Showing posts with label screen reader compatible. Show all posts
Showing posts with label screen reader compatible. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Finished Project & Some Teasing

I'm happy to report that the lovely testers are nearly finished with their Hornpipe Bags! And not only that, they've given me some excellent feedback that I think will give this pattern a bit more ease in the working of it. I need to finish up the photo tutorial for one section. It's in progress but time got away on me with the weather.

Are you melting where you're to? There's nothing worse for a yarn crafter than dealing with high temps and humidity without an air conditioner. I've nearly got my days and nights reversed from trying to stay up to work in the coolest part of the night. 

With all that said, I've finished my sample project for my upcoming mkal (aka mystery knitalong)!

I can say it's a scarf that I've named Practice Makes Perfect. It's knit in worsted or Aran weight yarn in any fiber/blend you choose. My sample was knit in Briggs & Little Tuffy, a wonderful 80% wool/20% nylon blend. It comes out rather long, around 2 metres/6.5 feet, and a bit wide, making it a very warm and practical accessory for anyone you care to keep warm. 

Once I have the final measurements, and check over all the details, I'll be ready to release the Warm Up file! This has all the gauge and yarn information, (plus the list of abbreviations in the standard file) so you don't need to go searching for it as you shop for yarn, whether in person, online, or in your own yarn hoard. The full clue schedule, I call them Steps, is included to, along with other details. You'll be able to get the Warm Up and every pattern update for $5 CDN until the first Step becomes available. At that time the price will go to its regular amount of $6.50 CDN. 

This mkal will have a low vision, and screenreader, accessible file along with the standard one. This means any knitter who wants to knit Practice Makes Perfect, can knit it. I'm really happy to be able to offer both files for the Warm Up and every Step too so that everyone can take part.

Speaking of taking part, I'll be running the mkal on Instagram via my account @knit1dance2. Tag your WIP and finished photos with #PracticeMakesPerfectMKAL (don't forget the camel case so everyone can read the tag 😊). I'll also have a Step specific post each week where knitters can ask questions and/or chat about that Step. I plan to show off participants' posts in my stories too, if that's alright. 

That's all my teasing for now.
Three vertical photos of an Irish dancer's feet, the first and third in hard shoes and the center one in black ballet type slippers, arranged in staggered diagonal starting in the lower left corner to the upper right one. The background the photos are on shades diagonally from white to black starting in the upper left corner. On the lighter part, above the first two photos, in a black script font are the words Practice Makes Perfect. In the lower right corner is the Knit Dance Repeat Designs logo.

Keep your eye out for a similar graphic to the one above, announcing the first Step release date. I'm excited to share this adventure with you!

Turning to my personal projects, I started the granny square cardigan/jacket I've been wanting to make, and it's going well so far. I have the bottom row of squares done for the back. This one off idea has squares of different sizes and color combinations throughout. The back's bottom row is made of 4 four round granny squares, with two colors split diagonally in each; left to right I used royal & orange, purple & yellow, red & dark mint, and hot pink & light blue. This photo shows me crocheting them together using black and slip stitches:

I decided to call this sweater my Rainbow Granny Hug, as it's colorful, granny squares, and it'll be cozy like a hug in worsted weight yarn. Next up is the big 16 round square which will sit above these four. It uses all the colors! 

And that, good fiber folk, is all my crafting news. I go to a doctors appointment tomorrow for one of my ongoing issues. I'm a bit stumped what to take with me to work on. I don't have anything too portable on needles or hook. Maybe I need to start something? ;) What's your favorite waiting room/portable project? 

Yours in yarn and mystery,
Síle


Monday, March 14, 2022

Light Reel Cowl is updated!

Good morning, everyone!

It's re-release day here at Knit Dance Repeat Designs! And I'm happy to say it's the Light Reel Cowl 🔗 (within site link) that's gotten it's refresh!

Once again I worked with the talented Krista of Krista Dani Photography 🔗 (link to Facebook page), and I'm so pleased with the new photos! It was hard to narrow down which to use on pattern pages and for the main photo in the pattern!! Here's a sample:

A collage of 7 photos of a blonde woman in a gray tweed jacket with a burgundy hand knit cowl over it. The cowl is close fitting and in the closer up shots we see the cables and textured stitches in the design. All photos are taken outdoors on an overcast winter day with snow shown throughout the wooded area the woman is walking.

What else has changed with the re-release?

Most of it is purely cosmetic: new photos, my logo is in place, I fixed up the headings.

The biggest change is to the low vision pdf. I changed from 22 point san serif font to 24 point. I fully justified everything; my page numbers weren't before, sorry about that!! But the biggest change was eliminating abbreviations and making sure the file is screen reader accessible as well as low vision accessible! It took some time to get it right but I hope it opens this pattern up to more knitters. I have tested this capability using VoiceOver, the built-in voice accessibility tool on iPhones and iPads. 

In honor of the re-release, as I mentioned on Saturday, for today (March 14, 2022) only, the Light Reel Cowl can be purchased for 10% off with the coupon code NEWDANCE. 

That makes two patterns of 12 updated. Which one's next? Stay tuned!

Yours in yarn and lightly reeling through the day 😉,
Síle

Saturday, March 12, 2022

Whatever Happened to Pattern Updates...

If you read any of my January posts, you might recall my intention to re-release my current patterns with the photos updated and logo in place. Garden Blooms got its update in January. Unfortunately February got away from me.

But! Monday I'll be re-releasing another. And this one I've not only got new photos to show off. I've edited the large print/low vision pdf from 22 point font to 24 point font, and also for screen reader compatibility. I have checked this using my phone's VoiceOver accessibility function, which I believe is the same built-in feature on iPads. Hopefully that means it will work with other screen readers as well. It's my intention to do this with all of my patterns that have the large print/low vision pdf included, which means future patterns as well.

Because this is a re-release I'm offering a 10% off code on this pattern, good for Monday (March 14) only. The code is NEWDANCE. This is only good on Monday, for this specific pattern.

Check back Monday to find out which pattern has a new look!

Yours in yarn and dropped hints,
Síle