ABOUT ALICE STARMORE

I was born in Stornoway, which is a fishing port on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. My maiden name is Matheson. My father was a fisherman like all the menfolk in my family, and there was always a strong knitting tradition amongst the women. Men fished and women knitted: this was part of a natural order that I didn't question as a child, and I learned my craft from my mother in much the same way as I learned to walk and talk.

The Hebridean islands occupy a peripheral position on the Atlantic seaboard, not only physically but culturally. Though I have a British name and British ancestry, my first language is Gaelic - one of the Celtic group of languages. I began to learn English when I started school at the age of five.

My introduction to the concept of creating patterns began around the age of four when my mother taught me to knit and to adapt the fine geometric patterns of the fishing ganseys that were traditionally made in our area. From that starting point I have continuously developed my own ideas for pattern and colour. The culture in which I was brought up and the nature of the landscape around me has greatly influenced my work.

I always knitted constantly, but did not think to turn it into a profession until 1975 when I produced my first commercial collection for which I found a market in fashionable London boutiques. In 1978 I was awarded a Winston Churchill Fellowship which enabled me to travel to Norway, Sweden and Finland to study the textile traditions of these countries. I started to write after this, and I attach a list of my books so far. I have established an international reputation as an expert on hand knitting design and technique. My Fair Isle book is regarded as the standard text on the subject, and my more recently published book on Aran knitting has quickly achieved a similar status. My books are in use throughout the world.

My book CELTIC NEEDLEPOINT was published in 1994. Professionally, this was my first departure from knitting design into the creation of patterns and colours for a variety of other uses. I found the move from knitted fabric to stitched fabric to be very natural and truly exciting. The book proved to be a great success, both in Europe and in the USA. The latest edition was printed for the USA in June 1999.

I continue to write and design. My influences have expanded as I have travelled further, and my books may now be inspired by landscapes and cultures - including architecture and history - which are far away from my roots. In turn I have passed on my skills to my daughter Jade, age 22. Her first book titled A COLLECTOR'S ITEM was published in 1999. We share a studio, and although we have different design styles and ideas, we often work together on joint projects. The VIRTUAL YARNS website is just one example of this collaboration.

AS

LIST OF BOOKS BY ALICE STARMORE

1. SCANDINAVIAN KNITWEAR, 1981 Bell & Hyman UK
2. KNITTING FROM THE BRITISH ISLANDS, 1982, Bell & Hyman, UK
3. CHILDREN'S KNITTING FROM MANY LANDS, 1983, Bell & Hyman, UK; St Martin's Press, USA
4. ALICE STARMORE'S BOOK OF FAIR ISLE KNITTING, 1988, Taunton Press, USA; Also published as THE FAIR ISLE KNITTING HANDBOOK by Blandford Books, UK
5. SWEATERS FOR MEN, 1988, Ballantine Books, USA, Pavillion Books, UK
6. THE CELTIC COLLECTION, 1992, Anaya, UK, Trafalgar Square, USA
7. CHARTS FOR COLOUR KNITTING, 1992, Windfall Press, UK
8. FISHERMEN'S SWEATERS, 1993, Anaya UK, Trafalgar Square, USA (Also translated into Swedish and published as FISKAR-TRIJOR, 1995, Raben-Prisma, Sweden.)
9. CELTIC NEEDLEPOINT, 1994, Anaya UK, Trafalgar Square, USA
10. IN THE HEBRIDES, 1995, Windfall Press for The Broad Bay Company, USA
11. STILLWATER, 1996, Windfall Press for The Broad Bay Company, USA
12. ARAN KNITTING, 1997, Interweave Press, USA
13. PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY, 1997, Windfall Press for Broad Bay Company, USA
14. TUDOR ROSES, 1998, Windfall Press for The Broad Bay Company, USA
15. THE CHILDREN'S COLLECTION, 2000 (with Jade Starmore) Interweave Press, USA

Pattern Booklets

1. The Scottish Collection, 1992
2. A Scottish Garland, 1993
3. American Portraits, 1994

Also several articles for THREADS magazine, Taunton Press, USA. Designs, articles and video on Fair Isle Knitting for VOGUE KNITTING magazine USA.