Friday, February 24, 2012

New Knitting Pattern - Frostlight Scarf


Our winter has been unusually warm and free of snow, not that I'm complaining! Even without snow though, there is a delightful chill in the air that makes me want to relax with a cup of hot tea and knit by a warm fire. I love how winter's cold makes me want to snuggle up in cozy knits, including scarves.

Recently one morning I took photos of a spectacular sunrise, the rays of the breaking dawn sparkling through exquisite frost crystals along a wooden railing. 


Crystallization on the railing created strong lines


and ribs along the natural grooves in the wood.


Nature's stunning display inspired my latest design, the Frostlight scarf.


Definition in the lines of frost, highlighted along the railing, influenced my selection of a strongly-vertical, rib and eyelet stitch to reflect the motif of grooves and ridges. I also wanted the stitch to be super-simple and easy to knit on the go, but not terribly boring.


Malabrigo Merino Worsted was chosen for the main pattern yarn although I knit several of these scarves in other yarns that I liked as well.

The Frostlight scarf shown below was knit in a luscious orange-red yarn from Fiber Optic. I'll have better pics and more details on this and other versions in an upcoming post.


Knit in an appropriate color, this design might make a nice project for a man or woman. Stylish, optional fringes at each end provide graceful movement and are an easy way to add variety to the simple design.


As usual, this pattern has been test knit extensively by some wonderful knitters including Laurie, Tam and Gail - thank you!!

My tech editor for this design was none other than Greentrianglegirl on Ravelry, aka A Playful Day podcaster. This talented podcaster and blogger writes feature pieces for both online and print publications and has considerable experience in copy editing and social media development, as well as being a terrific knitter, foodie and multi-crafter. She made valuable contributions to the pattern, including proofreading for style and errors and suggesting wording and placement of text, helping make the instructions easy to follow and hopefully, one of my best patterns yet.



Another exciting new venture for me is the release of tutorial videos featuring techniques that I hope will be helpful in knitting this and other patterns.

The first video demonstrates a method for working a reverse yarn over, a trick which helps equalize the size of your yarn overs when they follow a purl and precede a knit stitch, or as in the case of Frostlight, a slip, slip, knit. 


The second video offers instructions for making and adding fringe to your knitted projects.


I'm a very quiet person, so the decision to 'appear' (even though only my hands show, lol) on video and speak on camera was a big one and kind of nerve-wracking for me! However, I am a teacher at heart and I wanted to utilize video potential as a teaching tool.

We have only a still camera with short video capability, and the camera was sitting as close to my shoulder as possible, so I'd still like to find a way to angle the camera directly overhead.

My wonderful husband was a patient director and camera operator, helping me edit take after take for brevity and clarity, and I believe I only 'umm'ed once, so perhaps it's not too bad of a start. 

Frostlight is available for download here on the blog or through Ravelry.com, and is currently being offered for free.

If you choose to knit a Frostlight scarf, I'd love to see your photos! I hope you enjoy the pattern, and thanks for visiting my online studio today, I appreciate every reader. Peace, blessings and happy knitting to you!
 

11 comments:

  1. Gorgeous scarf & great video. Very well done. I'm just filming my first videos for my first online class & it's not easy to do. Need to re-film 2 of the videos today.

    Gorgeous frosty pics too. Beautiful!

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  2. Thanks for the tip re YOs! Never thought of that. Nice and easy and most practical.

    I also love the photos that show so clearly inspiration for your scarf. Lovely!

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  3. I appreciate your inspiration and am definitely going to cast on this lovely scarf. Thanks for the tutorial -- you're a natural!

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  4. Beautiful scarf, Robin! Simple yet sophisticated.

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  5. Great job Robin! I loved learning the reverse yarn over and will use it!! And the fringe video was great too!

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  6. Oh and the yarn is lovely for this!
    Kim

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  7. Thank you, Robin, for video tutorial! Very often the most simple things makes a difference at the end.
    I did love the Red version of your new scarf!

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  8. This is gorgeous design and it is so nice to read your about your inspiration for the project. I love, how you put so much thought in your patterns and remember all the little details that people might find useful while knitting the pattern :)))

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  9. The scarf mimics the nature so well. This is one gorgeous scarf. Already on my queue.

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  10. Robin, What I see is gorgeous!
    I will have to read later, gotta run to take care of lots of work.
    I'll be looking forward to viewing your tutorial tonight.

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  11. Robin, this pattern is just beautiful. I am really excited to knit scarves lately, though I have a couple of projects that must come first. But I think my interest in scarves is directly influenced by your lovely designs of late. So thank you!

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