thing starts at 15:26
Behind the Redwood Curtain starts at 24:13

What We’re Learning from Our Knitting (and Crochet)

The Fantasy Red Cardi is now Catherine’s carry-along knitting although she’s having a little sock knitting withdrawal.  This baby cardigan is by Knitting Kate or Katherine Foster.

Fantasy Red Cardi

Fantasy Red Cardi

The wool is “purple neutral” by Steinbach Woole Strapaz and an identified ball of yarn which is probably from Three Irish Girls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of the "charms" in the Dogwood Scarf

Some of the “charms” in the Dogwood Scarf

Catherine is also starting the Dogwood Scarf a Charm Crochet project by Suzann Thompson   She’s using a variety 100% cotton Ti Di by Knit One Crochet Too and leftovers.  She’s ordered a number of plant fiber yarns from Knit Picks to try them out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Margaret is trying our knitting on 12 inch and 9 inch circular needles.   She knit hat (premie size) as a sample to show new knitters one way to finish up a hat.hat2

preemie hat with "folded" top.

preemie hat with “folded” top.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brain Thing:

Dr. Arne May’s research showing juggling makes your brain grow.  Catherine asks could the physical activity of knitting and crochet also make brain cells?

Behind the Redwood Curtain

We talk about clams, clamming and Clam Beach.

Clam Beach, California but no clammers clamming.

Clam Beach, California but no clammers clamming.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Knitting Tip

Margaret suggest trying to enter “Beginner’s Mind” with no expectations and trying tools that challenge you.   She’s trying 12 inch and 9 inch circular needles right now and certainly feels like a beginner.

Podcast Business

The incentive prize, a gift for a randomly selected person out of each 100 people who join the group on Ravelry continues.   Also, the people are jumping into the Learn-along.   The Ravelry Group is here.

Episode 18 Auditory Learning Style and Knitting

Posted in Knitting, Learning by

Brainy Thing Starts at 24.25

Behind the Redwood Curtain starts at 32:55

What We’re Learning from our Knitting.

Margaret is on a quest to find the perfect cotton sock yarn.   In the past she’s used Regia Cotton but it still has a lot of wool content (41%) for her beloved Monkey Socks.     (After a search on Ravelry, it looks like most of the Regia’s Cotton fingering has been discontinued.).

monkeys

Recently, she tried Skacel’s Hi Koo CoBaSi in Carrot and Cream. She made up her own pattern but recommends Nigel Pottle’s Tom and Ethel Socks.

CoBaSi Socks in Carrot and Naturalorange socks 1

Catherine is using the yarn she just frogged (A mystery skein without the ball band but which is probably something from Three Irish Girls) and is using it in the Fantasy Red Cardi  by Knitting Kate (Katherine Foster’s Ravelry Store.)  The contrasting borders are in a “lavender neutral” Steinbach Woole Strapaz.

Fantasy Red Cardi in progress

Fantasy Red Cardi in progress

Brainy Thing

Margaret talks about Auditory Learning preference (the “A” in the VAK learning style) and how it might apply to knitters and crocheters.  She also explains more fully how we all use all senses in our learning.  Links to test out your learning preferences:

http://www.businessballs.com/vaklearningstylestest.htm
http://teachertools.londongt.org/?page=VAK
http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/styles/vak.html
http://easychangeworks.com/articles-nlp/markova-quiz.htm

Behind the Redwood Curtain

Catherine celebrates the California state flower:   The California Poppy.

 

California Poppy

California Poppy

Lots of California Poppies

Lots of California Poppies

California Poppies asleep after sundown in Margaret's yard

California Poppies asleep after sundown in Margaret’s yard

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more information on the California Poppy festival, check here.

Podcast Business

Check out about the Learn-a-long and the incentive prize for new members at the Teaching your Brain to Knit Group on Ravelry.

Self Striping Cankon Hand Dyes in "Lover's to bed' 'tis almost fairy time" colorway. It's a bit brighter than photograph suggests.

Self Striping Canon Hand Dyes in “Lover’s to bed’ ’tis almost fairy time” colorway. It’s a bit brighter than photograph suggests.

 

 

 

Ep. 017 Knitting Projects That Help you Meditate

Posted in Crochet, Knitting, Meditation by

Welcome to Episode 17:  Knitting Projects That Can Help You Meditate

Brainy Stuff starts:  23:17

Behind the Redwood Curtain starts:  32:22

What we’re learning from our knitting:

Catherine had a mystery skein of yarn — likely Three Irish Girls — that she used to start The Putney Shawl  by Angela Tony until she  ripped it out.

putney close putney shawl

Now she’s using it to work on a baby cardigan:   Fantasy Red Cardi.    by Katherine Foster.

clapo-ktus finishedShe’s finished the Clapo-ktus by Loredana Gianferri out of Goth Sock’s “Find your Happy Place.+   And she even had a little bit left to make a square for her sock yarn blanket.

blanket square

Margaret crocheted the Quotidian Bucket or Flapper Bucket Hat designed by Jennifer Hansen of the Stitch Diva.   It uses hat

Quotidian Hat

Quotidian Hat

Feza Alp Natural yarn, an interesting skein that combines different types of yarns together, in this case mostly black.    She’s also trying to find the right pattern for the Hemp for Knitting AllHemp6 dk.   She’s thinking of Doris Chan’s All Shawl pattern but she’s going to do the grown up thing and make and wash a swatch.

Brain Thing:  Projects that help you meditate:   The Prayer Shawl Ministry

Catherine shares the long tradition of making a wrap for people are were ill or moving or going on a long journey.  A recent expression of that is the Prayer Shawl Ministry started by Janet Servenu Bristow and Victoria Galo after taking a class with Sister  Miriam Terese Winter.   The non-religious website describes the many traditions that use of wraps that are known as Prayer Shawls, Comfort Shawls, or Mantles.  There’s also a lot of nifty tips on this site from knitters and crocheters.

Lion Brand has a lot of information on Prayer Shawls including gift cards you can use for them.

Behind the Redwood Curtain:

Margaret talks about the Arcata Community Forest.  There’s links to a video and other information.

path Forest forest Community forest sign Forest and ferns

Knitting Tip:

Using a larger needle can help loosen up tight edges of cast-ons and bind-offs suggests Catherine.

Podcast Business:

Learn-a-long

We’re starting our first “a-long.”  It’s the Learn-a-long running from June 1 to August 1.   To qualify, learn something new in your fiber practice  – – a new technique, skill or type of fiber.  (New Patterns don’t count because we try those all the time but if a new pattern has a new-to-you technique then that works.)  Go to the Ravelry Page to post your picture and tell us what you learned.

Next Incentive for Joining our Ravelry Group:

Canon Hand Dyes self striping Charles Merino Sock in the “Lover’s to bed; ’tis almost fairy time.”   Join the group here.

Self Striping Cankon Hand Dyes in "Lover's to bed' 'tis almost fairy time" colorway. It's a bit brighter than photograph suggests.

Self Striping Canon Hand Dyes in “Lover’s to bed’ ’tis almost fairy time” colorway. It’s a bit brighter than photograph suggests.

Ep. 016 Knitting and the Need for Novelty

Posted in Brain Function, Crochet, Knitting by

Welcome to Episode 16:  Knitting and the Need for Novelty or one reason we don’t finish our projects

Brainy Part:  Starts at 22:00

Behind the Redwood Curtain:  34:07

What We’re Learning from our Knitting:

ninja StarMargaret is playing around with different motifs to use her Lanaknits Hemp for Knitting #102 allhemp6 dk weight.  She found her copy of Kristen Omdahl’s Seamless Crochet:  Techniques and Motifs for Join-as-you-go Designs to figure out the Ninja Star motif shawlette.  While she was able to figure it out, she didn’t think the hemp was a good choice for the very open motif.  In the past, she had done the Radiance motif Sparkling Skinny Scarf in left-over sock yarn.  radiance

skinny 2

Catherine is still working on her Meadowlark Shibori Jacket by Gina Wilde in Alchemy Yarn and has fallen in love with the Paint Brush colorway.   She is nearly finished — the Clapo-ktus by Loredana Gianferri. clapo-ktusclapo-ktus unblocked

She’s knitting it with Goth Sock.  She was also motivated to finish the Some Pig dishcloth by Emily Guise who works at Knit

Picks and also likes to design dishcloths.

pigSome pig

Brainy Thing:  Knitting and the Need for Novelty

Margaret speculates that one of the many reasons we cast on a new project before we’re finished the one we’re working on is for the human need for novelty.  She discusses some of issues of novelty and how they relate the knitting.   Keith Hillman of Psychology24 has some interesting posts on this topic and other brain related ones.

Behind the Redwood Curtain

hudsonian-godwit-21895577 Catherine talks about the end of Godwit Days (celebrating one of the birds that migrates through the area) and the Arcata Zen Group.

A Knitting Tip

Margaret recommends trying different yarns and suggests that they (like the Hemp she was trying out) might require different tensions and yarn holding techniques

A Little Podcast Business

The incentive to join the Teaching Your Brain to Knit Podcast Group on Ravelry continues for each new 100 members.   The current incentive prize for members 101 to 200 is a skein of Venezia sport weight 70/30 merino/silk yarn by Cascade. Beginning with member 201, the prize is the Canon Hand Dyes skein in 80/20 merino/nylon sock yarn.

Incentive for second 100 members who sign up in the group. The color is a little more green.

Incentive for second 100 members who sign up in the group. The color is a little more green.

Self Striping Cankon Hand Dyes in "Lover's to bed' 'tis almost fairy time" colorway. It's a bit brighter than photograph suggests.

Self Striping Canon Hand Dyes in “Lover’s to bed’ ’tis almost fairy time” colorway. It’s a bit brighter than photograph suggests.