Review: Ipow Rechargeable LED Light with Clip

(Disclaimer: There will be affiliate links in this post for the lights I'm reviewing and for a USB charger I found along the way.  Purchasing through those links is convenient for you and helps keep this blog going.  Thanks!)

I'm a vendor at a number of different shows throughout the year.  I sell finished jewelry at some shows, and I sell kits and tutorials of my designs at other shows.  One thing I have struggled with throughout the years is how to present my wares so it's easy for the customer to see what I have that might interest them.  I started out with a beautiful dark purple tablecloth but have recently changed to white to increase visibility.  I bought a few small gridwall displays to better utilize vertical space and to increase visibility.

Before my last show (the Art Glass and Bead Show in Madison, Wisconsin) at the end of March, I tried out something new to increase visibility: LED rechargeable lights.  I thought I was fine without lights because there technically should be enough light to see at any venue I vend at, but a friend of mine uses lights and says it really helps.  She recommended I try it, too.

When I went searching on Amazon (because Amazon has everything), I looked into rechargeable LED lights.  The main reason was that I didn't want cords.  I'm fairly clumsy and have gotten caught in a bag handle one too many times.  I don't need something else to trip over when I'm behind my table.  Another very important reason is that some shows charge extra for electricity.  So I'll be paying more for increasing my chances of needing stitches?  No thank you!

I found what seemed to be a suitable light for a decent price:

I purchased the white one (if you view the item there's an option for choosing the color) and padded the order with a DVD and a book to qualify for the free shipping.

The package came pretty quick, and I plugged the light in for a few hours to charge.  I took it to a beading gathering and asked the girls what they thought.  They all agreed it would work fine and that I should get four more to cover the whole table.  I did that, and my table at the Art Glass and Bead Show went from this:

to this:

Yes, it's very subtle.  Let's take a closer look at one section of the table side-by-side:

 

It's not very clear.  Sorry about that.  You can easily see the lights on the top of the displays, but there's also one lighting the trays sitting on the table.

At first, I didn't think the lights were helpful, but I had so many people ask me about them that I thought I should write about them.

Here's a closer look at one of the lights:

Each head has two LED light bulbs:

I was going to take a picture with one of the lights turned on in this position, but it was just too blinding.  You're welcome.

For each head you click the button at the top once for the first light bulb to come on, again for the second light bulb, and again to turn them both off.  So the amount of light is quite variable based on what you need:  one bulb - reading in bed in the dark, two bulbs in one head - inspecting a difficult knot in your beading thread, one bulb in each head - you and your husband reading separate books while cuddling in the dark... you get the idea.

Here's the light with all four light bulbs turned on:

As you can see a few pictures up, the necks on each of the lights are extremely flexible.  We were bending them this way and that, and my husband even clipped the light to the back of his collar and made antennas out of the lights.  He refused to let me take a picture of that.  What a party pooper.

Here's another look with the lights spread apart:

When the lights are bent down close to the object you're trying to illuminate they get really bright.

One thing I really like about these lights is that the light is really focused.  I'm sensitive to bright lights, especially with my peripheral vision, but I haven't had any problems with these.  The necks are so flexible that if any light is peeking out I can bend the head down just a little more, and that takes care of it.

The base is weighted enough to sit on the table as shown, but it also has a nice clip:

The non-slip clip opens to almost 2" wide and has a little pivoting thing to help it grasp onto thinner surfaces.  We had them clipped to the gridwall displays and another thin display and didn't have any problems with a light sagging or falling off.

Each light comes with a USB cord:

Before I bought the first light, I read a lot of reviews on Amazon.  One thing that people complained about was the proprietary plug (the end that goes into the light).  They said that the plug should be a standard USB plug so any cable can be used.  I don't think it's a big deal.  I keep all the cords for all the lights together in one of the boxes the lights came in (I'm storing the lights in a bag so I don't have to fold each of them down to fit back in the box), so I'm only screwed if I lose that box.  I'm keeping it with all my business admin stuff (cash box, receipts, business cards...), and if that bag gets lost, I'm more screwed than losing a few charging cables.

The reviews also stated that the plug doesn't go all the way in.  That is true.  It sticks out by a few millimeters.  It still charges, so that's not a big deal, either.

What I would really like is a charging light.  If it's not completely charged, the light is red.  Once a full charge has been reached, the charging light either turns off or turns green.  That would be nifty.  I couldn't find anything that says how long you need to charge the light, just "Fully Charged For Four Hours."  I don't know if that means it keeps a full charge for four hours or it is fully charged in four hours.  To play it safe, I typically charge the lights at least four hours.  I figure it can't hurt to overcharge them.

The first day of the show was seven hours long, so I tested one of the lights for seven hours.  I turned on the lights right at 10:00, and they were still going at 5:00.  They were dimmer, but they weren't too dim to be of help.  I was very happy with the results of my test.  I would have had to rotate lights throughout the day or be more judicious with how many bulbs were turned on if they ended up dimming faster.  I'm glad I don't have to worry about that.  I just need to make sure I remember to charge the lights before a show and at night for multi-day shows.

Speaking of charging... what's with that USB plug?  It doesn't come with an adapter, so you either have to plug it into your computer or use one of these:

The square adapters are easily available, even if you don't have a phone or device that comes with one.  We scrounged up a few of them, so in the hotel after the first night of the show we played "Rotating Devices."  The first part of the night the lights were charging: two of them plugged into Steve's computer and three of them in various outlets.  When we were ready to go to bed, the lights were put away, and the phones and my iPad got plugged in.

Having five lights, I think it would be nice to have a dedicated power strip where they can all be plugged in.  When the lights are charged, the cords can be wrapped around the strip for storage.  But I'd need five of those square adapters.  I just did a quick search on Amazon, and lookie what I found:

That's too cool.  I've just added it to my wishlist.  This USB charger has 4.5 stars out of over 3,000 reviews, so I'm sure it's a good product.

Let's go back to the hotel, shall we?  The first shift of devices (the lights) have been charging all evening, and we got them all put away to go back to the show the next day.  I plugged my iPad in one of the outlets by the sink, and it wasn't charging.  I thought it was just the way the cable was stretched so the Pad could sit on a chair.  I plugged it in somewhere else and plugged my phone in.  I didn't think about it or check it and just went to sleep.  I was pretty tired and loopy after a very busy day.

In the morning, I discovered that my phone wasn't charged.  *$!%!  (Insert your favorite swear word there - I won't tell you what I actually said.)  Not only was my phone (which I needed to process credit card sales) not charged, that meant that at least one of the lights wasn't charged, either.  We determined that neither of the outlets were working, so I had two lights not charged.  (Repeat swear word, please.)

It was easy enough to determine which lights weren't charged, so those got plugged into Steve's computer, and my phone got plugged into a different outlet while we got ready and had breakfast (about an hour).  I crossed my fingers that everything would be charged enough.  Steve marked the lights with twist ties so we could put them in less critical areas and so we could keep an eye on them.

The second day of the show was only six hours, and they lasted just fine.  There was some dimming on all the lights, but, again, it wasn't enough to be irritating.  Whew!

The one good thing about this whole charging fiasco was that I can show you a comparison:

The light on the left is fully charged, and the one on the right is one of the "twist-tie" lights after being on at the show for six hours.  (In case you're wondering, the necklace is the one I talked about in this blog post.)  You can tell that there's considerable dimming, but it does still give some illumination.

For a more stark comparison let's turn off the lights:

All in all, I'm very happy with the Ipow rechargeable LED lights.  They have a variety of uses outside of craft and bead shows, including reading, putting on a music stand, and giving a little extra light when beading or crafting.  At less than $15 (as of this writing), they're a good value, too.

Check them out!  Here's that link again so you don't have to scroll all the way up there to get it:

 

And here's that USB charger again, in case you're interested:

 

Thanks for reading all the way through this!  I tend to write a lot when I'm excited about something.  If you get one (or five) of these lights for your shows, let me know how it goes in the comments of this post or at traci@creative-pursuits.biz.

I don't know if I can completely give credit to the lights, but I had my best show this year at the Art Glass and Bead Show, but I'm sure they helped.  I can't wait until next year's Show - April 23-24, 2016 - mark your calendars!

Review: "New" Fireline

When I first started stitching my friends told me that I should use fishing line - it's much stronger and easier to work with than beading thread for most applications.  At the time, the only fishing line I knew about was that clear stuff that's hard to knot - monofilament.  I bought some and stitched a spiral necklace using only seed beads with it.  It was a little hard to work with, but the resulting spiral had some body and firmness to it that I liked.

It didn't take long for me to find out that my friends were talking about a different fishing line, and I didn't let on that I had misunderstood.  Until now, that is.  I hope they don't tease me too badly.

The fishing line they were talking about was Fireline, which is made by Berkley.  The most common colors are Crystal (white) and Smoke (black).  I was hooked (no, I really didn't mean to make a fishing pun) from the first time I stitched with it.  Beading thread likes to fall out of my needle, and the resultant stitching doesn't feel very tight to me.  Fireline gave my pieces a nice firmness (without being too firm like the monofilament was), and I could tug on it really hard and not worry about it breaking.

Fireline is so strong that it dulls ordinary scissors, so I've recommended using Xuron's 9180 High Durability "Fireline" Scissors (you can see my review of them here).

I like Fireline so much I include it in all of my kits, and I have sold the Fireline Scissors at shows and online (I only have two left, but if you'd like order, e-mail me at traci@creative-pursuits.biz, and I'll order more!)

So life was blissfully happy until the Fireline started disappearing off of the shelves.  There was a nervous ripple around the beading community.  Then the rumors started that there was a new formula that was coming out.  Shortly after beaders got their hands on it, the chatter was about how the fisherpeople (we can't assume they're all men, you know) loved it, but the beaders hated it.  Today I tried to quickly find something online to support either the happy fisherpeople claim or the sad beader claim, but I was unsuccessful.  There is probably something somewhere, but I didn't want to spend the entire day looking.  I have enough problems with time slipping away from me as it is.

With all that in mind, I am going to give you my review.  Please keep in mind that this is my opinion and shouldn't be quoted as gospel.  I have worked with the new Fireline (6 lb. test) extensively for a few weeks.  Most of the time was with Smoke, but I have used Crystal a few times.

The first thing I noticed is that they changed the packaging.  The old spools were in boxes, and the new ones are sealed up like batteries:

I am happy with this decision.  I once bought some Fireline at Walmart, and if I hadn't glanced at the box's open window, I would have come home with some very thin monofilament.  It looked like someone had swapped the spools out and bought Fireline at monofilament prices.  The sticker had even been removed from the spool.  I brought the box and spool to an employee and requested it be removed from the shelf, but a few months later it was still up there.  I took the spool halfway out of the box and just laid it on the shelf in hopes that someone would notice it.

The next thing I noticed is that the spools are smaller:

On the surface this would seem to be a good thing - less waste and all that - but I liked to snap the spool into the cover of my beading Caboodle.  It kept it out of the way until I needed it.  The new one is much too small to do that.  Maybe I could rig something with magnets or Velcro, or (more likely) I can just deal with it.  People with the neat spool storage boxes (like this one) will have a lot of extra room inside.

Now onto the Fireline itself.  As I mentioned, most of my testing was with the Smoke color.  I do have a few thoughts about the Crystal color that I will share, but there will be no pictures.  I tried taking pictures with the Crystal, but I couldn't get a good enough contrast.

Right away the Fireline feels different.  The Crystal feels more twisted or bumpy, and the Smoke doesn't feel as smooth.  Here is a strand of the old and a strand of the new Smoke Fireline:

There is a bit of a twist to the old, but the twist in the new is more pronounced.  It also doesn't look quite as tightly twisted as the old.

At first when I started working with it I didn't notice a change.  I had to rip out some stitching, and I didn't see a problem.  However, I started having problems threading my needle.  I'd take the needle out to either weave in an end or to take something apart, and the end of the thread frayed a lot sooner than I'd have expected.

Today I did a test.  I took a needle and each piece of Fireline and threaded it and took the needle off five times.  I wasn't gentle with either the old or the new.  With the new, I started having trouble with the end fraying from the second threading.  That doesn't always happen - sometimes it slips right through, but once it starts fraying, the only recourse you have is to snip off probably 1/2" of the end and try it again.

It wasn't just the end that was frayed, though:

Do you see all the little hairs on the new one?  There's one on the old and a bunch on the new.  I started worrying about my beadwork and looked at the thread I have coming out of my triangle bracelet.  It's a relatively new thread, but it's been through one whole triangle unit, so it should show some signs of wear if normal beading would cause that.  The only spot that showed a problem was where the needle had been:

Other than that, I didn't see any loose hairs or anything else disturbing.

Fraying can also occur when ripping stitching out.  I've had a number of instances where I didn't have any problems, but it did happen one time with a new thread:

I had done a small amount of beadwork, realized I had screwed up, and I had to take it all apart.  I snipped an inch or so past this point in the thread and started up again.  This time I did it correctly (thank goodness).

I did the threading-needle test on the Crystal Fireline, too, and that seemed to fare better.  I didn't have any problems getting the needle threaded (maybe my aim was more accurate this time), and I didn't see much fraying, even though I was pretty rough on it.

So, is the new Fireline as good as the old Fireline?

Please send your hate mail to Steve - this was his idea

(I did beat that poor thread up pretty bad for that joke - you shouldn't have to worry about it fraying that much with normal beading practices.)

Even though the new Fireline isn't as good as the old one, I am not going to abandon ship.  I still like it a lot more than regular beading thread.  With the triangle bracelet I've been working on, I have pulled really hard on the thread on a number of occasions, and it hasn't snapped, so it seems as strong as before.

The big thing is the fraying.  My recommendations are:

• Use shorter threads.  I'm not saying to use a foot at a time, but if you're like me and use two or more "wingspans" of thread because you hate adding new thread, you'll be putting undue stress on the thread as you're pulling it through lots and lots of beads lots and lots of times.
   
• Don't reposition the needle too much.  This is going to be tough for me  - I start with a long thread and move the needle closer to the end as I go.  But we saw what that does to the thread, so it's probably best to work with a shorter tail.
   
• If you have to rip out a lot of stitching, check the thread for frays.  It might be a good idea to check it from time to time anyway for big projects.  If the thread is frayed, weave it in and add a new piece that's free from frays.

Yes, this all sucks, but for those of us who love Fireline and nothing else, this is better than the alternative.  We can hope that one day they'll fix the problems, and we'll be in heaven again.

knitCompanion review update

In August I reviewed the knitCompanion app as great for more than just knitting and crocheting.  If you haven't seen that, please read that post first so the rest of this will make sense.  I'll wait.

::hums Jeopardy tune::

Welcome back!  In my review I showed you how knitCompanion can be used for beading projects and keeping track of which row you're on in peyote charts.  Since I downloaded this app I have only used a paper chart once, and it was torture.  Well, no, it wasn't really torture, but it did take a lot more concentration.  It is so much easier to use knitCompanion - I move the slider for each row, and if I have to put the stitching down for any reason I don't have to wonder where I left off.  It's amazing.

I use the app for knitting, too, of course.  Before I even picked up the needles for the Owl and the Pussy Cat baby hat I highlighted everything for the size I was making.  I'm glad I did it, because I put the hat down during the Christmas selling season, and I had forgotten which size I had decided to make.  I could have figured it out, but that would have involved a lot of counting.  Because I had taken the time to highlight, I didn't have to give it a second thought.  I had moved the slider down and updated my round count as I knit, and when I picked it back up again I didn't skip a beat or drop a stitch.

Since I wrote the review there are now ads in the free version.  They're not obtrusive, so I don't mind them much.  They have to pay for everything somehow, and ads help them do that.  Another new thing since my review is that they have come up with different subscription options in case the full price ($15.99) is too much.  It's only 99 cents to have full access for 15 days, so if you'd like to see if the full version would be better for you, you're only out a dollar.

I have had one problem since one of the updates:  Sometimes the screen goes partially blank when I'm switching between apps or moving things around.  It's easily fixed - I load a new page then go back to the last one - so I'm not upset about it (not that I could be upset about something in an app I haven't paid for).  I'm sure they're working on it.

Speaking of what they're working on... I mentioned in my review that knitCompanion is available only for Apple devices.  They're now trying to raise money through KickStarter so they can expand to Android devices.  They have quite a ways to go to reach their goal and only 17 days left.  Please check out their KickStarter campaign and donate if you can.  If nothing else, watch the video.  It's funny!  If you can't donate, please share the link on your Facebook page or on Pinterest to get the word out.  (I couldn't use my "Pin It" button for some reason, so I had to add the page directly from Pinterest.)

I really believe in this app and would like to help them out.  For anyone who donates $25 or more to their Kickstarter I will send a PDF of your choice of peyote beading patterns:

• My "Triple Goddess" pattern that I designed for this necklace:
  
  
  
  
  The offered pattern will be just for the flat rectangle Goddess part - not the tapering or any of the embellishments.  I wish I had knitCompanion when I stitched this.  My eyes were crossed and blurry by the time I was done!
  
  Or...
   
• My full "Shadowed Diamonds" bracelet tutorial:
  
  
  
  
  Learn how to stitch odd count peyote and use knitCompanion to read the chart.

Donate $50 or more, and you'll receive both PDFs!

After you donate, forward the confirmation e-mail to traci@creative-pursuits.biz and tell me which design you want, and I'll send the PDF.  There is no personal information (credit card info or address) on the confirmation e-mail, so please include your name just for my records.

My husband asked why I want to be involved with this app and its Kickstarter campaign so much.  I couldn't give him more of an answer than, "I really like it!!"  Thinking about it a bit more, I think it's because I love any tool that helps the creative person spend more time creating.  I have a stamp index of most of my rubber stamps so that I can more quickly find the perfect stamp for my project (it needs updating, but it still gets the job done).  The One Step Looper helps me make simple earrings in a fraction of the time.  I have spent more than enough time trying to figure out where I am in a peyote chart and in a knitting pattern I haven't looked at in months (my regular readers will know I'm talking about the damnable hooded cardigan), not to mention finding the knitting pattern.  With just a little bit of work up front (getting the PDF into Dropbox and/or knitCompanion and setting up all the highlighting and zooming and all that), I can spend the bulk of my time knitting or beading.  I want to support anyone who helps me do that.

I just donated $25.  Can you do the same?

Product review: Ceramic Watercolor Art by Faith Givings

Happy Purple Weekend!  The first day of my open house was a bit slower than we hoped for, but it was still fun and well worth the time to rearrange the living room and dining room.  We're open again tomorrow ("Small Business Saturday", as American Express calls it) from 10-5.  If you're anywhere near the Milwaukee area, please click here for my newsletter, which contains all the information on this weekend's show and the two shows I'm doing in December.

Since I blog on Fridays, and since I have a house full of Faith's ceramics, I thought it would be a perfect time to show you what she makes and tell you a bit about how she makes it all.  She might write a guest blog showing some of the process as we create a piece made with a bay leaf I used to make soup with this Thanksgiving.  Intrigued?  Stay tuned after the holidays!  Well, continue to stay tuned throughout the holiday season, but this project won't get started until the hustle and bustle is over.

I first met Faith at the Bead&Button Show.  I noticed she had an ad in the program that said if you say, "Nice buttons," you get 50% off.  I had to see if they really were nice buttons.  They were, but I bought an iris pin and a cat pendant instead.  No big surprise for either of those.  We chatted for a long time, and we have since become friends.  My dad saw her at another show, and they got to talking, and they ended up talking about me.  I hope they said all good things!  :D

Faith makes a wide variety of ceramic products: ornaments, pins, pendants, tiles that can be hung on a wall (because "hangable" supposedly isn't a word), serving trays, buttons, and probably other items.  She has so many, I wouldn't be able to keep track of them all, even if I was the artist!

Here's how our Christmas tree looks right now:

While there are a few ornaments I made on the tree, the vast majority of them are Faith's.  She brought so many that I had to put some of them on a separate table!  Here is one of the ornaments close up:

Each of her ornaments is packaged on a sturdy card, very securely so you don't have to worry about the item coming off before you're ready.  On the front she gives a list of what she makes, and on the back she tells you about what she does:

The process begins in my garden...

With my grandmother's rolling pin, I press freshly picked real flowers & intricate leaves, along with my original handcarved designs, into fine, white clay.  You might see me in the garden, in my little studio, or in the wavy patchwork of sunlight where the magnolia and ginkgo branches meet, at the big old picnic table in my Wisconsin backyard.

During a 6-8 week long process, I gather local perennial favorites, wildflowers, & occasional "volunteers".  I carefully press, dry, & sand each one, glaze by hand with my signature "watercolor" technique, & kiln-fire each piece twice.  I make one piece at a time, by hand, and am honored to have you choose my work for your home or for gift giving.

Wow!  That's pretty impressive, isn't it?  Let's see some more of her ornaments, shall we?

Here are some Wisconsin ornaments:

She has other locations, too, like New York and San Fransisco.  There are more locations in her Etsy shop.

Here are a few inspired by nature:

She even brought a few holiday/winter-related ornaments, such as a holly wreath, a snowman, and a Star of David.  Here's a very cute Christmas tree:

Here's one that's right up our household's alley:

 "EXTERMINATE standard holiday decorations!"

(For the uninitiated, that's a Dalek from Doctor Who.  Also, this one's been purchased - by us - so if you'd like one, you'll have to ask her to make one for you.  She can do different colors, although Steve says, "Purple isn't canon.  We can't have a purple Dalek."  Spoil sport.)

That's enough of the ornaments.  Here are some buttons:

Yes, that big Wisconsin one is a button.  You'd need a huge buttonhole for it, or you could even sew it on some fabric and frame it.  That'd be very pretty.

Here are some pins:

She brought some pendants, too.  She has them on rubber necklaces and put them in organza bags in such a way that the pendants can be seen pretty clearly, and the whole thing can be hung on hooks.  I was all set to take them all out of the bags, but Steve noticed the necklace loops.  He's smarter than I am.

The one other type of product I have to show you are her hangable tiles.  I don't care if spell check says it's not a word, I'm using it anyway.

You can really see the pressed flowers and leaves on the tiles.  They're so pretty, and the colors are just gorgeous.

I think the thing I like best about Faith's items is the colors.  Most of them are muted and look like watercolors.  She does have some more vibrant colors, but they don't overpower the pieces.  They all look natural.  Her original designs are interesting and intricate, and the colors compliment them nicely.

"But what about the quality, Traci?  Will I have to handle them with kid gloves?"  Good question, dear reader!  I wondered that myself, because the pieces I bought from her seemed very fragile.  She says that they're very durable, though.  It takes a lot to break them.  She produces an unbelievable number of pieces each year, and she says she's not very careful with them and only breaks about one a year.  Even so, I'm still not going to try to snap them in half just to prove I can't.  :)

So, now that you know all about Faith and what she does, here's how you can get in on the action:  If you come here tomorrow (here's that newsletter with the information again), she's offering a buy one, get one free sale.  The free one is of equal or lesser value, of course.  That's quite a deal!  Stock up for gifts, and justify getting items for yourself because they're free.  That's how my logic works, anyway.  If you are too far to come (or if you're pinned down under a bookshelf), you can check out her Etsy site, which has a number of items I don't have here.  There are a few coupon codes on her Facebook page, but you do have to look for them.  Think of it like a scavenger hunt, where you can see many pictures of other items on your way to finding the codes.

Thanks, Faith, for bringing so many beautiful items to my home and for allowing me to share your work with my friends and family!

Product review - Santa key from Oriental Trading Company

This will be the quickest review in history.  :)  Tomorrow and Sunday I'll be at the Mitchell Park Domes for our annual Jewelry at the Domes sale, and today I set my table up:

Tonight Steve and I are going to a comedy show we bought a Groupon for.  Busy busy busy!

But I have just enough time to review something I recently bought and to show you what I did with it.

I was flipping through the Oriental Trading Company catalog and found this:

Pewter Santa keys with this saying on the card:

If you have no chimney
on Christmas Eve,
Awaiting the presents
that Santa will leave,
Just hang this key
by the door for him,
And all the gifts
will be left within.

So cute, and so beadable!  They come in a pack of 12 for only $12.50.

Once you remove the card, it looks like this:

The back is flat, but that did not hinder my beading efforts, and the keys look to be very good quality.  I do wish the little dip in the middle of the loop wasn't there, but I don't think it will hang crooked.

I stitched two strips for the shaft of the key and one for the loop:

I did one in red with green nubs, too.  I think they're adorable, and I hope they sell!  If anyone wants to get the Keys for Santa from Oriental Trading Company, let me know at traci@creative-pursuits.biz, and I'll send you guidelines for how I stitched the above key.

Since the key is pewter, it's probably best to not let any children suck on it.  Of course, you wouldn't let your children suck on jewelry anyway, so it's probably a moot point.

Off I go!  Have a wonderful weekend!

App Review: knitCompanion - not just for knitting and crocheting!

Update!  If you're reading this before February 17, 2014, please consider donating to the knitCompanion Kickstarter campaign so they can expand to Android devices.  Click here for more information on the campaign and knitCompanion's history, but don't forget to come back to read my review!

Note: This review was written in August, 2013.  There have been a few updates since I wrote this, but the basic information should still be useful to you.  :)

A few days ago I was on the forum for the Colorfully Modern Cardigan on Ravelry, reading on everyone's progress and seeing their pictures, when someone mentioned an iPad app called knitCompanion.  She said it would "make it easier to keep track on the pattern".  I thought, "Oh?  I wonder how it would do that?"  I looked it up and installed it, and I was blown away.

The official website is knitcompanion.com, and you can go there for a bunch of information, including a vast array of tutorials and the user guide.  The app is currently available for iPads and iPhones, and they hope to expand to other devices.

There is a free version and a paid version.  You install the free version and upgrade to the full version if you want inside the app.  Currently the price to upgrade is $15.99.  A bit more on what the full version contains later on.

Even without spending a dime, this app is very full-featured.

But what is it? At the most basic level, you load your knit and crochet project PDFs into the app and use it to help you knit/crochet a project.  You can highlight areas, set markers to keep track of what row you're on in charts and in written instructions, increment numeric counters, zoom in on the part you're currently working on, add notes, and more.  This page of their website lists out everything that the app contains.

I mentioned recently that I like being able to read PDFs in my Kindle app, which is great for electronic versions of knit and crochet projects.  I mentioned the downside is that I can't highlight anything or make notes.  The knitCompanion app is all of that and a bag of chips.

I'm not going to go through all of the capabilities (that's impossible), but let's go through a little tour:

Here is the home screen.  The cute little sheep is your guide and is the "voice" in all of the videos.  She's very smart as well as being cute.  The "Live Events" shows when there are free info webinars or other events with designers.

Under "Designs", you can see the five very beautiful designs that come with the app (yes, even the free version!):

I have this scrolled in the center so you can see a little bit of each of the projects.

Oh!  Here's an iPhone/iPad tip for you:  If you want to do a screen capture (perhaps if you want to show off a particularly high score in Candy Crush Saga or take screenshots for your blog), it's so easy.  All you have to do is press and hold the sleep/power button on the top of the device then press the round button on the front (without holding it down).  Release the sleep/power button, and you'll hear a camera click (unless you're muted), and the screen will flash white.  The screenshot will then be in with your photos.  I've done this a few times accidentally and had no idea how to reproduce it, but a quick search found it for me.  I think this is great!

Back to the designs.  You can knit the designs, of course, but they're also there to help you get used to the app.

Since I'm in the middle of the Crochet-Along cardigan, I decided to load the PDF in and use the app while I worked the project.

Until I say otherwise, everything I'm going to show you was done on the iPad (as opposed to the iPhone or the computer).

First thing, locate the PDF online.  For this cardigan, it can be found here, then you click the download link on the right side.  That loads the PDF into a reader on the browser.  When you tap near the top of the page, you see a gray bar, and one of the buttons is "Open in..."  This is great for all kinds of apps, not just knitCompanion, as you can see here:

(The screen is truncated so you don't have to see a bunch of stuff you don't need to)

I touched "Open in knitCompanion", and it loaded right up:

(Again, truncated screen)

This PDF can be accessed from the "PDFs" button on the home screen, but you can't do all the cool stuff here.  You can flip through the pages like in the Kindle app, but there are no counters or row markers or any of the rest of it.

See that "New Project" button at the top?  Tap that, and it starts the conversion process into a project:

I think it's really neat that you can choose which pages you want.  Say you have a huge book in PDF form with a bunch of projects but only want to work on one of them.  You scroll through the pages and highlight the ones you want.  Since this PDF is for only one cardigan, I selected all pages and was then asked to name it:

 
The QuickStart refers to the part of the app that you can access in the free version.  It's available in the paid version, too, but I'm guessing this is what you'd use for most everything.

Once you create the project, now all the fun begins.  I found where I was in the pattern and zoomed in so I could read the instructions very clearly.  I also added some highlights, a row marker, and I incremented one of the counters for how much I've gotten done.

I made that really big so you can see the highlights well.  I'm working the small size (remember I'm using a big hook which throws my gauge off but gives me a loose sweater), so I don't really have to highlight the numbers.  I highlighted a few in my example so you can see how easy it would be to keep track of what you're supposed to do for larger sizes.  On future projects, I intend on highlighting all of the numbers I need to keep track of (how many stitches, how many rows, etc.) before starting, then I won't have to worry about it anymore.  There are even different color highlights available.

That scroll bar just to the left of the colored blocks with numbers is the row marker.  Tap in that area, and it appears, and you can move the marker up and down.  Tap in that area again to make it disappear.

The colored blocks on the right are the counters.  You can slide it out if you want to decrement or reset the counter, and you can keep track of four different numbers. (In proofing this before posting, I found that I typed "resent" instead of "reset".  I got a little giggle at resenting the counter, which I frequently do on slow-moving projects.)

As I worked I found it really nice to have the iPad propped up next to me on the couch, and I increased the row counter as I went along.  Of course, I had to rip out some of it because a ribbing went diagonal on me, and I used the counter to keep track of that as well.

I tried out the annotations and added a note simplifying the next decrease directions:

Tap on the little note icon (you can choose your color) to get the note to appear, and you tap anywhere but on the note to close it.

That's the gist of the app, but there is so much more.  If you have a Dropbox account to store files for backup or accessing on other devices, you can configure knitCompanion to interface with it, which greatly expands what you're able to do.  You're not limited to PDFs you find on the web or have in your e-mail, and you can use knitCompanion on multiple devices as long as you link to the same account (and remember to export when you're done with one device - more on that later).

I have used Dropbox for quite some time, and I really like it.  You get a huge amount of space for free.  I have documents and spreadsheets for my business on it in case my laptop crashes as well as personal files.  I also have a folder set up for sharing Loose Bead Society photos with a member who takes pictures for the society.  I need the pictures in one central location, and this gives her an easy way to get them to me.

Recently I decided to store my jewelry designs' tutorials on Dropbox so I wouldn't lose them if my laptop crashes (do I sound paranoid?) but also so I can access them on the iPad.  I remember most everything, but sometimes I need a little help remembering how to start, what I did with the clasp, and a few other details.  It's been very helpful, but now I have an even better way to access them and will recommend this app to my customers who get the electronic versions of my tutorials.

You do need to explicitly tell knitCompanion that you want to interface with Dropbox.  It's a simple process and can be found in the Settings (the gear at the upper right of the Home screen).  There's a "Sync Options" button in the lower right, and that's where you can enable Dropbox. Once that's done, it interfaces with the Dropbox app on your device.  Oh, that should be installed and set up ahead of time.  :)  I'm not going to go into all that now, but if you're interested in doing that but get stuck, let me know.  I may be able to help.

So in the "PDFs" section of knitCompanion, once you've enabled Dropbox there's an option on the bottom for Local PDFs and Dropbox PDFs.  You can store the PDFs in the default knitCompanion folders, or you can navigate through your Dropbox folders to where you have them stored.

Let me show you my list of tutorials.  I have folders for each design which include the photos, but I also put the PDFs separately so I don't have to go hunting for them.  I tapped on the one I wanted, and an "Import" button appears:

I touched that, and it copied the PDF from Dropbox onto the device.  I tapped on "Local PDFs" to see it and to create a project as I showed you above:

This is a postcard I made up for the 2012 Bead&Button Show Meet the Teachers reception.  I figured it was a good example to show you how knitCompanion can be used for beaders as well as knitters and crocheters.

Zoom in on the chart and add a row marker:

...and you can keep track of your beaded charts!  They designed this capability for knit designs with fancy charts, but it works just as well for beading, too.  Every rectangle that has a blue line going through it is a bead to be stitched in this row.

One of the many great things about this app is that it remembers exactly where you are in the project and even how zoomed in you are.  The row counters are saved with each project, so you don't have to worry about losing your place when you bop between projects.

Speaking of bopping around, what if you don't want to lug your iPad with you when you're at the repair shop waiting for your car to be done?  Knitting or crocheting is a great way to pass the time, but juggling paper patterns or a big tablet isn't all that easy in a waiting room.  If you have Dropbox and knitCompanion on your iPad and iPhone, you don't have to!  Just remember to export your project into Dropbox on the last device you accessed it on and import it on the other device.

I imported the cardigan project onto my iPhone, and I think it'll work just fine:

It's quite a bit smaller, of course, but you can zoom in more or even turn the phone sideways if that helps.

When you're done at the shop and want to work on the project at home on the iPad again, export it from the phone and import it onto the iPad.  This is really important, or you'll probably end up repeating rows.

Even though I'll have to remember these extra steps, I think it's wonderful that I can store my files locally on different devices.  If everything was stored on Dropbox (and you accessed and saved to Dropbox while you were working), you'd be at the whim of your cell signal, and the performance would likely lag.  I have a grocery app I really like - I can plan what to buy and from where based on the prices I've put in and make up a grocery list, but when I get to the store and access the app from my phone, it's so slow I don't even want to use it anymore.  There are ads that have to load, and every time I click an item that I've purchased (essentially crossing it off the list), it updates the database "out there".  It's a bigger drain on my battery and my sanity.  Having local files like knitCompanion has frees you up for more knitting (or crocheting or beading...).

Speaking of ads, there are none.  NONE.  Honestly, there are no ads.  The free version has all the capabilities I mentioned above (and more), and there are no ads.  Also, there are no limits to how many PDFs or projects you can access in the app.  I don't know how they do it, except I'm sure they're hoping we'll all buy the full version.

Update to the above paragraph:  They did have to add ads, unfortunately.  They're small and at the bottom of the screen, so they're unobtrusive.

In the full version there are keys to help you while you're knitting, smart counters (helpful if you have instructions like, "after x rows do the decrease, and at the same time, after y rows do something else"), clearer row markers, and much more.  Since I have not yet purchased the full version, I can't comment yet.  :)  I do think the clearer row markers (the entire row is highlighted, either with a normal background or an "inverse" one) would be helpful, but at the moment I'm very happy with what the free version has provided.  I do see myself purchasing the full version when I have some extra cash to support the product and to play with all the cool new stuff.  (Don't get me started on bills - between vet visits for the cats and the aforementioned car repair and a lot more, I'm lucky I can afford the free version of the app right now.)

One more feature I want to show you, which is accessible from the project screen (Edit/Measure):

A ruler!  How neat is that?  This one is from the iPad app.  You can measure your piece as you work!  This would be great for those dreaded swatches, but I can also see myself measuring bracelets when I can't find my tape measure (which happens more often than I care to admit).  I'm sure there are ruler apps out there, but why load up your device unnecessarily?  The iPhone ruler goes to just over 2 1/4", which I can see useful for when you're at the hair salon and want the stylist to know what an inch actually is (instead of the 2 or 3 inches is usually ends up being).  "This is how much I want cut off.  THIS much!"

It's the attention to detail like the ruler and all of the other features they've provided in the free version that make me recommend this app very highly.  I do hope they're able to develop it for Kindles, Nooks, and other tablets, because knitters, crocheters, beaders, and probably other crafters I'm not thinking of right now can really benefit.

Gone are the days when you're searching for the scrap of paper or notebook where you've tallied your rows, a pencil, a highlighter, the pattern itself.  If you're like me, you're practically glued to your iPad and/or iPhone, and all your designs will always be with you.

So you don't have to scroll up to find the link again, it's knitcompanion.com.  You're welcome.  :)