Better Know A Crafter: Karen Sobel

Karen is a multi-talented crafter. An amazing seamstress and knitter, she came in recently wearing two of our very favorite patterns--the Schoolhouse Tunic by Sew Liberated and the Daybreak Shawl by Stephen West. We, of course, love them both and thinks she looks adorable sporting them together!

Karen Sobel

1) Tell us about your crafty self.

I'm a librarian for CU-Denver. I started knitting for stress releif during grad school and fell in love. My favorite thing about knitting is giving gifts and seeing people enjoy them. I am learning to sew.

2) Tell us about your outfit.
This is the Schoolhouse Tunic; I loved the big print fabric. They just seemed to fit together. You can also see my first Daybreak shawl, which turned out a little funky but is so soft.

3) How did you learn your skills?
My grandmother taught me knitting and crocheting skills and my mom taught me some sewing skills when I was a teenager. They've both passed away, but I feel they'd both be happy that I picked up their crafts. It makes me feel close to them.

4) What is your favorite animal?
Giraffes! Long story.

Thanks Karen! Happy crafting!

Amber's Fall Knitting Bonanza!

Our recent CSA harvest party was an evening filled with campfires, wine, delicious farm food and cool fall weather. The perfect opportunity to bring out the my newest handknits!

This sweet little plum shawl is the Damson, a Ysolda Teague pattern that practically flew off my needles as I was antsy to get it finished for my Iceland trip. I loved working with this self-striping indigo and magenta colorway--which is actually quite subdued as Zauberball goes!


The scalloped lace bind-off was a treat at the end!


Joelle Hoverson's new book, More Last Minute Knitted Gifts is just as adorable as her previous books. I couldn't get my mind off of a certain pattern, the Easy Baby Cardigan--which unfortunately is an infant pattern. Here is my "me-sized" take on it. I knit it up in Cascade Baby Alpaca Chunky and it is insanely warm and cozy.



Eddie, my handsome husband, was recently the recipient of a handsome brown Daybreak. This rare item of gift knitting was knit in Malabrigo Sock striped with Zauberball Sock. It is a pattern which I could knit again and again.



And can you handle how awesome his reverse appliqued keyboard hoodie is? Emily whipped that up at a craft night recently.

Now I'm off to knit more shawls and cardigans and perhaps a hat or two...

Jaime's Fall Knitting: Little Colonnades for all!

Fall weather makes my hands itch to be knitting! Crisp cool air get me thinking of wool and alpaca and all of the accessories and cardigans I want to be wearing and making. I started this fall off right by making two quick and easy accessories: the Little Colonnade for myself and my partner, Matthew.


Our CSA harvest party was held on a chilly fall evening up in the foothills so it was the perfect time to debut my newest knitwear. You might be aware that I almost exclusively knit with un-dyed wools and alpacas which are always neutrals and rarely any color. I was really trying to break out and I think I succeeded with the bright pink and purple Zauberball I used for my Little Colonnade.

The Little Colonnade is a pattern by Stephen West who also designed our favorite Daybreak pattern. This little shawl features a simple but beautiful lace border. I like my shawls small as I prefer to wear them as neck-wraps, so I left out the last section of lace border for a slightly smaller shawl than the pattern calls for.


The best thing about Stephen West's patterns is they are equally hot on men as on women. Matthew was super excited for me to knit one up for him as well, and he picked out a kettle-dyed brown Malabrigo sock yarn.


If you are as ready for fall knitting as we are over here at Fancy Tiger Crafts, you will be happy to hear we just received Stephen West's new self-published book. This is his first collection of patterns and we can't wait to knit them all! Westknits Book One features eight new patterns of his original geometric-style accessories for men and women. You can be sure to see some of these featured soon on our blog!


Stay tuned to see what Amber and Emily have been knitting up so far this fall!

Fall Class Schedule Now Available!

We are super excited about our fall class schedule available here! We have a ton of new knitting, crochet and sewing classes. Here are just a few of our favorites for a sneak peak...


Fall is the time to dust off your needles and hooks and get ready for cooler weather with knitting and crochet. We are excited about all the new woolly project classes on the schedule!



We have tons more new and fantastic projects lined up for fall, so go check them all out on our website and give us a call to sign up!

Daybreak Outbreak!

As you know, we all have been a little daybreak crazy over here at Fancy Tiger Crafts. Here is some of the awesomeness that we have been creating! All of these daybreaks were made using the fabulous pattern by Stephen West and various sock yarns.

Zach was the first daybreaker that started this whole thing when he made his Daybreak-of-Love.

Danielle made us all jealous with her gorgeous combination of creamy Malabrigo sock yarn mixed with Noro sock yarn - pretty!

Amber is really into rainbows and it shows in her daybreak made with a rainbow Zauberball and citrus-y green alpaca sock yarn.

Emily used the luscious and vibrant blue Wagtail mohair yarn mixed with a neutral Zauberball. We love the crochet loop bind off she used!

Sophia really impressed us by mixing two Zauberballs! She used a rainbow-striping and a neutral-striping Zauberball for unpredictable non-stop striping action.

Jaime used the naturally dyed sock yarn from Pico Accuardi that is dyed with her favorite Stumptown coffee. She mixed this delicious yarn (it really does smell like coffee) with a neutral Zauberball for the perfect latte-inspired daybreak.

Jess is the only non-Zauberball-using daybreaker and made hers with two colors of Malabrigo sock yarn in Turner and Light of Love. It is oh-so-soft!

Krista, that's not a Daybreak! But it is another amazing pattern we have here by Stephen West called the Little Colonnade. This little shawl-let uses only one yarn color and is done here in the "Neon Bible" colorway of Pico Acccuardi yarn.

We all love our shawls! They are fast and fun summer knitting projects and the perfect thing to bring along on a cool summer evening!

Better Know A Crafter: Milton

Milton is officially the first knit-along-er to finish his Daybreak! He came by the shop to show off his beautiful scarf (which we were all totally in awe of) and claim his prize. Can you believe he has been knitting for less than six months? Aaaamazing.

If you want to get in on the knit-along fun check out the details. You've got til May 1st!

Milton

Tell us about what kinds of crafts you do.

Painting, sculpting, knitting, crocheting, and fighting crime.
Crafting helps pass the time and makes me feel creative all the time.


How did you make your awesome scarf?
I knitted the Daybreak pattern by Stephen West for the knit-along. I used Malabrigo sock yarn. It's very soft and I love the colors. It reminds me of a solar eclipse or perhaps a black hole sun. I'm making matching gloves!


How did you learn to knit?
I learned right here at Fancy Tiger. I took a Knitting 101 class this winter.

What is your favorite animal?
Sloth.

Thanks Milton! Happy knitting and crime fighting!

Zach's Daybreak & Fancy Tiger Knit-Along

Hey guys! I just finished my DayBreak and I love it! When the pattern by Stephen West came in I fell smitten instantly and when the Zauberball from Schoppel Wolle came in I fell even harder for a color of variegated naturals, browns, creams and grays. So, sold on the color, I did a little research and Babel-fished the word Zauberball. The word means "charm ball" in German and what else could I do but run a little magic into the daybreak with this in mind. I used Malabrigo sock yarn for the stripes and chose "Light of Love" because I usually look pretty good in pinks and reds. I am casting a little spell that when I wear it the handsome-man-of-my-dreams will fall smitten, first for my daybreak and second for me! HA!
To top it off Amber and I ran down to our favorite ice cream shop for the photo shoot; Sweet Action, and I got a scoop of Hibiscus, my favorite flavor and an extremely potent aphrodisiac! Between the ice cream, the magic and the week it took me to make it, this knitter is bound to get a little sweet action of his own this spring.

I did things a little bit differently than the way the pattern called for because I wanted it to have purl ridges on every other stripe of color just to make it a little bit more textural. So on the last purl row of the stripe patterning I did a knit row instead. This pattern is super simple and fun and I hope that you guys give it a whirl. All that you need to know is knitting, purling, M1R, M1L, and slipping stitched.

We're so in love with this pattern we've decided to have Fancy Tiger's first ever knit-along! A knit-along is where we all make the same pattern, but of course, because of different colors and yarn choices, everyone's will be unique. Here's the scoop: you purchase your yarn and pattern here at Fancy Tiger Crafts (you can also buy the pattern directly from the designer Stephen West on Ravelry) and make your daybreak. You have until 5/1/2010 to bring in your finished daybreak for a photo and we will give you a $10 gift certificate! If you need help knitting your daybreak, you can always stop by craft night and myself or one of the ladies can help you out. We can hardly wait to see your Daybreaks!