For all my knitting, I use Knit Companion. There’s a version for the iPad and an Android version. They’re a bit different with different features. I have Knit Companion on my iPad, Android tablets and the Kindle Fire. My favorite version is the iPad version and I use it on a mini iPad. I have it with me at all times. When I grab my knitting bag, for a road trip, or to go to my weekly knitting meeting, or for a dentist or doctor appointment, the mini iPad always goes into the knitting bag.
I think I got the mini iPad after we moved here so I’ve probably had it 5 or 6 years. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t use it and on the days I’m knitting a lot, I’m using it 10 or 12 or 15 hours a day. I really love it. I’m pretty much NOT a fan of Apple products but I do love my mini iPad. My phone and my favorite non-Knitting Companion tablet is the Samsung.
In the past few months my little iPad has not been holding a charge and I have to plug it in more than once a day. It isn’t a problem . . I keep the charger right by my chair and if we’re on the road, I have a car charger.
In the pas month, it’s gotten to where . . when I try to get on a web page, it goes to the web page but as soon as it’s done loading, the page goes blank. I’ve updated. I’ve turned it off and turned it back on. I’ve done everything I know to do. Vince wanted to do a “reset” . . erase all my stuff . . NO!!
I’ve moaned and complained and last week, he said “Just get a new one! That one is not going to last much longer.” I don’t want a new one. I want this one to work forever! I couldn’t get it to do anything when I was at knitting this week so I asked him to go ahead and order a new one. I hated to buy another one as long as there was any glimmer of hope that the old one was still working.
Me: Will you go ahead and see if you can find a good deal on a mini iPad? This one isn’t going to make it much longer.
Vince: OK. Are you sure you want a mini and not a full size?
Me: No. I have a full size one that’s a couple of years old and I never use it. The mini one is perfect for Knitting Companion.
A few minutes later . .
Vince: I found one and ordered it. It will be here Friday. The mini was $100 more than the full size so I got the full size.
Huh? I just said “OK. Thanks!”
Elaine says
Could you try replacing the battery?
Rebecca in SoCal says
I suppose his reasoning is “why pay more for less?” Nice of him to do the shopping, though.
Dar in Mo says
Sometimes men just don’t listen COMPLETELY to what we say. That sounds exactly like what my DH would say. He too likes to get the most for his money and that also means multiples of sale items when we only need one. lol
Ruth says
Amazon does fast returns, too. You could return $100 worth of yarn, and tell Vince that you will be exchanging the large ipad for the mini ipad after it arrives.
montanaclarks says
Huh??? The Cowboy despises Apple products, he tries to use an iPad which belonged to his dad, grumbling and moaning the whole time. I LOVE my iPad mini–it use it as a reader and watch movies on it. I ordered the grumpy old Cowboy a Samsung tablet for his upcoming birthday, sure hope he likes it better or I am going to restrict him to his laptop!
Karen Sutton says
Judy, do you have all your patterns in Knit Companion? I was sorting out my craft room this week and I’m swimming in printed patterns – they’re all in my Ravelry or Patternfish library but for some reason I’ve been printing them too. I guess I’m afraid they’ll disappear from the libraries. Storage is becoming a problem. I have an iPad (full-size) but it’s too cumbersome to throw in a knitting bag and I haven’t wanted to spend the money on a mini just for knitting although I’ve probably spent that much on printer paper! I have a Kindle fire that I got for Bob that he never uses. Would that work for Knit Companion? I have Knit Companion on the iPad and I do use it at home.
Kathy Henderson says
Hi Judy – did you install the update for ios11? It was a major update and some apps won’t work if you haven’t updated. It’s worth a shot to see if you can get your old one working again… It won’t fix the battery issue, but maybe buy you some more time on your favorite device!
Judy Laquidara says
I do not know! I believe the mini is set to auto update but I will check to be sure. I don’t think it was the apps I was having trouble with but simply getting to a Safari page before the screen goes black. I’ll check my updates. Thanks!
April R says
You can take a backup of iPad and save to the icloud, reset it, then restore the backup. Sounds scary but it will be fine. Just have Vince make sure all your apps are included in the backup. I just did this on my old phone that my son uses and it worked beautifully after that. This is the same process that is used with moving from an old phone to a new one. You just restore the backup on the old phone to the new phone. It contains the list of apps you have installed (and the restore will reinstall them) and then restore the data associated with each app. It maintains all the settings and layout you have on your phone.
April R says
And if all works and your mini ipad is back working in tip top shape, you can mail me that big ipad you don’t want. lol. I’m rather tired of my kids fighting over the one I have. Two would be dream and the left out one will no longer swipe my phone. rofl.