Learn it Up, Yo! The Fall Class Schedule is Here!

Our new class schedule is out and there are a million new things to learn and make!

We have a huge line-up of crafty classes, including these brand new projects:

Brand New Fall Classes!
1) Free Motion Quilting with Claudia Miller
2) Needlefelted Mice (kids or adults) or Needlefelted Turkeys with Wynne Reynolds
3) The Staple Dress from April Rhodes taught by Krystal Thomas
4) The Heirloom Tunisian Cowl by Cat Stolzenbach
5) Sonya Philip of 100 Acts of Sewing will be coming to town to teach a 2 day Dress-making Workshop!
6) Patchwork Napkins with Amy Gibson
7) Dia de los Muertos Embroidery with Lalania Simone
8) Kids Elephant Stuffie with Christina Patzman
9) Pattern from Existing Garment with Christina Patzman

There are also plenty of our recurring favorites on the schedule, like My Favorite Sweater, Serger 201: Jersey Skirt, Colette Laurel, Crochet 201: Hat, Spinning 101: Drop Spindle--be sure to check out the full craft class line-up on our website!

Happy crafting!

Spring Class Schedule is here!

We have just published our Spring class schedule - so many new things to learn and make!

We have lots of cute garment sewing classes: the Sorbetto Dress--a fun take on Colette's top pattern, a spring blouse by Heather Ross, and another great Colette pattern, Bloomers! Our very popular cowl sweatshirt is now on the schedule in a short-sleeved tee verion!

Cowl Tee  |  Sorbetto Dress  |  Spring Blouse

Bloomers!

More fun stitchin' projects--zig zag tea towels for the home, a crazy quilt sampler, and an easy pleated tote bag are all new for Spring!

Amy Gibson of Stitchery Dickory Dock is back with a great modern lap quilt - a Giant Ohio Star finished with ties.

For Crochet we are excited to have Tylma Welch of Lowbrow teaching an adorbzable crochet doily and Cat's monthly afghan squares are now open as individual classes.

Knitter's can delight in a class for Emily's new hat, the Guillemet or focused skills classes.

Needlefelting is here by popular demand, and this Spring you can make all kinds of adorable birdies!

We have tons of our popular stand-bys too, so be sure to check it out and call us to reserve your spot. Click here to download the pdf version of the Spring 2013 schedule.

Staff Holiday Gift Picks: Part 1

Welcome to the 2011 gift picks from our fanciest of Fancy Tiger staff!

Being surrounded every day by the most amazing craft supplies of all time is pretty great, and it gives us a lot of time to think about our favorite items. Here is what we are dreaming of, and what might just be the perfect thing for someone crafty on your gift list...

 Hey ya'll Jess here! After being out of the country for 8 months, it was such a delight coming back to my crafty land here at Fancy Tiger. I missed so many incredible new items! Throughout my travels I fell in love with the Korean craft scene. When the Neo Stitch cross stitch case for the Iphone 4 arrived from Korea, I got weak in the knees. My head was full of magical ideas--all of course inspired by adorable Asia--ranging from Hello Kitty to a heart filled love portrait of me and my boyfriend. This kit comes with a chart book, a needle, and thread! What more could you ask for?! I'll tell you what else you could ask for.... more thread! My Neo Stitch companion would be Anna Maria Horner's inspired palette of embroidery floss, which adds 12 more colors to work with. Way happy fun times ahead for me and making my phone a case full of love and joy. Annyeong hi gaseyo! (goodbye!)

 

Hi, it's Amber here! This winter I'm all about staying cozy. Sarah, one of the amazing Fancy Tiger instructors, keeps making the most cozy and fashionable tops from our eco-friendly jerseys. Two of the classes I'm itchin' to take are Sarah's Serger 101 and 201 classes! Covered are skills on the serger, plus, in the 201 class you get to make the most flattering and comfy sweatshirt of all time. A gift certificate for these sewing classes paired with a couple yards of our hemp/organic cotton jersey would be a pretty awesome treat for a sewer who wants to expand their sewing repertoire!

This Yule my heart belongs to me...and Tracie! Tracie is the name of a two ply, sport weight yarn by Imperial Stock Ranch. It is rustic enough to hold strong through years of tough winters, and soft enough to wear casually. Tracie is extremely beautiful, and has a lofty attitude. After much frustration trying to find the perfect sweater pattern for myself, I have been inspired by the great Ysolda Teague to design my own sweater. Tracie and I have learned that designing a sweater incorporates a lot of math, and planning. While we were squishing each other at Fancy Tiger, a good friend recommended the book Sweater Design In Plain English by Maggie Righetti. At a glance, Tracie and I were excited to see that somebody had spent time developing a step-by-step book about how to design an array of sweaters based on individual gauge and yarn choice. When I looked deeper into the book, I learned that it had much more information about techniques, taking proper measurements, yarn choice, color theory. Perfect! When I wake up on the day of this winter festival, I hope to find Tracie, in the colorways Canyon Shadow and Pearl Grey, resting next to the book Sweater Design In Plain English. We'll keep each other warm and cozy for years to come!

 

Hi everybody! I'm Amy and you know I love me some modern quilting! So when I saw this hot new quilt book, Modern Blocks, arrive this month, it was love at first sight. 99 killer blocks by some of my favorite modern quilt designers- it's seriously a slice of heaven. I'm drooling over the newspaper boat block on page 166, with Heather Ross mermaids swimming in the sea below- how rad is that?! I love how there's a fantastic range of skill level and style in this book- from a simple appliqued circle, to intricate paper pieced designs, there's something for everyone. I would love for Santa to leave this book under my tree, along with a delicious Tula Pink Prince Charming fat quarter bundle. 30 yummy fat quarters to quilt to my little heart's desire. The stack is so cute though, it might take me awhile to get the nerve to take off the ribbon! 

Hello! I'm Tymla, I'm new to Fancy Tiger Crafts and I am super excited to be working in such a creative and fun environment! My first love is crochet, I can crochet with my eyes closed, but working here has given me a chance to expand my knowledge and skills in many other crafts. I am very focused on improving my knitting skills, there are so many beautiful knit patterns out there that I can't wait to make. This is why I really want Stephen West's third book, Westknits Book Three. My first knit project was the Daybreak pattern in his first book, which turned out great! Now I'm ready to make the Thendara pattern out of Book Three, it's a light weight, angular, striped scarf that I will wear with everything! I'm a big fan of clothing that I can throw in the washing machine with everything else, so I think Madeline Tosh DK in Olivia and Antler will be perfect. It will be super soft and warm. And don't forget your needles!!! Happy knitting!

 

  

We hope you are having a great holiday! Check back tomorrow for the rest of our gift picks--even shop dog Branwyn has something she thinks you will like!

Sewing Summit Report: Amy, Christina & Sadie Visit Salt Lake

Fancy Tigresses: Sadie, Amy & Christina

 Amy:

What an amazing weekend at the Sewing Summit in Salt Lake! Imagine a 3 day slumber party with 200 of your favorite crafty, bloggy friends, sewing, knitting and gabbing 24/7...nothing short of euphoric. Us Fancy Tiger gals were out in full force, sewing and schmoozing it up with our favorite bloggers, authors, and designers. So many fabulous classes on everything from photography and publishing, to improv quilting and couture specialty seaming...

Amy with Amanda Jennings & Elena Roscoe of Breakfast for Dinner

One of my favorites was "Marvelous Minis" taught by the endlessly fun and whacky Amanda Jennings (aka HeyPorkchop!) of Ms McPorkchop Quilts and The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery. I was reluctant to sign up for this class at first because I didn't really "get" mini quilts. Like, what's the point? Wrong. Turns out they ROCK!!!

Adorable Mini-Quilts by Amanda Jennings

Mini quilts are a super fun way to get a quilting project done lickety split fast (think less than an hour), and they pack major punch - highlighting your absolute favorite fabrics and telling a story. Think wall art, snack mats, mug rugs, notebook covers, bags, pouches, trivets...just little bursts of happy scattered about your home. I was so inspired by Amanda's stunning collection (and enthusiasm!), that I whipped out a little improved mini of my own after class, and it's currently hanging on the wall behind my sewing machine, making me smile every time I sit down.

Amy's Mini-Quilt

Stitch up a modern little mini of your own in next month's Modern Tonal Quilt Class here at Fancy Tiger!  

Sadie:

On October 6th, Christina Patzman and I boarded a plane headed for Salt Lake City and the first annual Sewing Summit. I was looking forward to getting away for a mini vacation, seeing Salt Lake City for the first time, and mingling with like-minded bloggers and sewing enthusiasts. The Sewing Summit was so much more!

The Sewing Summit creators Amy Eillis and Erin Singleton

First up was a bus tour of three fabric stores. Christina and I missed the bus because we were standing in line for a much-needed Starbucks. Lucky for us, some sweet crafty locals were willing to drive us to the first stop. We caught up to the party bus, full of fabric-crazed ladies ready to shop until they dropped. Let me say one word: swag. Each store had prizes and giveaways galore. I needed an extra carry-on for all the Sewing Summit swag and giveaways we received. I think I was most excited about the thread!

Saturday was a day full of classes and seminars. I was completely star struck when I got to meet Gretchen ("Gertie") from Gertie's Blog for Better Sewing and Sunni from A Fashionable Stitch.

Sadie and Sunni

Gertie led some amazing garment sewing classes like Garment Fabrics from Angora to Zibeline, Essential Hand Stitches for Garment Making, Tailoring by Hand 101 and Getting a Perfect Vintage Fit. One of my favorite classes was Photographing Your Creations that was led by Vanessa Christensen of V & Co. There was also a class about blogging and a panel discussion with published crafty authors Gretchen "Gertie" Hirsh, Bari J. and others.

I left Salt Lake and the summit feeling inspired and motivated to create, blog, and teach even more!

Christina & Sadie stitched up these cute coinpurses at the Sewing Summit.