Ethnic Knitting Exploration: Lithuania, Iceland, and Ireland [Paperback]

Donna Drunchunas (Author)

Book Description

Series: Ethnic Knitting Exploration | Publication Date: March 16, 2009

Donna Druchunas extends readers' knowledge of traditional knitting designs and techniques, presented in step-by-step fashion. Working as she did in Ethnic Knitting Discovery, she covers three new regions and more complicated structures, including raglan, yoke, and saddle-shoulder sweaters. Each section includes a small introductory project that familiarizes knitters with the skills, followed by pullover sweaters that apply them. A supplementary chapter shows how to adapt pullover designs to make cardigans.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“For a beginner this is a very good introduction to designing your own pattern, and should give even the most cautious knitter the confidence to design their first sweater.” --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Nomad Press (March 16, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966828992
• ISBN-13: 978-0966828993
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #965,106 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I grew up learning many different crafts from my mother and grandmothers including knitting, crochet, rug-hooking, embroidery, and sewing.

After a 25 year vacation from crafts, I started knitting again and learned to spin and dye wool with natural dyes.

Before I returned to knitting, I spent almost 20 years working in corporate cubicles as a writer, designer, and creative services manager. My cubes were in military training facilities, small businesses, and large corporations. During that time, I wrote and designed marketing materials, training courses and technical manuals for many types of hardware and software products.

I also streamlined documentation production processes for several companies. I was recruited by Fujitsu-ICL Systems and Hewlett-Packard's Colorado storage division to establish in-house creative services departments and to implement procedures based on systems I originated earlier for the US Navy Fighter Weapons School at NAS Miramar and Pyxis Corporation in San Diego.

After all that time, I rebelled and left my cubicle behind to combine my interest in knitting with my skill at writing easy-to-follow instructions. My designs and articles have been featured in Family Circle Easy Knitting, Knitters, Piecework, Interweave Knits, Fibre Focus, and INKnitters magazines, and I design patterns for several yarn companies.

I was born in New York City, but today
I live at the foothills of the Colorado Rocky Mountains with my husband and two cats, who are very helpful when it comes to testing new knitting designs!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This + Stitch Dictionary = Your Own Ethnic Design, April 9, 2009

By 

Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ethnic Knitting Exploration: Lithuania, Iceland, and Ireland (Paperback)

This book is more about creating knitted articles in the structure of Aran, Icelandic or Lithuanian garments, which have a particular construction. Using this book and a stitch dictionary, you can create ethnic garments using sweater plans in the book.

For the designer and do-it-yourself knitter who doesn't want to rely on packaged patterns, this is a real boon. If you are not an advanced knitter, there are mini-projects to understand the construction idea, such as a capelet that goes over the shoulders in two color knitting. This capelet is nice by itself, but it teaches you the idea of round yokes as in Icelandic knitting. The Aran knit project shows you how to construct the drop shoulder sleeve or to do a raglan.

There are a number of motifs charted but mainly this book is about construction and it is a blueprint for making your own designs. Therefore, a good stitch dictionary will be a great adjunct to "Ethnic Knitting Exploration" and there are many to choose from, such as Barbara Walker Treasury and 440 More Stitches. There are many more including ones specific to Aran and Nordic patterns as well as Baltic (Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian.)

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars For whom was this book written?, May 25, 2010

By 

vigb (West Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ethnic Knitting Exploration: Lithuania, Iceland, and Ireland (Paperback)

Do you want to know about knitting traditions in Iceland,Lithuania & Ireland? You won't learn from this book. The information here is truly,truly sparse, neither significant, nor comprehensive. The projects have very little to do with either traditional or contemporary knitting in these countries. Of course, even grouping all three together is strange because they don't share the same knitting, or general fiber craft traditions.

If you want to know about knitting in Iceland & Ireland, a number of excellent books have far, far better & comprehensive information. Lithuanian written sources are sparse; even sparser in English. But this book doesn't fill the gap. It falls so far off the mark, that it is an exaggeration to say that it doesn't come close.

This leaves the projects themselves, as simply projects, rather than as ethnic projects. As such they might be ok. In all honesty, I didn't look too closely at the project directions. They offer just about nothing to the experienced, or even intermediate, knitter. Skimming through them, I didn't see any special techniques described, or any interesting directions. The material offered here has been covered many times in other publications. Perhaps it offers something to the beginning knitter.

So long as the beginning knitter understands that she/he is learning about basic knitting, rather than about ethnic knitting of any kind.

If I were recommending books for the beginner,though, I would not recommend this one. There are far more interesting, better books, that would move the beginner along faster & in more interesting directions.

When I first learned of this book, I thought I would order it right away, because of the Lithuanian knitting. I am glad I looked at it first. The gap between its title & its content is an extreme disappointment.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great fun, great patterns, and more!, March 3, 2009

By 

Kris Paige (Livermore, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ethnic Knitting Exploration: Lithuania, Iceland, and Ireland (Paperback)

The second in the Ethnic Knits series <Donna, I HOPE it's a series> has even better patterns than the first book. I've already made the wonderful poncho--in baby size, and it's my baby granddaughter's favorite cold weather item! The information in the patterns and the initial chapters enrich the knitter's skillset, and the individual patterns within each country's section explain any exclusive techniques well enough that even an advanced beginner is able to create and enjoy.

The sweaters are great fun to design and knit--make one for a teddy bear or a special baby, then remember to make one <or more!> for yourself, as they're entirely too luscious not to knit. Enjoy!