Winterfell Cowl Free Pattern; also Direwolves

Winter is coming... In order to prepare, we have developed a new Game of Thrones inspired knitting pattern to keep your neck warm as you journey to the other side of the Wall. When the winds howl and the snow falls one hundred feet deep you'll be the fairest of Starks.

Winterfell Cowl is made with Fancy Tiger Craft's Heirloom Romney and finished with a leather Jul closure. It knits up as quick as the blink of a dragon's eye in a simple lace pattern and creates a distinctive and noble collar that looks great with leather and fur.

The Jul leather closures come in several shapes of black and brown leather - the perfect finish for all your Game of Thrones accessories. They easily attach to handknits, and are just as easy to remove. This means you can exchange your closures between all your handknits, from cardigans to cowls to shawls. Whether you hail from the North or are Dothraki from Essos, these leather clasps will give you the finest closure in the land.

Direwolves will be drawn to your beauty when you wear the Winterfell Cowl.

This pattern uses only 100 yards of our Heirloom Romney yarn, which means you can get two cowls from just one skein! The rustic Romney sheepswool, shorn from descendants of medieval longwool breeds, makes for a beautiful old-world texture and will keep you warm in the harshest of climes. Download your free copy of Winterfell Cowl here.

Winter is coming. What will you knit?

Thanks to Maya the Direwolf model

Laurelhurst Sock KAL!

We just finished our last Knit-Along for Lopi sweaters and it was a great success. We are pleased to announce our next KAL - the Laurelhurst socks by Star Athena.

 
I have never knit a pair of socks before. I fell in love with this pattern and am ready to take on the sock challenge! For my socks, I choose Madelinetosh Sock in Grapefruit and Silver Fox. These fun and bright colors are going to look great with some oxfords this spring.

Amber's pick is Madelinetosh Sock in Olivia and Kale.

Here's how it works:

• Pick out and purchase your yarns at Fancy Tiger Crafts by April 9th to receive your 15% discount. (discount good on 2 skeins of any sock yarn)
• We will cast on our socks at Craft Night on April 2nd
• Out-of-towners can follow along and post pics on our Ravelry Forum
• Come knit with us every Tuesday night from 6 - 9pm
• Finish our socks and have a photoshoot on May 7th at 6pm

We can't wait to see what you choose!

Jaime's Esme Top

 

There are so many new sewing patterns being released right now, we are in a sewing frenzy over here in Fancyland. The new Sew Liberated patterns are all adorable, but you know how I feel about tops to wear with jeans. Irresistible. I made this top in 3 hours - it was so quick!

My friend Caitlin recently came in with a Tova top made out of this Anna Maria Horner voile and I loved it so much I decided to make my own shirt out of it. The weight and drape of the voile and rayon challis fabrics are perfect for this top. The Esme has an easy fit and the buttoned yoke adds an adorable touch. If you love the Schoolhouse Tunic or Tova top, try out the Esme - it will be your new go-to top pattern!

Brooklyn Tweed Loft Yarn at Fancy Tiger Crafts!

A few weeks ago we received an email from Jared Flood which included the most exciting news of all time. Fancy Tiger Crafts was chosen to be one of ten shops in the US to carry his Brooklyn Tweed yarns, Loft and Shelter. We are so honored to be chosen and are thrilled to be able to share this lovely yarn with our customers here in Colorado! Welcome Loft!

Loft is everything you could love in a yarn. It is grown in Wyoming and milled in the historic Harrisville mill in New Hampshire. You can read an extensive look at the mill process here on the Brooklyn Tweed blog. Loft is a woolen-spun, fingering weight yarn made up of soft and springy Targhee-Columbia X wool. The color palette is heathers in 10 neutrals (you know how I love that) and 22 beautiful hues. The colors are absolutely gorgeous, and the names of the colors perfectly encapsulate their mysterious tweedy shades. Postcard is a pale tweed that looks like a found stack of vintage french love letters, Foothills is the color of Leprechaun tears, and Sap is reminiscent of a Maple Tree Fairy's hair. Can you even imagine what color Old World is? or Bird Book?! Here are the 32 tweedy, woolly yarns that are just waiting to become your next project! You will have to stop by to check them all out in person to see just how magical they are.

One of the best things about this yarn is the amazing pattern support. Jared Flood and his team of designers at Brooklyn Tweed are constantly releasing patterns that are sophisticated, smart, and beautiful. Whether you want to knit a shawl, scarf, cardigan, or baby blanket, we can help you find the right Brooklyn Tweed pattern. Jared and Leila were kind enough to send us a few samples to display in the shop to help welcome Loft. Please stop by to have a look at these lovelies in person!

Burnham Mittens by Leila Raabe

Farthing Scarf by Jared Flood

Leaves of Grass by Jared Flood

Thayer by Leila Raabe

Sakura Shawl by Leila Raabe

Stonecrop by Jared Flood

Stay tuned for Brooklyn Tweed Shelter's arrival this summer!

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! :)

New Patterns from Sew Liberated!

Four new patterns are here from the darling Meg McElwee of Sew Liberated! We want to make them all--in fact we've already found some perfect fabrics from which to make these lovely frocks.

The Esme Top, oh, I want to make this right away! This cute feminine and classic top is so versatile, I think I could wear one every day...

Finally, jeans! Everyone needs jeans!

The Clara Dress, with its delicate collar and sleeve details is a perfect prairie-style dress for lovely ladies. We love the Nani Iro floral for this pretty dress! 

You would look smashing serving up anything from a pot roast to a pie in a sweet and classic Gathering Apron.

We hope you are inspired to sew with so many cute things to choose from. We sure are!

Jaime's Cardigan of the Month Club!

I'm not sure how, but this is my third knit cardigan in 3 months--cardigan crazy! My new Wispy Cardigan was started way back in 2011 when we first received the amazing rustic Shetland lace yarn from Elemental Affects. This is one of my favorite yarns of all time - US grown and milled, over-dyed natural heather grey, and hardy Shetland wool all in a rustic spun, 2-ply lace yarn. Yumtown.

Despite this cardigan taking 2 years, it really knit up quickly once I gave it my attention. The Wispy pattern is from Hannah Fettig who makes beautiful and classic yet interesting patterns. I loved it. The unique construction has you knit the arms first, side to side and across the back - how fabulous to get the dreaded sleeves out of the way in the beginning!

I made a few modifications to this pattern. First, my gauge was a little off so I just tried it on as I went to make sure it was fitting. The amazingly talented Angelique who works here at Fancy Tiger Crafts made this a while back and suggested that I try a twisted rib stitch instead of regular ribbing at the cuffs, neck and waist. I love the more textual look of this stitch.

This cardigan will be my new go-to cardigan for warmer spring days and cool summer nights - it is light with just the right amount of woolly coverage. It looks great over all of my Wiksten tanks!

Each skein of Shetland Lace comes with 740 yards so I only used one skein for this entire cardigan! I loved working with this yarn so much, I'm already eyeing some Brooklyn Tweed lace shawl patterns for a new project.

Our brand new Anzula Breeze yarn would also make a lovely summer Wispy if you're looking for something a little less woolly for your creation. The silk/linen blend would be perfect for this design.