Journal Six Version 4 Now Available!

Brand new for 2010! Journal Six Version 4 is now available.  This is a free upgrade for current users.  If you purchased Journal Six prior to February 25, 2010, please go to Journal Six Support to claim your free upgrade.  (New group members will be approved once their purchase has been verified.)

Version 4 now allows you to back up and restore the Journal Six database.  This helps you keep your patterns safe and also makes  it easier to move them from one machine to another.

Curved and slanted text tools have been added to the stitch pattern sketchbook.  Here's an action shot:

Double click the picture for a larger version.

I've saved the best for last.  Version 4 introduces a new feature called downloadable charts.  Downloadable charts allow you to draw the shape you want to knit and download it to the console for custom shaping instructions while you knit, similar to the old Form 6 software.

First you draw the shape using the sketchbook:

And then you download:

You can even use the chart as template during stitch pattern designing:

Well that's enough programming for me.  I'm off to enjoy knitting-- with Journal Six, of course.

More information about Journal Six can be found at http://passappal.com.

Journal Six, Version 3.0 Now Available

I released Journal Six, version 3.0, last week. This version corrects the installer so that Journal Six will install under the 64-bit version of Vista. I have also included support for SilverKnit. If you own the SilverKnit device for your Silver Reed electronic knitting machine, you will be able to send stitch patterns to it from Journal Six.

I hope everyone in the Northern hemisphere is enjoying the summer. I haven't been in much of mood to knit, but plenty of ideas are bubbling away. I record them in Journal Six. Then when the weather changes and I'm in a knitting mood, they'll be there, ready to go.

Journal Six Updated

I updated Journal Six to allow stitch patterns to be exported as bitmaps so that you can use them in other programs or share with your friends.

If you haven't tried the demo lately, you may want to uninstall the old demo and install the new one.

If you've been thinking about purchasing Journal Six, what are you waiting for? This feature rich program will totally change how you interact with your knitting machine.

Journal Six, Version 2.0 Now Available

Well, I've been busy, busy and version 2.0 of Journal Six with Sketchbook is now available. Price remains the same and previous purchasers of Journal Six will receive the upgrade for free. Journal Six is simply the best software for PASSAP E6000 owners. Try the demo today and decide for yourself.

F is for Finished

Wow! Exciting news! I finished programming the sketchbook. Like the above stitch pattern? It took me all of five minutes to whip it up. I'm really pleased with how fun and easy designing with the sketchbook is. I think you will be pleased too. It makes a fine addition to Journal Six.

I still have to update the user manual explaining how the sketchbook works. So, probably still a few more days to a week until I publish the update. Thanks to all who have provided support for this project.

Star Doodle

Work on the sketchbook continues. Here's a little doodle I whipped up in a couple of minutes. Looks promising, doesn't it? Many of the tools are done including the long desired text tool.

I've also been working on some cool symmetry tools. It took me a while to get the math right. Figuring out rotations and reflections does not come easily to me. I'm having flashbacks to geometry and trigonometry classes. Sines, Cosines, Euclid, and Pythagoras, you are all back to torment me!

I will be so happy when I get this module released. Still probably another month before that's likely to happen, though. Leave me a comment if there is a feature you'd like me to include.

Sketchbook in Progress

Well, I've been working diligently on the sketchbook. Here's an in-progress screen shot. I'm starting to get really excited about this project! The users have asked for this feature ever since Journal Six was first released. I've always been hesitant because there are so many wonderful graphics programs available and I didn't want to spend a lot of time re-inventing the wheel. However, as was pointed out to me by the Journal Six community, those graphics programs can be expensive and they aren't optimized for stitch patterns. The goal of the sketchbook component is to provide a painting program that is specifically designed for creating stitch patterns quickly and easily.

Although the picture shows a lot of progress, there is still a great deal of work left. I can't guarantee when or if the sketchbook will be released. If I do release it, it will be a free upgrade for existing Journal Six users.

Thinking About a Sketchbook

The current version of Journal Six creates stitch patterns from pre-existing images using many sophisticated processing options. You can go from an image to a high quality stitch pattern in a matter of minutes. Hatch and stipple modes work beautifully with photographs.

The assumption is that you already have an image to process. What if you are starting from scratch? Currently your only option is to use a graphics program such as MS-Paint, Photoshop, etc. This is a solution that works well, but these programs are not optimized for stitch patterns.

I'm toying with the idea of adding a sketchbook with some paint-like functions optimized for stitch patterns. Above are some icon drawings I've done for a possible sketchbook. I'll let you use your imagination in regard to what they might eventually do.

Now the big caveat: I can't guarantee that this will ever see the light of day. If you buy Journal Six, buy it for what it does now, not for what might be there tomorrow. If the sketchbook does make it into Journal Six, it will be a free upgrade for existing customers.

Journal Six Released!

Journal Six was finally released last week! I'm so excited and just a bit relieved. What an effort it was. It took about a year between its inception and completion working in nearly all my spare time.

There have been just a couple of sales so far, but I'm optimistic that things will pick up as word of mouth spreads. I have such fond feelings for those brave early adopters. They encourage me so much.

I will occasionally post things I've knitted with Journal Six as well as development notes for future releases. I hope you will find this blog informative and occasionally entertaining.