Yet more clusters

Posted 4 Sep 2019 by JC

By request, Stitch-Maps.com now has a few more cluster symbols:

• Sl1-p2-psso
• Sl1-k2-yo-psso
• Sl1-k3-psso
• Sl1-p3-psso
• P3so-k1-yo-ssk
• Sl1-p3so-k2tog-yo-k1

The last two are especially interesting. Each is essentially a p3so-k1-yo-k1 cluster, with a subtle decrease on either the left or the right. This decrease can be used to make a column of clusters appear to move.

As always, complete descriptions of these new symbols are available in the key. Enjoy!

Absurdly wide cable crosses

Posted 16 Jul 2019 by JC

By request, Stitch-Maps.com now handles a few really wide cable crosses:

• 6/6 LC
• 7/7 LC
• 8/8 LC
• 6/6 RC
• 7/7 RC
• 8/8 RC

But note that these symbols are kind of absurd*. They’re really wide. And – more to the point – they won’t bend, even when the rows they’re on bend. So you might wind up with some wonky looking stitch maps, like this one for Rope-a-licious:

Yeah, that’s wonky.

But who knows? You might wind up with some cool ones too.

Enjoy!

*Absurd, according to Wiktionary: “Contrary to reason or propriety; inconsistent with the plain dictates of common sense; ridiculous; silly.”

Translation project

Posted 2 Jul 2019 by JC

Back last December, I set out to make Stitch-Maps.com friendly to knitters whose primary language isn’t English. I thought the task might take a few weeks. (Ha!) My goals were:

• To identify all the little bits of English text that comprise the site’s user interface, and to replace them with code that’ll pull up text in the right language.

  Check! I’ve edited nearly 19,000 lines of code, and identified 1267 bits of English text that need to be translated.

• To let site visitors choose the language in which they view Stitch-Maps.com. When possible, this will mean honoring the language preference set in each visitor’s browser. But in addition, the site has to offer a way for visitors to pick the language they want to see.

  Check! Browser preferences are honored, when possible. And the menu offers a way to switch between languages.

• To make it easy for volunteers to supply translations. Among other things, this will mean providing translators with clear documentation, and – as much as possible – with context for each phrase to be translated.

  Check! I’m pretty darn happy with the translation interface. It’s straightforward and easy to use. The convenience buttons and search functionality are especially sweet. Context is a little thin, but at least translators have the option of choosing which section of the site they’d like to focus on. Of course, if anyone has suggestions, I’m all ears!

• To make sure the translations are accurate, by putting a review process into place. At the very least, the site should let volunteers sign up to receive notification when new translations have been made.

  Check! Anyone can now monitor new translations via the RSS feeds listed at the bottom of the translator’s guide. (Myself, I’m checking the feeds daily via Feedly.)

• To automate the process, so that translators can work on their schedule, without waiting for input from me.

  Check! Save one or more translations, click the “Publish translations” button, and your translations are immediately put into use.

As always, if you see something that isn’t working right, or could be improved, please let me know! Ditto if you’d like to provide translations for a language not currently listed in the menu – I’d only need a few minutes to add a language, but doing so before a willing translator steps up would be misleading and disappointing to knitters who speak that language, don’t you think?

So it’s taken months to prepare the site for translation. Now it’s up to all of you multilingual knitters out there to actually supply translations. With 1267 messages to be translated, that’s no small task! To those who take part, I’d like to offer some recognition and compensation, so a “thank you!” program is in the works. Stay tuned for details!

Metadata

Posted 29 Dec 2018 by JC

By request, the view controls on each stitch pattern’s detail page now include a “Metadata” checkbox. Click this option, and the stitch map will be shown with three bits of metadata in its lower-left corner: the name of the pattern, the name of its contributor, and its URL.

Why might this be useful? Say you’ve downloaded and printed a bunch of stitch map images. (I like doing this so I can follow the stitch map using a chart keeper with a magnetic strip – yes, it works! even if the rows bend a little.) Having the metadata printed right there on the page means not having to ask later, “Now, which stitch pattern was this?”

On a related note... going forward, I’ll probably include metadata when posting stitch map images on Ravelry or on social media. That way, anyone that sees the image has a way of tracking it down.

Bonus: those of you with subscriptions have the option setting a preference such that you’ll see metadata by default every time you visit a new detail page.

Enjoy!

Twofer

Posted 19 Oct 2018 by JC

Today’s update is a twofer:

Part 1: exporting a collection’s key

Premium subscribers have long had the ability to export a stitch pattern’s key. Now they can also export the key for an entire collection. This key will define all the symbols used in all the stitch patterns in the collection. For example, here’s the key for my Short-rowed doilies collection:

As you’d expect, it contains symbols for short-row turns, since every pattern in the collection uses them. It also contains bind-off symbols, even though Diamond Doily doesn't use them, because the other patterns do. And it contains the cast-on symbol, even though Diamond Doily is the only stitch pattern that uses that symbol.

I’m pretty keen to use this feature myself. I figure it’ll be super useful when I’m putting together the handouts for the classes I’m teaching. Imagine this: create a collection containing all the stitch patterns shown in the handouts, export the collection’s key, put the key into the handouts as well, and boom! no need to worry about the handouts not defining a crucial symbol.

Part 2: user interface tweaks

Adding an action item for “export this collection’s key” nudged me into making a couple mostly cosmetic changes. First off, the sidebars on a few pages were looking a little cluttered, so I’ve made the sidebar panels collapsible. Initially, only the first panel is open, but you can open more with a quick click – for example, for the Short-rowed doilies collection:

Then I put icons for commonly-used actions next to each stitch pattern’s name, and added icons next to action item links – for example, for Diamond Doily:

Hopefully you’ll enjoy these little improvements. As always, if you have questions or concerns, please speak up! Start a conversation in the Stitch Maps group on Ravelry, or contact me directly.