Hello Everyone,
I received a request for an intarsia video from one of the regulars on our site 30 minutes ago, so here it is…. You can click here to go to our video section for Intarsia Knitting #1.
If you’d like something more specific in the Intarsia category, please feel free to contact either Damon or myself with your request, and we’ll film and post the video within a week.
Alice Starmore (née Alice Matheson) is a professional needleworker, photographer and author of books on needlework, born in Stornoway, Western Isles, Scotland.
Growing up in a traditional Scottish fishing community with Gaelic as her native language, knitting was one of the skills she learned at an early age, already creating her own designs by the age of five. She decided to make it into a profession in 1975, when she produced a collection which was sold in London boutiques. In 1978, she was awarded a Winston Churchill Fellowship and travelled to Norway, Sweden and Finland to study their textile traditions. Her books are widely considered to be one of the authorities on Celtic and Fair Isle design and technique. As well as her books, she has written articles for Threads and Vogue Knitting magazines and now markets her own lines of threads and yarn.
In 1991 she founded Windfall Press, which started as a specialist publisher and producer of knitting titles but which is now known for its expertise in the design and production of books in Scottish Gaelic.
Her professional career has widened from knitting design into the sphere of fine art. Her first major solo exhibition, Mamba, was shown at An Lanntair, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis during Summer 2008.
Her photographic work is now focused on the natural world, particularly birds and insects, and she contributes to publications of the British Dragonfly Society. She is regarded as an authority on Scottish moorland habitats, and is employed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) as their Education Officer for the Isles of Lewis and Harris.
Her daughter, Jade Starmore, is a professional needleworker and artist, and has published her own books.
Kaffe Fassett (born 1937 in San Francisco, California) is an American artist who is best known for his colourful designs in the decorative arts — knitting, needlepoint, patchwork, painting and ceramics. “.. colour is his very medium, whatever the substance he uses.” He has resided in England since 1964.
Fassett received a scholarship to the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston at the age of 19, but shortly left school to paint in London and moved there in 1964.
Fassett’s work has attracted a considerable following. His work was the subject of a 1988 one-man show at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the first time a living textile artist had such a show there. The show proved so popular that it was successfully converted into an international traveling show that visited nine countries.
A prolific author of over a dozen books, Fassett concentrates on teaching the color and design stages of craftwork rather than the construction stage. In addition to his books, he has hosted craft-related television and radio programs for the BBC, including his own show, Glorious Color.
With the amazing popularity or Rare Rowan Yarns we’ve decided to add functionality for our dedicated fans. Starting this April, you’ll be able to interact with both Damon aka Rowanknitter, and me (Patrick) through this blog. Feel free to sign up as a subscriber to get the newest and hottest info. Keep checking back with us to see the newest videos, blogs, tips and tricks.
It is our pleasure at Rare Rowan Yarns to announce the coming availability of rare and discontinued full kits from designers such as Kaffe Fassett, Zoe Hunt, Jill Gordon, Candace Bahouth, Sasha Kagan, Annabel Fox, Jean Moss, Edina Ronay, Ehrman, Jessi and Jamie Seaton, Alice Starmore and more. We have the largest collection of discontinued Rowan knitting yarns anywhere specializing in original colorways of knitting and needlepoint kits.