Teaching Your Brain to Knit

Brainy Stuff starts at 25:40. Redwood Curtain starts at 37:40.

Catherine is learning more about the structural construction of knitting from Josh Ryks' Scarfy Shenanigans. She also enjoyed the construction of Laura Aylor's Outlier. And for charity, she knitted one of her standbys -- Magic 28.

Margaret knit a black and white striped hat and added fringe. She learned that cashmere is lovely soft but shows her botched efforts to pick up a stitch.

Catherine discusses the Arcata Waste Management Plant and Wildlife Sanctuary and Margaret offered a tip about getting spiral binding on knitting techniques books.

Brainy stuff starts at 15:40 and Behind the Redwood Curtain begins at 26:55.

Catherine finds a patterns for her Great Adirondack yarn from 50 Fabulous Borders by Rita Weiss. She also finished a jelly fish from Hansi Singh's Amigurumi Knits.

Margaret has been making washcloths from Stitch Diva's (Jennifer Hansen') pattern and loving the Lucci DK cotton tape yarn.

Catherine relates some research suggesting the knitting and other acitivities reduce the chances of dementia and age-related Alzheimer's. The evidence is anecdotal and researchs say they need more research before they can find a causal link.

Margaret talks about the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge. She also offers a tip to suggest you can sketch out a graph on a challenging knit or crochet pattern that doesn't have one.

Brainy Thing: 17:17 Behind the Redwood Curtain: 27:10

Margaret took a course in Multi-Directional Knitting from JC Briar and has made wristlets to reinforce that learning. She also made the Mudra Cuff by Laura Nelkin.

Catherine is blocking her second Fantasy Red Cardi by Katherine Foster. She can't travel with her other projects.

Catherine describes the iconic (and contemporary) Humboldt Honey who still walk the streets of Arcata, California.

Margaret offers a knitting tip that by making small projects ( like a wrister, coffee cozy, or coaster) after learning a new technique, you can improve your muscle memory and anchor the learning.

Brainy Stuff starts at 15:26

Behind the Redwood Curtain stats at 24:13

Catherine is using her Fantasy Red Cardi by Katherine Foster as her carry along knitting project and has just started a crochet project: Dogwood Scarf by Suzann Thompson. Margaret has been experimenting with making samples of different ways to top off the top of a simple hat.

Catherine reports on a study done by Dr. Arne May who found that teaching people to juggle grew their brain cells. She asks, can knitting and crochet do the same thing?

Margaret talks about clams, clamming and Clam Beach, California.

Margaret suggests that people try different tools and is now experimenting with 12 inch and 9 inch knitting needles.

The incentive prize and the Learn along continue over on Ravelry.

Episode 135 Hedonic Adaptation; freeform crochet and replacement knitting; The Craftsman TV series. Brainy Thing: 18:10 Behind the Redwood Curtain 25:42 What we've learned from our Knitting and Crochet Margaret flirted with freeform crochet in response to a prompt of "Deep Listening." She wasn't happy with the product or the process. Catherine continues her obsession with the mitre square blanket and she shares about taking her knitting out into the world. In one case, it was fun -- lots of love for the Agata (https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/agata) Cardigan by Leah Chapman (https://www.ravelry.com/designers/leah-chapman). ; in another, she lost a beloved Stephen West https://www.ravelry.com/designers/stephen-westShawl, Metalouse. https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/metalouse Brainy Thing Margaret reports on Hedonic Adaptation also called the Hedonic Treadmill which is the human emotional set-point that is partly genetic and partly attitudinal. https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/other/hedonic-treadmill/. https://www.rickhanson.net/being-well-podcast/being-well-podcast-guest-experts/ https://www.healthline.com/health/hedonic-treadmill#what-is-it Behind the Redwood Curtain Catherine's been watching the new Craftsman television series on Magnolia network which features the Blue Ox Millworks in Eureka. In addition to celebrating handcrafting, the series features beautiful shots of Old Town Eureka and the Humboldt Coast. https://magnolia.com/watch/show/62a3faac-8006-5a79-b673-8c0217e75fbc/the-craftsman/, https://www.distractify.com/p/eric-hollenbeck-the-craftsman. Myra Wood (Designer) 0.55 Agata 10:10 Leah Chapman: 10:10 Metalouse 15:18 Stephen West 15:18 The Ribbed Faraway Baby Socks 17:20 Amber 17:20 Mittknitter. 17:20 Blue Ox Millworks Today in Episode 135 of Teaching Your Brain to Knit, we learn about Hedonic Adaptation, our internal thermostat for emotional happiness; Margaret experiments with freeform crochet while Catherine continues her blanket obsession; And Catherine reports on a new TV series, the Craftsman which feature the Blue Ox Millworks in Eureka and a celebration of handwork. As always please forgive and ignore the audio distortions introduced by zoom and unstable networks.