iPad: Create Control and Present Projects

Last week I bought new summer cotton yarn and selected colours at random, for the first time not thinking about actual colour combinations at all! I bought it to tease the Teen away from my beloved Vinnis Cotton and Bamboo hand dyed yarns, especially since she hardly ever finishes a project we have different hooky needs and Vinnis is quite precious. The colours are Lime Green, Peach, Aqua, Lavender, Soft Grey, White, Baby Pink & Pink. (Some hookers here in South Africa are reporting splitting issues, but I am nearly finished with a cushion in all white in a hook size 5mm and had minimum splitting problems - relax the wrists girls!)

I decided to play with these colours on both the Granny Squares Pattern Generator by Melissa Avery-Weir as well as the Random Stripe Generator by Biscuits and Jam in order to demonstrate how useful these generators can be as part of the crochet project planning process. The combinations are a bit rough for my taste, but demonstrate quite nicely what we are not always able to visualise.

I really like the endless colour combinations available on the Granny Squares Pattern Generator and quickly came up with these patterns to get a idea of whether these random colours can actually work as a throw.

The Random Stripe Generator offers 92 colours and 20 different width stripes.  Once 1 or more widths as well as the colours have been selected, simply click "generate my stripes"and refresh as many times as you would like to for an infinite number of combinations. Below is an examples of what a ripple, granny stripes or fantasy blanket could potentially look like:

What if I want to join the squares in white? The generator does not allow for a joining option, but this is why I love my iPad so much!  It is possible to tweak the picture via an interactive whiteboard.  I am not by any means a master at using the Doceri app, but the kids use it daily for school projects and assist whenever I yell for help. I love this app, it offers endless possibilities to create, control and present projects. I simply drew in white lines with my finger in order to alter the image as can be seen in the top part of the image:

i have used this app before as well in order to plan a Babette type blanket and to distinguish rows in a pattern for a mohair scarf.  For more about the functions of the app, take a look at http://doceri.com/videos.php; for a presentation on how to crochet a lace scallop trim, see the Doceri created tutorial by Gwen Fisher.

I will speak more about how the iPad can be utilized for crafting purposes over the next few weeks!