Totes-tacular!

It's been a totes Market Tote summer!

All the folks at Fancy have been stitching up Market Totes-a-plenty. We make them as gifts and for ourselves, to take to the pool and to the market....They are just so quick and easy to sew--a delightful way to use and show off your favorite cute fabric!

Aww, shucks...we blushed with pride when a dear customer told us our Market Tote pattern is the most well-written and easy to follow pattern that they have used. Well, we think it's about the simplest and most functional project around, so to inspire you to try making one yourself here are just a few of the fancy totes we've made:

Melissa is showing off her two totes, the green tote is made from the recent Tula Pink Night Shade collection. (Can you tell she is a Tula Pink fan? Her a-line skirt is made from Tula Pink's Parisville fabric!) Her purple tote is made from an adorable organic print from Birch fabrics and veggie print pocket.

Betsy made a Market Tote from stash, picking one of her favorite Japanese forest friends prints accented with a Melody Miller pocket and Essex handles. Instead of finishing her handles by turning them, she ripped the fabric for a cute frayed look and accented it with some decorative machine stitching.

Allison's adorable tote features a super-cute mustard clothing print from Japan. We love mustard clothing + adorable prints from Japan! Do you recognize Allison's skirt fabric? Yep, it's the forest friends print that Betsy used for her tote! That's totes crazy!

Angelique has made about a bajillion totes, but most of them have been gifts for friends. Lucky friends they are! These two totes are just for her, though. Her newest one on the left is an amazing Anna Maria Horner velveteen. Velveteen makes a fantastic tote! The tote on her shoulder is a totes crazy print from Alexander Henry.

Emily made a natural hemp ticking tote with extra long handles so she can wear it like a messenger bag. Perfect for bike riding! For her Echino car print tote she chose some hot pink cotton webbing for handles. Hot! Emily has also made about five million totes for lucky friends.

Erikia used this fantastic yellow Valori Wells butterfly print to make her very first bag ever! It looks amazing and she has already whipped up several more for friends.

New Needlefelting Kits Are Here From Fancy Tiger Crafts! Hooray!

We've been busy crafting up some fun new kits for you! Three new Fancy Tiger needlefelting kits are making their debut at Fancy Tiger Crafts and in our Etsy store.

Meet our new Moustache Kit--inside is everything you need to make four amazing needlefelted 'staches! A plethora of facial foliage--you'll be ready for any occasion!

Our little Red Fox kit is here by popular demand and he's ready to be your friend forever. This very adorable vulpes is sure to bring you or a loved one a surplus of smiles!

Our happy whale kit isn't for landlubbers! This wooly ocean friend is the most darling cetacean you'll see this side of the shoreline.

We hope you love the newest members of our needlefelting kit family! Happy crafting!

The Fibre Co. Yarns are Here and We Can't Stop Touching Them!

Two gorgeous new yarns are here from the Fibre Co!

We couldn't keep our hands off of them and we've already knit up two adorbz samples.

Angelique used Terra to knit up this ittybitty Yoked Cardigan by Hannah Fettig. Terra is a luscious Aran weight yarn in a blend of nubby silk, alpaca and merino. Two red tagua nut buttons finish it up adorably!

Sunne made the Bismark Hat by Kate Gagnon Osborn in Road to China Light, a softer-than-you-could-dream blend of natural fibers. Erikia has perfect pom-pom skills--she made that perfect pom-pom!

Terra

Silky nubs take the dyes differently than the the soft alpaca and wool, which gives this lux yarn a beautiful texture accentuated by the depth and contrast of color.

 Road to China Light

This sport weight yarn is the softest! This alpaca/silk/camel/cashmere blend comes in a stunning array of kettle dyed-beauty. We want to eat it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy knitting and crocheting!

Maenad KAL at Fancy Tiger Crafts!

Knit-along alert!
 
Jaime and I fell in love with Carol Feller's Maenad shawl when she recently came to the store for a trunk show. This lace edged shawl is extra long, perfect for wrapping a couple times around your pretty neck, or just draping over the shoulders.

We would love for you to join us in our Maenad KAL! We will be casting on next Tuesday, June 26th at Craft Night.

Come into the shop for your supplies and receive 15% off your yarns with the purchase of the Maenad pattern.

And here is a sneak peak at the yarns we chose for our shawls:

Jaime chose two colors of Madelinetosh Light--Cosmos and Lowlands--for her Maenad. The depth of color in this yarn makes us swoon.

I picked up two earthy hues of Sebastian by Anzula at their trunk show last night! I'll be knitting my Maenad in the colors Clay and Shiitake. Sebastian has a wonderful nubby, silky texture thanks to a blend of Seacell and Merino fibers. You can look forward to this pretty yarn being available in the store in August!

See you soon!
Amber & Jaime

Estes Park Wool Market: Cutie-pie roundup!

Last weekend we went up to Estes Park for the annual wool festival. We love this local event--especially  because we get to meet and cuddle so many kinds of adorable fiber animal!

For your browsing pleasure, here are some of our new best friends:

Shy mohair goat babies

Curious and friendly cashmere goat

Jaime almost came home with Blaire, the American Fuzzy Lop.

Desperate to cuddle baby Shetlands.

Peg and Doc Adams, her cuddliest Shetland lamb.

Primitive breeds show, featuring Jacob sheep and Shetland Sheep

Sheep faces galore!

Gang O' Sheep

Wendsleydale shearing--Before...and after

Naptime in the goat tent! Baby angora and cashmere goats are passed out!

Happy alpaca

Cooka Scissors are Here to Blow Your Mind!

The award for most adorable scissors in the world goes to Cooka Scissors!

Just arrived, these little candy colored cuties have a tiny 3/8" blade, but they are quite at home snipping away at yarn and thread. Each one has its own teensy case to protect the blades and it can be worn like a charm on a necklace or a cell phone.

They are so cute and colorful! Cooka Scissors for everyone!

Jaime's Petit Odile Dress

I am such a sucker for French General fabrics. We have tons of amazing bright and modern prints in the shop, but something happens to me when I see the muted colors and vintage themes that have come to define French General. It may have to do with my Francophile tendancies and my idealizations of a perfect French countryside life. Whatever it is, I can't resist them. When their newest collection for Moda, "Petit Odile" came in I knew I wanted to make a dress out of this sweet little strawberry print.

If you're a blog reader, you may know we just attended Quilt Market in Kansas City. It is so inspiring to see so many projects! Amy Butler had a dress sewn up in one of her upcoming fabrics using the Miz Mozelle pattern by Jamie Christina and I fell instantly in love with it. This was my first time using a Jamie Christina pattern and it was awesome. The pattern comes with a full color booklet that walks you through the steps which is perfect for new sewists.

I have a hard time with sizing for dresses - my bust size is way different from my hip size so I never fit nicely into one size. I made this dress in a size 8 which fell between my bust/hip difference. Because of the gathered elastic waist, it is very forgiving in the fit. I think next time I could size for my bust and there is enough ease in the pattern to accommodate my hips without any adjustments - good to know if you also have this problem!

I think the design of this pattern works great with the vintage feel of the fabric. I love the bias detailing which is also an easy way to finish the edges. I chose to make my own bias tape out of a Kona solid so I could have the perfect faded red trim. Gathering on the sleeves make them super easy to attach and add even more adorable-ness.

Do you recognize our photo-shoot location? It's the old Fancy Tiger Crafts at 1 S. Broadway which is now a wonderful coffeehouse! Thanks Happy for the great lattes and keeping 1 South awesome!

There are lots of other great prints in the collection to choose from - we can't wait to see what you sew!

NASA Fiber Technology + Lorna's Laces Sock Yarn = Solemate!

The future is here.

New from Lorna's Laces is Solemate, a superwash wool yarn that includes the NASA fiber Outlast. What is Outlast? We're not sure. It's a top secret "phase change material" and we don't really know how its made, but we do know what it does. Outlast is a temperature regulating fiber used in space clothing so when you are warm the garment will cool you down and when you're cool it will warm you up. Pretty sweet. Also it's super soft. Since Lorna's Laces dyed it you know the colors are amazing!

Ysolda Red  |  Folk Red |  Lincoln Park Zoo

Zombie Barbeque

Catalpa  |  Patina

Roadside Gerry

Campbell  |  Amy's Vintage Office

The Skyway

Cermak  |  Giddings

Hermosa

Purple Club  |  Brooklyn Tweed  |  Folk Black

Shadow

Perfect for summertime knitting - wool socks in the summer? No problem with Outlast!!