Aran Knitting, Expanded Edition

Starmore, Alice

ISBN 10: 0486478424 / ISBN 13: 9780486478425

Published by Dover Publications, 2010

Light wear to edges. Overall good condition. Ships next business day from NC. Seller Inventory # S85-TS25-10.95-120825-G-104.6K-031

Synopsis:

The definitive guide to the ever-popular Irish Aran sweater, Starmore's highly sought after book returns in a revised and expanded version. It encompasses a history of Aran knitting; a complete workshop in technique, pattern, and design; 60 charted patterns including the original edition's 14 designs, plus a new garment. Color photographs depict finished caps, sweaters, and shawls.

About the Author:

An acclaimed textile designer, author, artist, and photographer, Alice Starmore is a native of Scotland's Isle of Lewis. Starmore has taught and lectured extensively throughout Britain, Europe, and the United States. She has written 16 books and countless magazine articles, and her classic Book of Fair Isle Knitting is the work that introduced Americans to the popular traditional technique.
4 Questions with Alice Starmore: An Exclusive Dover Interview
Alice Starmore has a fascinating tale to tell. We spoke to the author of the #1 crafts bestseller Alice Starmore's Book of Fair Isle Knitting about her knitting background, professional start, and more.
Clearly, knitting is a deeply ingrained facet of the culture of Scotland's Outer Hebrides. Did your mother teach you to knit?
My mother taught me to knit when I was very young. She was a dressmaker as well as a knitter and our house was a place of constant creativity. I was also born at a time when most women knitted as a matter of course, and I had three aunts who had been fisher girls in their youth and were experts at making traditional fishermen's gansies.

I understand that your first language is Gaelic — do you still speak it?
Yes I still speak Gaelic. The Isle of Lewis, where I live, is in the Outer Hebrides — the heartland of Gaelic and the only place where you will hear the language in everyday use.

How did you get your start professionally?
I designed a small collection of knitwear in 1975 and successfully sold it in London boutiques. It was featured in a national newspaper and from that small beginning my knitting career evolved in ways that were quite unimaginable to me when I began.

Your books are known and loved around the world, and you've adapted design elements from the textile arts of many countries into your repertoire. Are you still discovering "new" aspects of knitting and fabric arts from other cultures?
I am interested in everything. I find inspiration in all aspects of the world around me. There is enough inspiration in the natural world on my doorstep to last many lifetimes. I am also inspired by art, culture, history, science and music. My own culture features widely in my design work but I have always been interested in other cultures and in other places. My main problem is that I cannot possibly live long enough to produce work from the amount of ideas that come into my head.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Aran Knitting, Expanded Edition
Publisher: Dover Publications
Publication Date: 2010
Binding: Soft cover
Condition: Good