So Happy Together

04 Nov 2010 5 Comments

by knitzengiggles in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Full disclosure:  I have sold my soul to Apple.  I have an iPhone, a MacBook Pro, and now, an iPad.  I’m not here to debate.  So, if you have a comparable tablet that you want to replace “iPad” with, go ahead.  I won’t be offended.  Honest.

The iPad is useful for many things.  You can write documents, manage your business, create new art, blog (hypothetically, I’m still waiting for a WordPress app that doesn’t make me cringe), and waste hours of your time with amazing games.  But at the end of the day, I don’t have rockets to launch or stocks to trade.  I have patterns to knit, and lots of them.

Paper knitting patterns are slowly becoming a thing of the past.  If not bought in a book, most patterns are simply printed off the internet, only to be crumpled, lost, stained, folded, spindled, and mutilated.  I have ADHD.  I’m pretty sure there are about five copies of the Monkey pattern around my house.  So here are some things I have done to make my life easier, reduce my paper use, and impress my friends.

1.  Add all your knitting patterns to your iPad.

Say what?  Yeah.  All your knitting patterns at your fingertips, to flick through, and zoom in at high resolution to better look at a tricky chart or tiny picture.  There are plenty of apps to store PDF’s, but….why?  Your iPad comes with iBooks, which is all you need.  Simply go to iTunes, click “Add Book to Library”, and add away.  All your patterns will be stored in the PDF section of iBooks.  I have a folder on my Desktop called “Knitting Patterns”, which I download all my Ravelry patterns to directly.  Easy as that.

2. Download some awesome apps.

While there aren’t many knitting apps, there is one that taps the true potential of the iPad for knitting.  It’s called Blendy Knits Socks, and it is and interactive sock pattern and tutorial book.  I can only hope that other knitting designers will catch on to this awesomeness.

There are also a few apps that are designed for the iPhone, but are still very useful:

3.  The Revolution:  Knitting Books in PDF form.

I was looking on Ravelry for my go-to sock pattern, Monkey.  Looking at the project page, I saw that it was available for download, and now in a book!  Being a total Cookie A. nut, I squeed with delight and now have Knit. Sock. Love. on my iPad. Never again will I lose my beloved Monkey pattern.

Things I would really like to see:

  • A Ravelry iPad app.  Yes, you can access Ravelry on Safari.  But can you upload pictures? Browse forums with ease?  Have a very immersive and interactive pattern searching experience? No.  I join a very large amount of people who are literally begging for a Ravelry iPhone/iPad app and would be willing to pay for it.
  • An app or update to iBooks which would allow me to “draw” on PDF’s. Maybe there is one, and if there is, please leave a comment and let me know.  In my opinion, this is one downside to having all your patterns on the iPad- no ticking off rows, making notes, and having to switch to a row-counting app or use an analog method, which defeats the whole purpose. UPDATE: Thanks to an awesome reader, I have found Goodreader, which allows you to annotate and draw on PDF’s, excellent for ticking off rows, etc.  It’s $1.99, but totally worth it.


    Besides those two things, I am so glad that I have my iPad to help me with my knitting.  Now excuse me, I have some socks to work on.

    Important Note: We here at Knitzengiggles, while endorsing some awesome businesses, do not guarantee that you will be satisfied with their products and can not be held responsible for any customer dissatisfaction.  Also,  the internet is a huge place.  In no way are we implying that a featured artist or shop is the only resource for a specific item.

    What’s (in) your bag, baby?

    18 Aug 2009 1 Comment

    by knitzengiggles in Uncategorized Tags: , , , ,

    When I was in the Navy and wanted to knit my husband a scarf, I had no idea what to do.  I hadn’t knitted in quite awhile (my last project was one baby sock before boot camp) and had to re-teach myself how to purl.  I asked my mom for an easy scarf pattern, went to the store and bought myself the needles it called for and a skein of Red Heart.  I sat down to begin and said, what do I do now?  What do I do when it’s done?  How do I know when to stop?  What if I drop a stitch?

    Thankfully, my mother, who is one of my personal knitting gurus, predicted these questions, and more that I didn’t even think of.  A few days later, a package arrived with the kit to end all kits.  It came with point protectors, stitch markers, a crochet hook, a really cute tape measure shaped like a sheep, all in a hand-knitted bag  (or at least I think it did, it was awhile ago).

    Now that I am a little farther along in knitting, and people have started asking me advice (which still astounds me) I thought I’d put together a list of items I have deemed “essential” for a knitter’s bag.  Most of the items are things that I have forgot at knitting meet-ups and swore heavily that I forgot them.

    Things you need:

    • Stitch markers or waste yarn:  I often find a contrasting piece of yarn works great as a stitch marker since I don’t have to move it when I’m knitting in the round, but that can easily be replaced with the safety-pin type markers.  Many people, myself included, think they’re too good for stitch markers, but they are necessary for knitting in the round and dang useful when you need to keep track of hundreds of stitches.
    • Crochet hook- very handy for picking up a dropped stitch, crocheting a border, or weaving in ends, although I prefer using…
    • A yarn needle
    • Tape measure
    • Stitch holders if you are knitting socks, mitts, etc.
    • Some form of row counter, either physical or an iPhone app
    • Scissors

    (A note on iPhone apps:  there are a few knitting apps, but if you’re already on Ravelry, the only thing you really need is a glorified calculator.   A good free app like this is StitchMinder, or its sister, KnitMinder Lite.)

    Of course, if you don’t want all those things floating loose in your bag (or a little compartment), you can buy the handy dandy (and TSA approved) Knit Kit! I haven’t been able to buy one yet, but it would have made knitting while I was flying easier.

    Also,  this is not everything you’ll need while knitting, just while on the go.  That’s a different list for a different post.

    Did I miss anything?  Comment with things you can’t go without when you’re knitting on the go.

    -Purl Girl

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