There's an app for that!

app  (ap)  n.  software made for mobile devices.



Something different today ... a review!  True, I'm a knitter.  But I'm also a technology geek.  I love the latest electronic this or that.  And I love comparing what's available on various platforms, etc.  I have both a Blackberry Playbook and an iPad.  What's available on the two devices for the knitter on the go?  Lots!  Here's the two apps I've loaded on my devices and what they can do.






Blackberry Playbook:    Counter by Robin deBled  (Free)
This app is a simple, easy-to-use row counter.  It is only a counter, but you can have multiple counters on your screen at a time.  Example:  a counter for rows or repeats or increases or decreases or more.  Because it is not specifically designed for knitter, the counter can be used for anything.












iPad:  JKnit by Jakrosoft 
($6.99)
This app is subtitled "Your Ultimate Knitting Project Assistant" and, I must admit, it really is.  It's also available for the iPhone.  It takes some learning and work to start using it.  Tutorials are available at http://www.jakrosoft.com/jknit.html to walk you through the program.


JKnit is a full service knitting tool and especially great for those projecrts that are either very long or have lots of different steps.  To begin using it, you need to take the time to type in your entire pattern -- separating each piece or block as you go along.  Each step (or "event" as the app calls it) has qualifiers attached that do the brainwork for you while you are knitting.  A bit tedious?  yes ... but the end result makes it so easy to pick up your project anytime, anywhere and know exactly where you are and what to do next.  No more staring at the pattern and your work and trying to remember where you left off!  Also, the online site (noted above) allows you to enter the project on your computer with a normal keyboard, then export it to your device.

For example, perhaps you must do an increase on each end of every 6th row.  When you enter that step of the pattern, you set those qualifiers.  Each time you tap the counter, the screen displays the row number you are on, the knitting directions for that row, and the number of stitches that should be on your needles. When you are on the 6th row, the screen tells you to do the increase!

I've done two projects using JKnit so far and I'm currently working on a new design using the program.  From the design point of view, it's wonderfully easy to adjust and edit the pattern as I'm knitting.

And now a quick picture just to assure you that I have actually been knitting.  With another grandchild due to make an appearance very soon, I thought a new baby cocoon was in order.  (Yes ... rumor has it this one will be a girl!)

Wrap  v.  \’rap\     (1) to cover, especially by winding or folding  (2) to coil, fold, draw or wind around something.

What better quick last minute Christmas project than a neck warmer or neck “wrap”!  I sat down with one skein of yarn a few nights ago with a mind to create my own neck warmer.  Something just big enough to sit inside the neckline of a winter coat, with a keyhole to keep it in place.  After two evenings, one football game, an episode of Boardwalk Empire and a movie I finished my project.  A simple, useful neckwarmer that anyone can knit up in just a few evenings.

This neck warmer was knit with worsted weight yarn on US size 8 needles.  I used an inexpensive skein of Red Heart Super Saver.  I love this yarn for scarves because it is so soft after one washing – no scratchy, itchiness against your neck!  And because it washes so nicely, there’s no worry about using white.

 Speaking of washing, whenever I work with acrylic yarn I always launder the item after completing it.  It removes the residue skin oil from working the piece, ensures it will launder okay, and softens it up so you just want to put it against your skin! 

With less than a month to Christmas, if you are wanting a quick simple handmade project you can find the pattern here -- just click and get clacking!

Adaptations

ad·ap·ta·tion   ( ăd dăp tā΄ shən )  n.    Something, such as a device, pattern or mechanism, that is changed so as to become suitable to a new or special application or situation.

I like to knit small afghans for car-seats and strollers -- quick and easy baby gifts.  These are small (24"x 30") blankets with a tab on the back to slip the harness base through.    Because the blanket is anchored by a tab, it doesn't sit under the shoulder harness and therefore complies with the car seat or stroller safety requirements. The tab keeps the blanket from falling on the ground and the small size keeps edges from being caught in wheels.   

After knitting the blanket I make the tab by  knitting a 2"H x 4"W strip in garter stitch.  Then I center it on the back of the blanket 10" from the bottom and stitch it into  place.  The base of the harness (the piece that sits between the baby's legs and that the shoulder straps are clicked into) slips up through the tab before buckling the baby in.

"But what does that have to do with 'adaptation'?",  you ask. 

Well ... I look for pattern stitches I like and then ADAPT them to the yarn, needle and finished size that I want. Here's my latest "On-The-Go Baby Blanket"

This is a simple "garter stitch lace" pattern worked over multiples of 10 stitches.  I used worsted weight yarn (size 4) and US size 10 needles.  In a test swatch (I've extolled the virtues of test swatches in earlier blogs!) I found that one pattern of 10 stitches was 2" wide.  I wanted a 24"-wide blanket so I needed 12 pattern repeats across the blanket to get to my desired size.  12 repeats of a 10-stitch pattern = 120 stitches to cast on. 

The pattern stitch was truly "garter stitch' in that it only used a knit stitch -- no purling on this one!

     Garter Stitch Lace

     Row 1:  *K1, YO, K3, Sl 1, K2tog, PSSO, K3 YO*, K last stitch

     Row 2:  Knit across

I hope I've inspired you to adapt a pattern stitch to one of your favourite projects.  It's only a test swatch away!

Pick Up Sticks

Pick-up sticks  is a game of physical and mental skill. A bundle of 'sticks,' approximately 6-8 inches long, are held in a loose bunch (see the picture) and released on a table top, falling in random disarray. Each player, in turn, must remove a stick from the pile without disturbing the remaining ones.



As the August light starts to take on a new angle, my mind turns back to knitting.  I know it's time to end my summer break when I find myself lingering over the knitting magazines at the drug store.  This year it was a catalogue from "Mary Maxim"  (yes -- it still exists!) that got me perusing yarns and patterns , leaving my fingers itching to pick up the sticks again.

This is what caught my interest:

I made this style of sweater for my girls when they were young.  They loved them.  I know three little boys who would love them, too.  I'm not crazy about knitting kittens or puppies into them.  I think I'll search out some nordic patterns instead. 

Now that I've decided what to knit, I guess I'd better order this pattern book.  I've searched all over the internet and haven't found a "free" pattern for the sweaters.  (I wonder if they have the pattern for adults, too?)  Then I get to decide on colours and patterns to incorporate.  Oooh!   Fun!

In the meatime, I'll finish up a baby blanket I started last spring for a baby that was due this month.  Baby came a month early and I don't have the blanket done yet!!  So, Karen, PICK UP THOSE STICKS!

It's The Time of Year to 'Invest'

invest  | in 'vest |  v.  to cover (archaic).  Origin of invest:  Latin investire (to clothe) ; from in- + vestis (garment)
Yes .  It's the time of year when 25% of the commercials and ads you see or read are about "investing" in your future.  I took this to heart, but in my own way.  I decided to "invest" in Anthony's future -- his immediate clothing future, that is!

Anthony loves (let me say that again ... loves) to wear sweater vests that I knit for him.  Linda says it's always his choice when he gets to pick his clothes himself.  Cute!  He outgrew the vest I made last fall and Linda had to pack it away because Anthony was still trying to squeeze into it even though it fit like a 90's "belly shirt"!!

With his birthday approaching, I decided to knit him a new vest.  Anthony's birthday was March 15th.  I finished the vest at 11:00 p.m. on March 14th!!  Nothing like working down to the wire.  When he opened it, he must have said "Thank you, Oma!" about 6 or 7 times.  You know it's a hit when a 4-year-old says thank you spontaneously and often.

It's fairly plain;  gray so it goes with lots of his clothes;  has a soft, subtle texture;  and is nice and long so it will last for a while.

Kids vests are quick to knit and he loves them so.  I'm on to a new project already -- which can't be mentioned here because the recipient may read this!  

 so·lu·tion  | sƏ · ‘lü ·shƏn |  n.  an action or process of solving a problem.


I've decided there's a knitting solution for almost everything.

Does anyone else get totally annoyed with tangled earbud wires?  Or trying to find them in the bottom of your bag ... and when you do, they are tangled?

Solution:

  

love  | luhv |  n.  an intense feeling for or attachment to someone or something.

It's still February, so it's perfectly okay to write an entry on love,  right?!

A few years ago my Minnesota sister gave me a skein of Bernat's Cot'n Corn yarn.  I used it to make a washcloth since I had only one skein.  And I LOVED it.  It's soft and silky, washes beautifully, doesn't pill ... everything you look for in a good cotton yarn.

.I have looked for the yarn here in Calgary where I live but have not found it.  So last month I asked my Sioux Falls sister to pick some up for me.  Sadly, she couldn't find it.  But not wanting to disappoint me, she picked up a cotton yarn she really likes and gave that to me instead.  She got it at Hobby Lobby and it's called I LOVE This Cotton.  How aptly named!

The last few weeks I have been knitting dishcloths for my daughter.  My usual yarn for dishcloths is Bernat's Handicrafter Cotton which yields about 1-1/2 dischloths per skein.  To my surprise I LOVE This Cotton yielded three (3!) dishcloths from one skein.  Perhaps I should clarify that:  I knit 8"x8" dishcloths in a Bee Stitch pattern  (see my dishcloth patterns at the upper right of my blog).

This is beautiful yarn to work with and it's SO SOFT!  I think I've found my new favorite cotton yarn.  Too bad it's not available here.  I guess trips to visit my sisters will be my vehicle for purchasing this new yarn that I LOVE.   There's eve a fairly good variety of colors available.  My sister brought me 6 colors (because I said I wanted to make 6-8 cloths.)  Here's the result of only 2 skeins of I LOVE This Cotton  -- 5 dishcloths and a scrubbie:

I think I'd like to try this yarn in a sweater for one of my grandsons.  Hmmm ... could that be my next project?