App Review & Giveaway: Stash 2 Go

The developers for a paid Ravelry app for iPad and iPhone called Stash 2 Go contacted me earlier this year to see if I was interested in writing a review or their app on their blog. While I don't own an iPad or iPhone, I was able to gift a download to a knitting friend who had an iPad and was willing to let me play around with it for the purposes of this review!

This is the first time I've ever accessed Ravelry via an app (on my Android phone, I typically use the m.ravelry.com site), and I found most of it to be easy to use. Some of the features weren’t intuitive to me at first, but once I got the hang of the idiosyncracies, it was smooth sailing.

Stash 2 Go makes the most of API functions Ravelry has opened up to developers (there are still several areas which have yet to be completed in the Ravelry programming interface, so developers can only implement what is available through www.ravelry.com/api). Most of the app's functionality allows the user to view the site easily, i.e. if you are on the go and wondering what needles or yarn you have in your stash, the app is a very simple way to view this. Some areas can be updated (such as the project page), while others are still a work in progress (such as the needle inventory or ability to add new friends), pending access from the Ravelry developers.

There are some interesting bells and whistles that come with this app which make it worth the price of admission. The photo uploader allows you to take photos with your device's built-in camera (or use a photo from your gallery) and upload it directly to your project page; you can also change the order of your project photos or delete them. Each project page has 2 optional row counters which function independently of one another.

Another interesting feature is the pooling calculator, which allows you to input the measurements and gauge information for multicolored yarns so that you can plan your pooled projects to create interesting designs as you knit (the developer also informed me that there are more handy calculators in the the works for future updates!). There is also a yarn shop search which was easy to use and could certainly come in handy when traveling. The background color theme can also be customized (it just requires a restart of the app), and for our international friends, the app is available in German, Finnish, Swedish and Norwegian, with French being added to the list soon!

Furthermore, they have a very hands-on approach to user support via the Stash 2 Go Ravelry group; the developer encourages customer feedback to not only troubleshoot, but to build a better app with each update (and they do update the app frequently!). Apparently Casey will be adding more features to the API in the next week, and there are several requests from users which will hopefully be included (click here to view the thread).

Stash 2 Go is available on iTunes for $3.99; it is compatible with iPhone, iPad & iPod devices. With any luck, an Android version may become available in 2014!