Charts for Colour Knitting a Designers Source Book From the Personal Collection of Alice Starmore

I have been a chart person for many years but just started knitting again. I saw this book at the library and decided I had to have it. Found it on Amazons secondary market and am so happy with it. I can use it for cross stitch and needlepoint designs in addition to knitting. So glad I found it and bought it.

What can I say? I am a total Starmore junkie and I paid big bucks for this book. This particular book is the be-all-end-all Starmore for experienced knitters. Note there are NOT a lot of pictures, so if you like to browse designs, this is not for that. There are basic patterns for each chart type--strips, panels, etc. This is a design-your-own type book. The colorways are not laid out, so again, the knitter is left to make them up. All this is said by way of warning--if you want to be spoonfed designs, skip this book. On the other hand, if you have a Shetland Spindrift or Jamieson & Smith wool color cards, here is the best source of charts I have yet seen. The only thing else I can say is I wish this book would be reprinted so future knitters can have easier (and more affordable access to it.

Beautiful charts for inspiration. The work above my present skill level, but I want to have Starmores books within my reach for designing and future goal-making,

Wow, I got a shock just now seeing how much all these Alice Starmore books sell for, sort of my own bookshelf Antiques Roadshow. Ive been a Starmore fan for many years and bought this in hardcover from a favorite local yarn store probably right after it was published. The good: heavy paper, impeccable printing, and clear B/W designs arranged by geographic design source or inspiration (e.g., seashore). The charts published in Alice Starmores Book of Fair Isle Knitting are not repeated here. The bad (if this matters to you): no sweater patterns. Rather, there is a pithy chapter on how to center or adapt patterns to your own shaping, and off you go. I am so glad I bought this while it was still affordable. In a pinch, fair isle junkies, borrow a good library book on oriental rug designs or whatever strikes your fancy, get a couple of pads of 10 squares to the inch graph paper and a mechanical pencil + decent eraser, and off you go. Theres nothing really magical here, just a fearless woman showing you that it can be done. You can do it, too.

If you are a fair isle knitter, you will love Alice Starmores book of charts. Although it is printed in black and white, and charts only, no patterns. You can create your own sweaters, hats,gloves etc by counting out the pattern stitches. Not for the novice knitter, however, more, for the brave who venture out on their own to design one of a kind pieces and love imagining future projects. I suggest knitting up samples of yarns ...till you find the perfect one. A must have for your knitting library. This book is a early UK hardback edition. The US reprint paper back version does have some color pictures added for inspiration. Hard to find, the hardback is more collectable.