2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Visual feast!, Sep 29 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: The Celtic Collection: Twenty-Five Knitwear Designs for Men and Women (Paperback)
This is not only a darn good book of knitting patterns, but a great coffee-table book. The photography is splendid, and the sweaters knit up beautifully with a little attention to detail. I am a self-taught knitter of low to moderate skill, and I've managed to turn out three of these sweaters beautifully; and they look FABULOUS! The Rowan yarns can be both expensive and hard to get, but any good yarn shop can either order for you or help you find a good substitute.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Another Starmore Coup, Mar 7 2002
This review is from: The Celtic Collection: Twenty-Five Knitwear Designs for Men and Women (Paperback)
Although Starmore yarns are no longer available in this country, Jamieson can fill the bill for you. The call numbers are the same, but the color names are different. Starmore books are just too precious to give up, simply because the yarns are no longer available. This book is a work of art, but definitely not for the novice knitter, unless (s)he has unlimited patience and an urge to stretch the wings.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Not for the faint of heart!, Jan 15 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: The Celtic Collection: Twenty-Five Knitwear Designs for Men and Women (Paperback)
First things first: this is a KNITTING book, not a needlepoint book. Many of the reviewers below have confused "The Celtic Collection" with "Celtic Needlepoint," which is a different subject entirely.
"The Celtic Collection" is my least favorite Starmore book. Alice Starmore's collections are usually about evenly divided among Fair Isle and cabled patterns, but the balance here is heavily skewed toward colorwork. If you're a texture knitter like me, this is not the collection for you--get "Fishermen's Sweaters" or "Aran Knitting" instead.
Sadly, the few cabled patterns included in this collection are just not up to par. One otherwise lovely Celtic-knot tunic is ruined by an ugly band of ribbing around the waist. Others come in only one size. This is especially disappointing, since Starmore usually provides directions to knit her designs in a generous range of sizes. The one sweater in this collection that I really would enjoy making and wearing would never actually fit me!
Alice Starmore's designs are renowned for their beauty and complexity, but the Fair Isle sweaters in this book involve a staggering number of colors--more, I think, than in other Starmore collections. The effect is marvelous, of course, but I can't imagine keeping track of so many yarns at once!
The ancient Celts are surrounded by layers of myth and legend, drama and hyperbole, and Starmore really does express this in her bold, flamboyant colorwork designs.
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