This themed collection of five carefully curated original knitting designs takes its inspiration from the legendary Amazon women warriors whose shared ideals of courage, wonder, power, grace, and wisdom continue to resonate today. (Specifics detailing the inspiration for each individual pattern are provided in the separate Ravelry pattern listings.)

The collection is available for purchase in the entirety for $24.99, a significant (about 28%) savings over making five individual $6.99 pattern purchases (totaling $34.95, or $9.96 more than buying the entire collection).

Themiscyra (also called Paradise Island) was home to the Amazons. Its exact location varied with the ancient Greek or Roman historian recounting the tale, but it was generally placed either on the Black Sea or in the Aegean, and it was usually described as moon-shaped.

Its name (Themiscyra) was said to come from the city where the Amazons had lived before moving to the island; that city would have been in what is now Turkey. The first Amazon ruler (or queen) of the island was Hippolyta, who won the land by battle, most likely during the Trojan and/or Attic Wars.

Modern archaeology is now beginning to provide some potential basis for the historical existence of Amazons, studied under the better-defined term “Scythians.” From about the 9th through the 1st century BC, the Scythians lived in the central Eurasian steppes (Sarmatia, Parthia, etc.) to the east of the Roman empire, roaming on horseback north of the Black Sea and the Caucasus Mountains, warring with bow and arrow, and burying their dead in opulent kurgan-style tombs.

Scientists are now able to use DNA tests to determine accurately the gender of Scythian warriors’ remains, all previously assumed to be male when found in kurgans over the past decades, and so far about 40% are in fact female. This seems quite valid, especially considered in the context of an almost three-decades-long absence of most male Scythians on extended foreign (mainly far Asian) campaigns, as documented by Herodotus.

From the designer: I hope that you derive as much enjoyment from knitting the great pieces in this collection as I have over the past year from researching, creating, testing, and refining them. I’m​ looking forward to seeing your posted project photos!

Note Regarding Files Included in Pattern Download: In addition to the 72-page PDF file containing the complete collection -- front matter (preface/introduction), five patterns, enlarged chart for one pattern, and back matter (concerning yarn used) -- the knitter is also provided with each of those eight (8) components as a separately downloadable PDF file. Further, if desired by the purchaser, higher-resolution single-page images are available from the designer upon request for any (or all) pages of the 72 in the PDF(s).

eBook published in June 2017 by gkgreen designs

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