Teaching Your Brain to Knit
Brainy Thing:    22:56               Behind the Redwood Curtain:  32:23
 
What We’ve Learned from Our Knitting:
Catherine recently bought a skein of Be sweet yarn, African Bead Ball, to celebrate Knitting in Public Day.     http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/be-sweet-african-bead-ball.  She started knittingKira Designs'  Garden Arbor shawl (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/garden-arbor-shawl) out of another  Be Sweet yarn, Bamboo. 
Margaret learned a new skill through the 7 day lucet challenge.  Check out  Jennifer Hansen's Stitch Diva  http://www.stitchdiva.com/blog/lucet-challenge/.  
 
Brainy Thing
Scientists are researching the common Brain Freeze   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130522095335.htm  to see if it could reveal secrets that might help treat migraines.  
 
Behind the Redwood Curtain
Margaret shares some cool facts about the sand dollar.  The best source she found the best source on sand dollars was http://echinoblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/sand-dollars-are-sea-urchins-please.html
 
Knitting Tips
Catherine tells us that part of creating gauge is where on the knitting needle you work your stitches.   
 

Brainy Thing:   19:01    Behind the Redwood Curtain
What We’re Learning From Our Knitting:
Catherine is knitting washcloths using SmarieK’s free pattern Double Lattice free pattern.  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/double-lattice-cloth using scraps of cotton including Knit One Crochet Two and Cotlin.
 
Margaret had another Mending Party.   Thanks to oekmama1in our Ravelry Group for referring her to Kate Atherleys article in  Knitty 2006 on Repairs.   http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEspring06/FEATrepairs101.html
uses sewing thread to loosely graft stitches at top and bottom.  Among piles of socks, Margaret mended the  As You Like It Cardigan by Judith Shangold  our of Cascade 220 super wash in a brown. 
Some of the socks were made from  Fish knits warm sock; Online commercial; Misty alpaca hand dyed sock yarn (alpaca, merino nylon, silk) ;  Fiber lady luxury sock yarn easy.   Her favorite pattern in this lot was  Mystery Sock V: April Showers by Wendy Gaal, in Sock-aholic yarn from Knitters Brewing Co (75/25 wool/ nylon 480 yards).  She also tried to make the brim of the  Lace Beanie #70177 by Lion Brand Yarn out of Plymouth Yarn Kudo  top down lace yarn larger but even after vigorous blocking it is still too tight.  Shell have to revisit that. 
 
Brainy Thing:  Adequate Sleep is Essential to Long Term Memory
Catherine talks about the research between developing long term memory and sleep.  
 
Behind the Redwood Curtain:
Margaret shares how she spotted a blue grey heron down the street from her and her resultant research on them,    The Audubon site not only has a beautiful close up of the bird but also recordings of its calls and songs.   http://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/great-blue-heron
 
Knitting Tip
Concerned about running out of yarn on your row?  Catherine advises you to lay out your yarn, back and forth and back again (three times the length of what you have left)  to determine how much you need. 
 
A Little Podcast Business 
We announced winners of our Knitting Tip contest (She will receive Pom Pom magazine) and our Incentive to join our Ravelry Group.
 
Ravelry group:  http://www.ravelry.com/groups/teaching-your-brain-to-knit
Show Notes:  https://teachingyourbraintoknit.com/
Direct download: Ep._041_One_Simple_Solution_to_Poor_Memory_--_Sleep_-_7_2_16_1.09_PM.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:06pm PDT

Brainy Thing:   20:35                Behind the Redwood Curtain  32:40
What We’re Learning from Our Knitting
Margaret  was inspired by Catherine to try Sasha Ball Rives wonderful pattern Among the Wildflowers  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/among-the-wildflowers  with her own “learning opportunities”, of course.
For a Ravelry swap, Catherine completed the Crochet Flower Potholders pattern by Jennifer Martin  Blue J  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/flower-potholders using scraps of cotton.
 
Brainy Thing:  Negativity Bias:  
Studies have shown that are brains are hardwired toward the negative which is a great advantage on the Savannah but probably not now.  Check out:  https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200306/our-brains-negative-bias  and
For ways to counter that bias, try  Marelisa Fabrega  http://daringtolivefully.com/overcoming-negativity-bias.
 
Behind the Redwood Curtain:
Catherine tells us about the historical Phillips house in Arcata built in 1853/4 in the  Greek Revival style which is open Sundays 2 to 4  http://www.arcatahistory.org/phillips_house_museum_arcata .
 
Knitting Tip
One of our Ravelry Members, puffygriffinclaw, offers some tips on Felting.
 
A Little Podcast Business

Brainy Thing:      14:20  Behind the Redwood Curtain:  27:50 
 
What We’re Learning from Our Knitting:  
Margaret crocheted Easter Egg motifs   She never got the Easter Egg Garland http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/easter-egg-garland by Michaela Krause http://www.ravelry.com/designers/michaela-krause correct but was able to fudge it and she liked this one best.  The other pattern was the Easiest Crochet Egg Pattern Ever http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-easiest-crochet-egg-pattern-ever by Michelle @ the Painted Hinge. Also a great pattern.   Each of these patterns was slightly different.   She also tried crocheting with a lot of improvisation Wedding stones  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/wedding-stones by Monica Johnson  from the Interweave Crochet summer 15 issue.  She hasn’t mastered these yet but she’s looking forward to further exploration.
          
Catherine continued making baby socks for Afghans for Afghans, this time switching to worsted weight yarn for the Ribbed Far Away Baby Socks http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ribbed-far-away-baby-socks by Amber Ward   or Mitt Knitter on Ravelry.
 
Brainy Thing:
Barbara Arrowsmith talks about the limitations she had with the brain she was born with and how she changed them for the better with exercises, a great example of neuroplasticity.   Her Tedx Talk Toronto is here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0td5aw1KXA.  She now heads a school with folks who have a variety of brain-related problems.  Specific exercises she’s developed are noted here (with a nifty picture of a knitted brain hat):  http://www.barbaraarrowsmithyoung.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/topsante.pdf
 
Behind the Redwood Curtain:  Recycled Folk Art
Catherine discovered a private house when the residents obviously delight in recycling plastic milk cartons and soda cans to make a magical landscape.
 
Knitting Tip:
Margaret shares Lucy Neatby’s tip for closing up those holes at the side of a sock heel.
 
A Little Podcast Business
The ongoing incentive for joining the Ravelry Group (http://www.ravelry.com/groups/teaching-your-brain-to-knit) is a sumptuous skein of yarn.   The Knitting Tip prize is a set of five back issues of Pom Pom Magazine.
Direct download: Ep._039_Barbara_Arrowsmith_and_Changing_Your_Brain_-_5_31_16_7.13_PM.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:40am PDT

Brainy Thing:  14:50   Behind the Redwood Curtain   25:05
What We’re Learning from Our Knitting
Margaret conquers (almost) the Fish Lips Kiss Heel http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fish-lips-kiss-heel with a sock for her grandson out of Fridays Studio Monday Base (Superwash 75% and Polyamide 25%) in the Halloween color way.
Catherine is continuing knitting baby socks for Afghans for Afghans using the Kate Atherly Baby Socks http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/baby-socks-23 with the modification of continuing the ribbing on the top of the foot.  This time she’s using scraps.  She is near completion of the Vanessa Ives Mystery Shawl by Bunny Muff  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/vanessa-ives out of Woole’s Yarn Creations.
 
Brainy Thing:   Waldorf Schools Integrate Knitting into their Curriculum
Margarets offers some information about the role that knitting plays in the Waldorf School Curriculum and some of the philosophy behind it.  http://millennialchild.com/film.html
 
Behind the Redwood Curtain:   McKinleyville Totem Pole
Knitting Tip:
A practical swatch from listener Think.   Knit a sleeve as a swatch.
 
Podcast business:
The Knitting Tip contest and the  incentive to join our Ravelry Group continue.  http://www.ravelry.com/groups/teaching-your-brain-to-knit

Brainy Thing:     19.28                           Behind the Redwood Curtain:  29:14
What We’re Learning from Our Knitting
Catherine finished her Among the wildflowers bandana  cowl http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/among-the-wildflowers which was another opportunity to use beads.  She used Rizoni  yarn from  The loom   (The loombangkok.com).    Sasha Ball Rives http://www.ravelry.com/designers/sasha-ball-rives    was the designer of the free design.   In addition to designing, she owns the Stitch Space yarn shop in Missouri.
 
On her travels back home to help her mom pack up her house of 65 years, Margaret discovered several knitting pieces she has done over the year.   One was an amorphic scarf out of unidentified specialty acrylic yarn that was her first knitting project.   Another was Adele Cutten’s  http://www.ravelry.com/designers/adele-cutten   design Fine Shawl on Diagonal  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fine-shawl-or-scarf-on-diagonal  out of Be Sweet Baby Mohair.  Her mother didn’t want it so Margaret got a new scarf.
 
Brainy Thing:   Knitting Wednesdays for Wounded Warriors at Walter Reed Hospital
Catherine tells us about the Wounded Warrior Knitting Wednesdays   http://www.oakleafdc.org/wounded-warrior-support/wednesday-knitting-classes at Walter Reed Hospital which is not to be confused with the better known Wounded Warrior Group.  
 
Behind the Redwood Curtain
There’s a statue of President McKinley standing smack dab in the middle of Arcata, CA.   Margaret tells us part of the story behind it.   One of her references is Roadside America.com   (http://www.roadsideamerica.com/
 
Knitting Tip
Catherine explains the value of making a sloper, or a model of more complicated knitted projects (sweaters and ponchos.)  
 
A Little Podcast Business
The ongoing challenge to join the Teaching Your Brain to Knit Ravelry Group ( http://www.ravelry.com/groups/teaching-your-brain-to-knit)      and to send in Knitting Tips continue.  
Direct download: Ep._037_Knitting_Wednesdays_for_Wounded_Warriors_-_4_16_16_6.42_PM.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:18am PDT

Brainy Thing:    22:00                                Behind the Redwood Curtain:  38:45
 
What we learned from our knitting:
Margaret played with  crocheted hearts from  DIY Wedding by Jennifer E. Ryan either in Interweave Crochet Summer 2015 or as a special collection on the Interweave Website.  They were cute, quick and fun. They are called Guest Lapel Pins on Ravelry. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/guest-lapel-pins
 
Catherine shares Towashis  she received from her swap. One was made of a  worsted cotton, the second from sugar and cream and the third was sugar and cream with a portion from the specialized yarn, Sugar and Cream Scrubby  which is more specialized
Catherine continues to knit baby socks for Afghans for Afghans.   She modified the Kate Atherly Baby Sock http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/baby-socks-23   to have ribbing on the top of the foot.
 
Brainy Thing:  New Research Finds Way to Speed up Muscle Memory Learning
John Hopkins’ researchers find keys to speeding up learning for patients with neurological conditions, including post stroke.   Could these techniques work for knitters and crochets?
 
Behind the Redwood Curtain:  38:45
Margaret talks about the “scientific” and the oral  history of the native tribes still thriving in the Humboldt Bay area. Much of her research is based on  Two Peoples, One Place by Ray Raphael and Freeman House.  http://www.amazon.com/Peoples-Place-Freeman-House-Raphael/dp/1883254019.
 
Podcast Business:
The incentive for joining the Ravelry group  Teaching Your Brain to Knit  http://www.ravelry.com/groups/teaching-your-brain-to-knit  and the contest for Knitting Tips continue.  

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:  She made a pair of fingerless mitts in bright pink for the monkey character in Jungalbook, just 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.  
Margaret talks about her marathon sock-darning event using different methods on socks of hers that have developed holes.  
 
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 Austrailia’s National Science Week in August.  Knit, crochet, and knotting patterns of neurons are available for free on the website for the project Neural Knitworks. 
 
Behind the Redwood Curtain
Margaret talks about the hiking trail of Trinidad Head in Trinidad, California — a short but pretty steep uphill climb that rewards with a fantastic almost 350 degree view at the top.
 
Podcast Business:
The incentive for joining the Ravelry group  Teaching Your Brain to Knit  http://www.ravelry.com/groups/teaching-your-brain-to-knit  and the contest for Knitting Tips continue.  
Direct download: Celebrate_Neural_Knitworks_and_the_Brain_-_3_18_16_2.59_PM.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:07pm PDT

Brainy thing:   21:40  Redwood Curtain 31:40 
What We’re Learning from our Knitting:
Margaret does realize that the Forgetting Curve threw her a curve on the Fish Lip Kiss heel.  She made a sparkly pair of blue socks
out of Knit Circus Pixie Dust fingering  weight  merino/silk/nylon/polyamide/metallic yarn.   Years ago she got a similar yarn as a kit from Knit Circus for Jaala Spiro’s half circle Coirrina Shawl (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/corrina-shawl) in the Casseopeia  color way.   When she ran out (she didn’t do a gauge swatch—for shame)  Jaala dyed a skein that would especially go with the older color way.  So she had quite a bit of the yarn leftover.
Catherine continues making socks for the Afghans for Afghans organization.  This time she use Kate Atherly’s Baby Socks pattern (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/baby-socks-23).   She also made Lee Burstein’s Organic Cotton Heirloom Baby Hat (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/organic-cotton-heirloom-baby-hat), but out of wool instead of cotton.  
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:
Catherine tells us about an icon of the Humboldt Bay, the statue of “The Fisherman” by Dick Crane.  He and his wife Sally 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.
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
Direct download: Ep._034_The_Forgetting_Curve_and_Knitting_-_2_29_16_9.28_PM.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:47am PDT

Brainy Thing: 20:47      Behind the Redwood Curtain 33:15
What We’re Learning from Our Knitting:
Catherine updates us on her process knitting with Vanessa Ives Shawl by Bunny Muff  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/vanessa-ives
She is knitting baby socks by http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/baby-socks--hat Bianca Boonstra  for her favorite charity  Afghan for Afghans  http://www.afghansforafghans.org/index.html.  They are out of her 2nd pair of Catnip Yarn that she died with Dharma dyes 
Margaret has made more Bevy of Bangles http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bevy-of-bangles by Mags Kandis     The pattern is free on the interweave  press site and is featured in the book Gifted by Mags Kandis.
She reacquainted her self with Judy's magic cast on.  As a reminder, she used the illustrations of Judy Becker’s book:    Beyond Toes:  Knitting Adventures with Judy’s Magic Cast-on.
 
Brainy Thing:  
Catherine tells us more about Stitchlinks and their work on Knitting and Addiction.  Stitchlinks was started by Betson Corkhill.   Catherine also mentions a HBO series  http://www.hbo.com/addiction/on addiction that she found very informative.
 
Behind the Redwood Curtain
Margaret talks about the Standish Hickey State Recreational Area http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=423  and The Peg House http://thepeghouse.net/ complex across the street from the entrance.
 
Knitting Tips:
Catherine tells Cat Bordhi’s tip on dealing with ladders in your knitting.
 
Podcast Business:
There’s a new contest — send in your knitting (or crochet) tips for an opportunity to win five back issues of PomPom magazine.  Also, there is the continuing incentive to join the Ravelry Teaching your Brain to Knit  http://www.ravelry.com/groups/teaching-your-brain-to-knit group.  
 
Direct download: Ep_033_How_can_Knitting_help_fight_addiciton_un_-_2_19_16_7.08_PM.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 7:26pm PDT