Posted 12 Jun 2024 by JC
The Renumber and reformat dialog now has a couple new options:
Show stitch counts
If you select “Show stitch counts,” the dialog will include stitch counts when reformatting your knitspeak – for example, changing this:
to this:
You might find these stitch counts handy when you’re not yet ready to hit the “Go for it!” button, but you want to verify the knitspeak that you’ve entered so far. It’s a sanity check of sorts, like the “Check the knitspeak” button, but it offers you a little bit more info to work with as you continue editing.
Caveat: the dialog can only add stitch counts to your knitspeak if that knitspeak makes sense. If it doesn’t – say, if row 12 produces 99 stitches but row 13 needs 100 – then the dialog won’t reformat your knitspeak, and you’ll see a warning message below the edit box. You’ll just need to fix the problem before trying again.
Merge matching instructions
If you select “Merge matching instructions,” the dialog will sum up adjacent simple instructions, and produce knitspeak that’s more concise. For example, k3, k2 will become k5, and k2tog, k2tog, k2tog will become [k2tog] 3 times.
And that’s it, really. We’re only talking about simple summations here, not fancy stuff like changing k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1 to [k1, p1] 3 times. You’ll still have control over stylistic phrasing choices of that sort.
Reload or clear
To get these changes to work for you, you’ll need to ensure that your browser has the latest version of the site’s scripts. First, try reloading the Contribute page, or the Edit page for one of your stitch patterns. If that doesn’t work – if the selecting the “Show stitch counts” and “Merge matching instructions” checkboxes doesn’t have any effect for you – then try clearing your browser’s cache.
Questions? Suggestions? Just let me know!
Posted 3 Aug 2022 by JC
Hey, all you stitch maps fans! This Friday, 5 August 2022, Stitch-Maps.com will be offline temporarily as I move it to a new hosting service. The goal is to give the site more room to grow in the future, without requiring a hike in subscription fees.
Unless something screwy happens, the process should only take an hour or two. During that time, I plan to allow “read only” access to the site: you’ll get logged off and you won’t be able to log in, but you’ll still be able to browse through the site’s public collection of stitch patterns. Still, I apologize in advance for any inconvenience this is going to cause!
Comments, questions, or concerns? Join the conversation on Ravelry, or email me directly.
Posted 1 Nov 2021 by JC
In today’s news, we have an enhancement to the user interface that I’m hoping you’ll like.
Go to the Contribute page, and enter the knitspeak for a stitch pattern. (Or go to the Edit page for one of your stitch patterns, and make a change to the knitspeak.) Click the “Go for it!” button. You’ll see a progress bar like this:
This progress bar shows an estimate of how long it’ll take to draw your stitch map, given the number of symbols in the stitch map. It’s based on historical data that I’ve been collecting over the last few weeks:
You can see that stitch maps of modest size – under 1000 symbols – are typically drawn in under 10 seconds, but that larger stitch maps can take considerably more and more time.
The key thing to remember is that the progress bar shows an estimate of how long you’ll need to wait. Some stitch maps might take less time than expected. Some stitch maps might take more, especially if the site is busy doing other things at the same time. Either way, please be patient. “Trying again” in another browser tab is just going to tax the site further, and slow it down for everyone.
As always, this UI enhancement relies on Javascript, so you won’t see it if you have Javascript disabled in your browser. (Do people still do that? Can anyone tell me, seriously?) And if you see any wonky behavior, please let me know! Despite testing these changes on a number of browsers, it’s quite possible that your browser might have a surprise in store for us.
Posted 4 Jun 2021 by JC
At Stitch-Maps.com, the web address for a stitch pattern or a collection is tied to its name.
This is all well and good.
- These name-based web addresses are easy to read and understand.
- They make it more likely that Internet searches – like “lingonberry lace chart” – will succeed.
- And it’s easy to use them to create links – within the descriptions of other stitch patterns, or at Ravelry, or Pinterest, or wherever.
But when the name of a stitch pattern or collection changes, its web address changes too. This can lead to “link rot” and the dreaded “Page not found” error.
Permalinks can solve this problem. A permalink is an address that won’t change, even when the name of the stitch pattern or collection changes.
You can get a permalink from the icon next to a stitch pattern or collection’s name.
Hover over the icon, and in some browsers (like Chrome and Firefox) you’ll see the permalink at the bottom left corner of your browser window.
You can right-click on the icon and copy the permalink using your browser’s usual “Copy link address” option. Or you can simply click on the icon itself. Either way, the permalink will get copied to your clipboard, and you can then use it to create links elsewhere.
Using permalinks this way – when creating links to stitch patterns or collections – is the best way to prevent link rot.
Questions? Suggestions? You know where to find me.
Posted 28 May 2021 by JC
Stitch-Maps.com is up and running again in a new home. You shouldn’t see much in the way of changes, except when it comes to subscriptions:
- You can now choose between monthly and annual subscription plans. (Though, as before, I think the best deal for new subscribers to get a basic subscription on an annual basis, as that option comes with a free 30-day trial.)
- Subscribers should get helpful email notices before a trial period ends, when a subscription payment is about to become due, and when a credit card is about to expire. I’ll be keeping tabs on things for a while, to make sure this really happens.
- Affiliates will earn a 10% commission on each subscription payment made when someone subscribes after following their affiliate links, not just on the first subscription payment.
As far as I can tell, everything seems to be working okay… but what do I know? Give it a try for yourselves, and please please pretty please let me know if you notice anything wonky.
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