Traditional Knitting: From the Scottish and Irish Isles

I love this book. It is filled with beautiful aran and Fair Isle Projects for adults and children. The photographs and lay-out are luscious. I don't think there is a pattern in here that I would not want to knit if I had the time. When I look at this book I wish there were 48 hours in a day so I could knit. The patterns include pull-overs and cardigans. The only limitation with this book is that all the patterns are for intermediate to experienced knitters. I think beginning knitters would enjoy this book for inspiration and for its beauty. I especially appreciate the fact that there are no charts and all the patterns are written out. I am not a chart person. I find written directions much easier to follow. I give this book my highest recommendation for the beauty of the projects, the clarity of the patterns, and its usefulness as a resource.

Alice Starmore is not the only designer who can write inspired traditional patterns from the British Isles. And note that this book is not hundreds of dollars!

I've been knitting for about ten years and thought I had already seen all of the best books of traditional knitting patterns, and was delighted to discover this one several months ago. I don't know how this one escaped my notice for so long, but seeing that no one else has reviewed it here, I'm wondering if it is because this book never gained popularity amongst knitters. If so, that is a shame, because this book is loaded with stunningly beautiful traditional sweater patterns, some of the best I have seen. Edited by Debbie Bliss, this is a collection of work by designers such as Lesley Stanfield, Pat Quiroga, Sheila Hollingsworth, T. M. Adie and Sons, Jaimieson Knitwear, Freya Hunter, Fiona McTague, Gladys Amedro, Janet Mcleod, Ina Irvine, Laura Williamson, and Kate Upcraft. The outstanding photography (this book is beautiful enough to be a coffee table book) is done by Sandra Lousada. The actual setting does appear to be the Scottish and Irish Isles. The pictures all have a naturalistic or old fashioned kind of look---the settings are the shore, rocky cliffs, gardens, and indoor settings such as a furniture maker's workshop. Some of the models are the usual tall and slender picture-perfect people, but some of the adult sweaters are actually modelled by old people. For example, an elderly man with his donkey models an aran fishing shirt. An older woman knitting a fair isle on her porch models the lace and cable cardigan. To my eye, this adds greatly to the visual appeal of the book. Every garment in this book is a classic which will transcend the test of time. Some are easier than others, but most are for the intermediate or advanced knitter. Many of them feature stitch patterns that are fairly complex (at least by contemporary standards) and are knitted at a fine gauge of 6-8 stitiches per inch. But because they are classics, they will still be in style next year and in many years to come. These are heirloom quality sweaters that can be passed down from one generation to the next. Virtually all of them feature traditional stitich patterns, but these are sometimes used in new ways. There are 14 fair isle projects and most or all of them use standard jumper weight yarn.. For adults, there are two cardigans, three sweaters (long sleeved pullovers), three slipovers (sleeveless vests), one waistcoat (sleeveless cardigan), and one beret (matches one of the cardigans). For kids, there is one cardigan, one slipover, one sweater, and one beret (matches the cardigan). Many of these projects feature traditional natural tones, but there are some bright colors as well. My favorite patterns in this book are the ganseys, of which there are six. One is knit with DK yarn at a gauge of about 5 and a half stitches per inch, but the others are all knit at a finer gauge of at least 6 and a half stitches per inch. Gansey yarn is used for four of them, and could be used for a fifth. These are absolutely gorgeous garments. One features the be