Nordic Travel Companions' Knit-Along with Sleep Season Goods

--amber

Our friend Megan makes stunning yarn.

Megan is the dyer and color magician behind Sleep Season Goods, one of our favorite local yarn dyeing companies. As we planned our trip to Estonia, some of our crafty Denver friends joined in on our international adventure. Megan, Alsn, and Jess traveled the whole trip with us, sharing the journey through the mossy lava fields of Iceland, the modern coffeehouses of Helsinki and the medieval streets of Estonia. Megan surprised our group with a special, five-of-a-kind, single edition colorway to knit with on our Nordic journey.

We all chose a few different patterns to knit with our single skein. Megan knit the slouchy Sockhead Hat, a simple hat with a ribbed brim that folds up and finishes with a stockinette stitch slouch. Perfect for a travel project!

Alsn took on the challenge of a Booknits lace shawl, the Mustardseed. She's pretty amazing and whipped this delicate shawl up by the time our trip was done. Impressive!

I have been wanting to make a Norby hat for some time and thought this was the perfect yarn choice for it. It was a fun stitch pattern, and simple enough to easily pick up for a bit in between learning all the other crafts at camp.

Jaime and Jess both liked Megan's choice, and they both knit-along with her, making the Sockhead Hat. Jess shortened her ribbing section so her brim is only one layer, and both versions turned out super cute!

We all love the deep teal grey color of our special yarn, and what a magical hand knit souvenir of our trip together!

Thanks Megan! We ♥ your yarn and your stinkin' cute face!

Estonia Adventures Part 1: Iceland

Earlier this month, Amber and I went on an epic adventure to Estonian Craft Camp. We will get to Craft Camp next week - which was life-altering - but first, a quick stop in Iceland en route to Finland en route to Estonia (thank you, Icelandair!).

Iceland is one of my favorite places. This was my third visit and even though it was for a mere 48 hours, we were able to experience new magical places and revisit some of our favorite stops. Iceland is a must-visit for any travel-loving, yarn aficionado. Their love of wool and knitting knows no bounds. Free range sheep dot every landscape and Lopi yarn can be purchased in even the smallest town's grocery market.

You know of our love of Lopi yarn - the Icelandic yarn made from Icelandic sheep's wool since we have made no fewer than 5 Lopi sweaters between Amber and I. The hardy Icelandic sheep that produce all this yarn are the only sheep to see in Iceland and they are everywhere. Farmers let them graze free during the spring - fall and then they gather and sort them every September to keep them safe during the harsh winter months.

Sheep with her babies on a picturesque fjord

We hopped off our plane at 6am, rented a car and immediately headed up to the West Fjords - a 3 hour journey to a northern land of fjords. We stopped along the way to take in the elven magic of the moss covered lava fields at Glanni.

Magical Moss covered Lava fields of Glanni

Once we reached the West Fjords, we were greeted with the epic and otherworldly landscape of this remote part of Iceland. We spent a bit of time in Holmavik at the Museum of Witchcraft and Sorcery and then stayed the night in a picturesque B n' B in Bjarnarfjörður that had its own hot pots.

Sheep and carin

Amber frolics in the West Fjords

On our way back to Reykjavik the next day we stopped at one of our favorite places - the wool shop Ullarselið in Hvanneyri. This shop stocks the beautiful naturally-dyed Hespa yarns by Gudrun Bjarnadottir. We all purchased mass quantities of yarn at this, our first yarn-buying opportunity of the trip! The natural colors that Gudrun achieves using Icelandic mosses and lichens are irresistible. She combines these native dye plants with indigo and madder for more depth of color. The yarns are all Icelandic wool and all of us purchased the lace weight - perfect for shawls.

Jaime has some tough decisions to make...

We ended our Iceland adventure with a late night dip in the Blue Lagoon in the midnight sun...so magical!

10pm in Iceland in July...so bright!

Next up: Helsinki, Finland: Marimekko and Finnsheep wool

Jaime's Icelandic Strokkur Sweater

In 2010 when Amber and I first went to magical Iceland and met Ysolda Teague for the first time, she had just finished and was wearing an Icelandic sweater of her own design. I fell in love with her sweater on that trip, so I was thrilled when the pattern was released this summer.

Ysolda's newest sweater pattern, Strokkur, is named after an active geyser in Iceland. Strukkor sits next to Great Geysir, the earliest documented geyser after which all geyser's are named. Ysolda's Strokkur is an Icelandic lopapeysa which features a 3 color yoke design and is knit from the bottom up. In Ysolda fashion, the sweater is fitted for a more modern look.

Of course, I knit my sweater out of the Léttlopi yarn - the worsted weight Icelandic yarn that I love so much. This yarn holds up amazingly to wear due to the durability of the Icelandic wool. The Icelandic wool also means it is virtually weatherproof - keeping me warm and dry in the worst of weather conditions. This sweater will come with me on camping trips, mountain hikes and anywhere I want a lightweight yet warm outer layer.

The main color for my new lopi is Hazel Heather, with Rust Heather and Ash Heather as my colorwork accents. I knit this sweater in a surprisingly fast 3 weeks (in the midst of Spinzilla as well!). The goal was to finish this sweater to wear at Rhinebeck and I did it! I finished the sweater on the plane to New York and blocked it in our house in the Hudson Valley. Upstate New York was a beautiful backdrop to photograph my new sweater.

If you've been wanting to knit a Lopapeysa I would highly recommend this pattern. Strokkur is smart, well-written and beautiful! Thanks, Ysolda for sharing this design with us!

I entered this sweater in the Fringe Association Rhinebeck sweater contest and won! There was some sabotage attempts, though from fellow competitor Kate Gagnon-Osborn of Kelbourne Woolens...nice try, Kate!

Sabotage!

Better Know a Crafter: Rúna Bergsdóttir

We had the pleasure of having Ragga Eiriksdottir and her daughter Rúna visit us this past week from Iceland. Ragga is the woman behind Knitting Iceland, hosting knitting tours of Iceland and Icelandic knitting heritage. They are both great knitters, but while here they took advantage of our sewing studio and made all sorts of amazing sewn garments. Rúna has awesome style in her color choices - very Icelandic!

Guðrún Lóa Bergsdóttir (Rúna) & Ragga Eiríksdóttir

Rúna and Ragga with favorite plush dog, Flosi

  

"Rúna og Flosi" collar made by Rúna

What types of crafts do you do?

I'm almost 10 years old and I live in Reykjavik, Iceland. I have a pet budgie named Spotti, he is yellow and green and knows how to talk. I think it's fun to make things and be creative. I like to sew dresses and knit and sometimes in school I make things from wool.

Rúna made these pajama pants

Tell us about your outfits. 
I designed two dresses made from jersey and polka dot fabric. One of them is pink and green and the other is purple and orange. I'm thinking about making a third one in pink and yellow. My mom helped my cut the fabric and sew. We used a sewing machine, serger, scissors, pins and and iron (I love ironing). and a t-shirt of mine for making the pattern. 

Rúna is working on a knit scarf

How did you learn to sew?

I learned to sew on a sewing machine in 3rd grade in my school. We made a little teddy bear. In 4th grade we learned how to knit and I made a little purse for my mom.

Rúna's kitty head skirt with flower Wiksten Tank

What is your favorite animal?

I have 3 favorite animals: cats, dogs, and giraffes
In Icelandic: köttur, hundur, giraffi

We asked Rúna to translate a few more crafty words for us into Icelandic:
Sewing - sauma
Knitting - prjóna
Fashion - tiska
Fabric - efni
Yarn - garn
Sewing Machine - saumavél
Scissors -  skæri
Pins - tituprjónar
Dress - kjóll
Skirt - pils
Clothes - föt
Necklace - hálsmen
Flower - blóm

Some of Rúna's favorite things

Thanks Rúna and Ragga! Happy crafting!

We ♥ Lopi! Iðunn Knit-Along is a Wooltastic Success!

Lopis are taking over the streets of Denver! Next time you go out you might be confused about whether you are in Reykjavik or the Rocky Mountains, thanks to the smashing success of our Lopi-alongers. 

Just a few of the new Lopis in town

We knit the Iðunn Cardigan by Ragga Eiríksdóttir, a two color yoked, steeked cardigan and a free pattern download from from Knitty. It was the perfect intro to colorwork, and a great intro to steeking as well!

We've found that Lopi wool is as perfect for Denver weather as it is for Iceland. The lofty yarn insulates as well as breathes, keeping you warm without stifling. The dual coated wool sheds water--snowmelt just beads up on the surface. Lopi, you are pretty cool. We thought some of our KAL'ers would eschew Lopi in favor of a softer yarn, but everyone was super hardcore and made true Icedlandic sweaters!

Now, meet some of the knitters who fell head over heels for this wooly Icelandic sweater!

Allison

Colors: Black Sheep Heather + Ash Heather
My favorite thing about the KAL was...picking colors and seeing what everyone else picked.
My favorite thing about my new sweater is...how warm it is and the fun ribbon on the inside.

Alsn

Colors: Stone Blue Heather + Ash Heather
My favorite thing about the KAL was...the help from the community of awesome knitters
My favorite thing about my new sweater is...it's finished!

Amber

Colors: Golden Heather + Bottle Green Heather
My favorite thing about the KAL was...seeing everyone's progress together. Also, it was fun to see how the color combinations each person chose knit up.
My favorite thing about my new sweater is...wearing it almost every day! I love it so much! Oh, also steeking for the first time was exciting!

Anna

Colors: Hazel Heather + Glacier Blue Heather
My favorite thing about the KAL was...starting it late, so I could be inspired by all the lovely sweaters that were being finished.
My favorite thing about my new sweater is...the color combination is ridiculous!

Betsy

Colors: Barley + Hazel Heather + Lapis Blue
My favorite thing about the KAL was...Loved watching the different color combos develop, and how that alone can change the "flavor"
My favorite thing about my new sweater is...I'm just so damned proud I made a sweater and it fits great!

Caitlin + Mathew

Caitlin Colors: Ash Heather + Pink Heather
Mathew Colors: Hazel Heather +  Stone Blue Heather + Celery Green Heather
My favorite thing about the KAL was...Brainstorming with fellow KAL-ers and seeing how AWESOME everyone's turned out
Caitlin: My favorite thing about my new sweater is...It is made for ME by ME!! Just the right length everywhere!! I want more!!
Mathew: My favorite thing about my new sweater is...That my fantastic, super-sexy, radical wife made it for me!

Candice

Colors: Sun Yellow + Straw
My favorite thing about the KAL was...working on the pattern.
My favorite thing about my new sweater is...It's done!...and warm!

Caroline

Colors: Celery Green Heather + Straw
My favorite thing about the KAL was...this was my first KAL - it was fun feeling like I was connected with Craft Night even when I wasn't able to make it to town due to the weather.
My favorite thing about my new sweater is...I love how fast and easily it has knit up!

Chase

Colors: Garnet Heather + Light Red Heather
My favorite thing about the KAL was...Being part of a super fun group of people - making cool stuff.
My favorite thing about my new sweater is...there is an established club I can now join.

Jaime

Colors: Bottle Green Heather + Light Grey Heather
My favorite thing about the KAL was...hanging out with everyone at Craft Night and knitting the same thing. I love comparing notes and asking/answering questions!
My favorite thing about my new sweater is...lopi + cardigan = ♥

Jess

Colors: Acorn Heather + Bottle Green Heather
My favorite thing about the KAL was...even though I was living in California, I could still be part of the Fancy Tiger funtimes - transcontinental KALs are the best!
My favorite thing about my new sweater is...I love the colorwork - it knit up so fast. This was my first sweater with colorwork, I LOVE how it turned out. I guess spending a million years to pick out your colors really pays off!

Mary

Colors: Ash Heather + Lapis Blue Heather
My favorite thing about the KAL was...new technique, original design, working on the same project with others and meeting other knitters
My favorite thing about my new sweater is...comfortable, warm but lightweight, new techniques for me actually worked! and the colors.

Megan

Colors: Rust Heather + Pink Heather
My favorite thing about the KAL was...having support and help from all the other Lopi knitters.
My favorite thing about my new sweater is...that the wool is from Iceland and it is super warm

Pam M.

Colors: Rust Heather + White
My favorite thing about the KAL was...meeting other knitters and comparing progress each week
My favorite thing about my new sweater is...it's the perfect cool weather cover-up and it turned out exactly how I wanted it to

Pam

Colors: Grey Heather + Rust Heather in Unspun Plötulopi
My favorite thing about the KAL was...it was so inspiring to see such a variety of color choices and sizes - they all look amazing!
My favorite thing about my new sweater is...not done yet, but I can't wait to steek it

Pink

Colors: Dark Wine + Berry Heather + Rose Heather + Ash Heather
My favorite thing about the KAL was...simple pattern, fancy looking results
My favorite thing about my new sweater is...matches my hair!

Sunne

Colors: Black Sheep Heather + Glacial Blue Heather
My favorite thing about the KAL was...cutting the front of my sweater.
My favorite thing about my new sweater is...it inspired me to knit more things that I cut.
Sunne is the Lopi-est! She also knit (from left to right) Craftsy Top-Down Icelandic Sweater in Golden Heather + Bottle Green Heather + Black Sheep Heather, Freyja in Steel + Donahue, and Aftur in Black Sheep Heather + Garnet Heather + Ash Heather + Grey Heather.


One of the most fun things about making this sweater was choosing the ribbon to finish off the steeked front. Here is a peak inside some of our Iðunns...

Thanks so much everyone! This KAL was a blast! Stay tuned for our next KAL--we will be announcing it next week! :)

Lettlopi Knit-Along!

Knit-along alert!

With all our holiday crafting behind us, we are ready to embark on a new sweater journey! What perfect timing--our favorite Icelander, Ragga Eiríksdóttir, just published Iðunn, a beautiful Lopi cardigan and a free pattern on Knitty.com.

Jaime and I both can't wait to make this pretty Icelandic cardigan! Which means we're already dreaming of our colors...

Golden Heather  |  Stone Blue Heather

Bottle Green Heather  |  Glacier Blue Heather

We will be casting on our Lopi sweaters at the first Craft Night of 2013--Tuesday, January 8th.

If you want to make Iðunn or any other Lettlopi sweater, please join us and get 15% off your sweater's worth of Lopi purchase up until 1/8/2013.

To make sure we have your favorite Lopi color in stock, please let us know by Christmas Eve (email fancytiger@gmail.com or stop by the store) which colors you would like to purchase and we will special order your sweater's worth of Lopi! Check for yarn requirements on the Iðunn pattern page.

We hope you will join us!

Icelandic Lopi wool is here!

We have been in love with Lopi wool since our first trip to Iceland and are thrilled to be offering it at Fancy Tiger!

Léttlopi is the worsted weight yarn that Icelanders use for traditional yoked sweaters. The Icelandic sheep have adapted to Iceland's cold wet climate and Lopi sweaters keep people warm and dry, too. Jaime made a Lopi sweater last year. On her recent trip to Iceland she wore it every day and it looks as good as the day it was finished. The rest of us at Fancy Tiger can hardly wait to make our own!

Our dear friend Ragga will be here this weekend teaching classes on traditional Icelandic knitting. Want to make your own Lopi sweater? Come join us for her classes!

10 reasons we love Lopi yarn:

• Icelandic wool is the warmest
• keeps you dry in cold wet weather
• comes in beautiful solid and heathered colors
• a strong single ply
• loosely spun and lofty
• wears well and hardly pills
• knits up fast
• perfect for adorable colorwork
• affordable
• comes from the cutest sheep!

Thanks sheepies!