Teaching Your Brain to Knit

We introduce the topic of creativity in our podcast and and how to enhance it; Margaret experiments with the Seed Stitch and its alternatives in both knitting and crochet, Catherine explores texture with blocks for a charity blanket, and she also reports on an unusual topic behind the Redwood Curtain — public toilets

We explore Universal Design for Learn to Help Us Be Better Learners and Teachers; Two Brains Work on Mending a Knitted Shawl; Hiller Park in McKinleyville Meets Many Needs

Can learning to be ambidextrous help improve your brain?also Margaret further explores Fair Isle; Catherine finds an “interim” project and we learn how one artist found an escape from the “the noise of machine age America."

We review the documentary "Beyond Food" endorsing how to find your own path to health; Catherine declares herself a lace knitter -- at least for now; Margaret fails her design attempt but learns a lot and both podcasters walk the streets of old town Eureka

If you can't replicate research, is it true and accurate? Margaret explores the Replication Crisis in science; She also tells how she learned to love luxury yarn. Catherine switches to crochet for her scrubbies swap and chronicles the tale of the renaissance of the Eureka Inn.

We explore Pantone's impact of Ultraviolet, Color of the Year; Catherine Gets Surprised by the Colors in the Coffee House Wrap Kit she orders; Margaret repairs more socks and investigates "pace" in books; and We Celebrate Dungeness Crab Season.

We investigate using Sensory Stimulation to Ease the symptoms of Alzheimer’s and Dementia;  We tackle using different types of specialty yarns for texture and try a strangely shaped design for a dog sweater;  nd we give a shout out to the Humboldt Handweaver’s and Spinners Guild.  

Catherine explores the link between Gamma Brain Waves, “Ah Hah” moments and Lucid Dreaming; She practices her not so favorite way of following a pattern —that is, charts; Margaret learns about different types of mitten thumbs with help from Anna Zilboorg; We delve into local politics and how you can do the same in your local community; plus we announce updates to indices or indexes for our brainy, redwood curtain and knitting topics.

Favorite insights, knitting projects, Brainy and Redwood segments from the past 74 episodes plus some updates about the podcast.

Find Red Flags in Scientific Research, learn a knit-in-place patch repair for socks; Note tips for knitting a pattern for the second time; Discover the world’s last coastal redwood forrest: PLUS check out giveaways for the membership incentive and book de-stash.

Enhancing your memory with Sleep;  Getting the Pleasure of Community (and patterns) in the Dishcloth Swap;   Finding the “Just Right” amount of Challenge in Fair Isle Christmas Ornaments; AND Exploring treasures in the HSU Natural History Museum 

We learn surprising things about how your brain works in different seasons, Margaret wins the struggle with stiff linen yarn for a cowl with beads, Catherine finishes a Charity Project and a long term project, the Starfish comes back to the North Coast and we have another book giveaway.

Five basic styles of meditation with scores of specific types in each category; An update on lessons learned from teaching Crochet; And Some experiences with Charity Knitting; Plus we explore the bounty of the minus tide in Humboldt and the tidepools they reveal.

Why hand-eye coordination not only allows us to do all sorts of things with our hands (like knitting) but also builds our brains; Margaret shares insights gained by teaching a crochet class; Catherine turns to crochet for her dishcloth swap; Los Bagels celebrates the food and customs of two different cultures; and we have another book give-away.

 Learn to boost the brain’s feel-good chemical, GABA through meditation; Catherine switches to crochet for dishcloths;  Margaret takes you through her journey with argyle socks;  Discover the wonders of Humboldt Botanical Gardens;  And checkout our latest  give- away.