Dear KnitSpeaker friends,
Hello, I'm Leslye Solomon, creator of KnitSpeaker.
I wish to personally thank all of you that have liked KnitSpeaker. KnitSpeaker is an app that acts as your personal assistant to help with those complicated stitch repeats. You know the ones that take great concentration and ones that …drive you crazy? If you do just one thing wrong, you have to start all over again. Starting over, because you made a mistake, is frustrating. KnitSpeaker will help end the frustration, but there are some very important tricks you will find if you read the manual. When we see the description of some complaints, it is obvious that they missed the information found in the manual. And…who reads manuals? In this case, it is important if you want to know all the secrets of KnitSpeaker.
Just like making your gauge before starting, it will take a few minutes to input your pattern. I spent about 20 minutes inputting an 18 stitch and 16 row repeat pattern. I became much faster with practice and knowing just where certain abbreviations were located. When I was testing this app, I starting knitting with increased speed. I never had to stop and search for where I left off. I loved it. Now I don’t want to knit without it. I flew through the rows of a very complicated, multi part pattern of cables and lace. I hope you will find this helpful. It does so much, and it is only $5.99. If it could have been put in a plastic box like a computer, I would have paid hundreds for this contraption. Please give it a try.
Where is the Manual? In your app! At the home screen, touch "Instructions" at the bottom of the screen. If you read the manual, you will find out so many things that are not obvious if you just start clicking.
1. What should you do to learn KnitSpeaker? Pick an easy pattern like the one I am giving you at the bottom of this post.
2. On the very first choice of a step (a step is something like…K2 or P4), make sure you take your finger or a stylus and touch the row 1 screen. That will place the blue cursor. If the cursor is not placed and flashing, you will not be able to input anything. Touch the screen to place the cursor to start inputting on row 1.
3. Now scroll up and down to select your category, the abbreviation, followed by a number if it is applicable. Example: Category, PRIMARY. Align k (for the knit) and align 2 to choose k2 (knit two). Sometimes when you select a category, the previous category is still there. We’ll try to address that, but just re-select and the correct abbreviations will pop up. If you select YO (for yarn over), make sure you select the number 0. Sometimes it needs a touch on the number even though it shows 0. These are little things I’d like to improve.
4. Add the time it takes you to knit 2 stitches (think about 2 seconds per stitch, so I would add 4 pluses. It should look like this: 2++++. Press the circle that has the “(+1s which means "add one second"). It is located above the check button.
5. Continue transferring your pattern until you complete the row. Here’s a fun tip: In the basics category, find the word “turn”. When you end a row, you can hear the word turn and you’ll know you are at the end of a row. KnitSpeaker will continue to the next row unless you stop it. So when you stop it, turn your work, fix the yarn, and move your stitches to get ready to do the next row, press play to do the next row. You can always start and stop. When you hear the word turn, you’ll know that you have reached the end of the row. I might put the word “turn” in the primary category on the next upgrade, because I'm using it frequently.
6. PLEASE READ THIS BECAUSE IT IS IMPORTANT: READY? If you need to adjust your selection by deleting or adding a step, or if you need to add or subtract time TOUCH AND HOLD THE SCREEN AND THE MAGNIFYING GLASS WILL APPEAR. LOOK THROUGH IT AND SEE THE BLUE CURSOR. THIS ENABLES YOU TO EASILY,SLIDE IT TO THE PLACE YOU NEED.
7. To correct or adjust, place the curser to the left of the comma. If you are having any difficulty because of long nails or not-so-nimble fingers, use a stylus.
8. As you play your pattern, CONTINUE TO USE A ROW COUNTER. KnitSpeaker is not a row counter. Due to the nature of this touch device, at this time if you go to the edit mode to add or adjust anything, the play mode will return to row 1. Simply press the arrows to advance to the row you are on.
9. After inputting just one row or all the rows, take time to check it. If you did not input your pattern correctly, catch it now and fix it before you start knitting. It’s kind of like your gauge. You’ve seen the patterns in the magazines that say “take time to check gauge” Take time to listen to your pattern by touching “read row” while looking at the pattern on the page. Use the magnifying glass to easily move the cursor to where you need to fix a mistake or add time.
Here’s a great tip: Find that word “turn” I told you about again that was placed at the end of row 1. You can copy it by touching the word so the “select, select all, paste” pops up. When you touch “select” move the little blue circles to the beginning and end of the word turn INCLUDING THE COMMA and touch “copy”. Then place the cursor at the end of every row and paste it after the last step. Add time here by adding lots of pluses (++++++++++++) if you want time to turn, adjust yarn, and stitches to do the next row. I have found that stopping it works for me, but you certainly can try to figure out how much time you need and put the “time-spacers” after the word “turn.”
10. All this information and more can be found in the manual. Can you tell I want you to read that manual? Any complaints we have had reveals how the user failed to learn from the manual. After looking at the manual, if you are having any difficulty, contact me. Please call me or write and I will be more than happy to personally help you.
I made this app to help knitters accomplish and enjoy being able to do more difficult stitches. I made this app to help people with memory issues (and who here has not misplaced their keys? Who has never experienced that creepy feeling of leaving home for the day and not being sure if they turned off the iron)? I realized this app could help hearing and visual issues, as well as people with no issues other than being human. I made this app for people who say, "That pattern is too hard" or "I don't want to think." Of course, knitting simple things is always fun, but KnitSpeaker may help you accomplish a pattern you might have avoided.
As I use this app in testing, it works beautifully. Do I have a future upgrade wishlist? Yes, you bet I do. But....knitting the repeat by listening (and looking if I'm in a noisy environment like a sports event) without looking back and forth at the pattern, has made me as productive as just knitting garter stitch. Good luck and keep in touch.
Try this diamond lace scarf pattern (see photo at the bottom of the page).
Cast on 36 stitches using Aran weight yarn and size 9 needles. Knit 6 rows (3 ridges) for bottom edge. The first and last three stitches create a side border of garter stitch. Use headphones or earbuds when playing the audio. After the length of the scarf has been completed, knit 6 more rows and bind off loose.
Just one more thing. Since this is a scarf, no gauge is needed. This is a ten-stitch repeat, so if you wish to make it wider, add stitches in quantities of ten, (36 stitches to 46 stitches.) The repeats will change too. This pattern has three repeats, so change the number of times of repeats according to your increased stitches. If you expand it by 10 stitches, you will have 4 repeats. If you expand it by 20 stitches you will have 5 repeats. Practice inputting this pattern, but please feel free to adjust the amount of time spacers to your needs. All special KnitSpeaker learning notes from me are in parenthesis.
Row 1: k3, p30, k3, turn (find the word "turn" in the basics category) (This is an easy row, and you don’t need to listen to it, but I like to program even the easy stuff. You can listen to it if you wish. Note: Always make sure you put the first asterisk in before the rest of the row. When you see the first asterisk, touch "repeat", "start" and the beginning asterisk will appear. You cannot go back to add the beginning asterisk unless you start the row all over again. When you see the ending asterisk, touch the repeat category, end, and the number 3 and you’ll see “3 times”).
Row 2: k3+++++,* yo++, sl 1++, k1++, PSSO++++, k5 ++++++++++, k2 tog,++++, yo++, k1*++times 3, k3 turn
Row 3: K3, p30, k3 (copy and paste this from row 1 here and at all of the odd rows)
Row 4: K3+++++,*k1++, yo++, sl 1++, k1++, PSSO++++, k3+++++, k2tog++++, yo++, k2++++*, 3 times, k3+++++ turn+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Row 5: K3, p30, k3 turn
Row 6: K3+++++, *k2++, yo++, sl 1++, k1++, PSSO++++, k1++, k2 tog ++++, yo++, k3+++++, *times 3, k3+++++, turn++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Row 7: K3, p30, k3
Row 8: k3,+++++, *k3+++++,yo++, sl 1++, k2 tog++++, PSSO++++,YO++, k4++++++++* times 3, k3+++++, turn+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Row 9: K3, p30, k3
Row 10: K3+++++,* k2++++, k2 tog++++, yo++, k1++, yo++, sl 1++, k1++, PSSO++++, k3+++++*3 times, k3+++++, turn++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Row 11: K3, p30, k3
Row 12: K3+++++,* k1,++, k2 tog++++, yo++, k3+++++, yo++, sl 1++, k1++, PSSO++++k2++++*times 3, k3++++turn++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Row 13: K3, p30, k3
Row 14: k3+++++, *k2 tog++++, yo++, k5++++++++++, yo++, sl 1++, k1++, PSSO++++, k1*, times 3, k3++++, turn++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Row 15: K3, p30, k3
Row 16: k3+++++, k1++*yo++, k7+++++++++++, yo++, sl 1++, k2 tog++++, PSSO++++*, times 2, yo++, k7++++++++++, sl 1++, k1++, PSSO++++, K3+++++turn++++++++++++++++++++++++
Press play to start row 1. Use headphones or earbuds. Use the visual display if you are in a noisy environment (i.e. football game)
AFTER ROW 16, MANUALLY RETURN TO ROW 1 BY USING THE ARROWS, AND CONTINUE THE 16 ROW REPEAT UNTIL DESIRED LENGTH OF SCARF HAS BEEN REACHED.
Any questions, write to leslyes777@aol.com. Or contact knitSpeaker.com. Anyone who contacts us with questions, can be randomly selected to win a "Gift this App" for a knitting friend. (five selected per month)
Leslye
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