Meet More New Heirloom Patterns: An Army of Caterpillars! Tunisian Heirloom Cowl!

Two new patterns are here from amazing Fancy Folks, Miranda Harp and Cat Stolzenbach! Welcome, Army of Caterpillars by Miranda and Tunisian Heirloom Cowl by Cat!

Army of Caterpillars is Miranda's ode to her favorite lepidopterist, her father the moth scientist. These little realistic caterpillars are inspired by the larvae in the Sphingidae family – hawk moths, sphinx moths and hummingbird moths.

Purl ridges create the segmented abdomens, and knitted bobbles form the tiny legs of these adorable larvae.

Knit one in every size to make your own rainbow of caterpillar friends!

Many of you may know Cat as our resident Tunisian crochet expert and instructor. Her Tunisian Heirloom Cowl pattern is a great pattern for those interested in picking up the technique of Tunisian, or Afghan crochet.

A bit like crochet, a bit like knitting--Tunisian crochet makes a lovely fabric that is the best of both worlds. It is a great craft for the knitter or crocheter who wants to take a step towards the other side.

This cowl uses basic Tunisian stitches combined with a Tunisian cross stitch to make the unique “X” texture. Fancy Tiger Crafts Heirloom Romney yarn provides hearty structure and rustic wooliness to this striped cowl.

We hope you like these patterns as much as we do! Stay tuned for two more coming later this week!

Cat's Year Long Afghan Class is almost here!

2011 was the first year that we offered Cat's afghan class and it was a total success! We are super excited to announce that the 2012 Afghan class is about to begin. This class is good for beginning crocheters and it is free! That's right - one year of amazing crochet and tunisian crochet instruction for free - you just have to purchase your yarn for the afghan here at Fancy Tiger Crafts to enroll.

 Each month you will meet for a 2 hour class and Cat will show you a new stitch that you will use to make a new square for your afghan. By the end of the year, you will have 12 amazing and different squares to stitch together into a finished project. Don't worry - she'll show you that part too.

Stop by the store and we can help you pick out the perfect yarn for your afghan and get you all signed up. For more info on dates and times, click here.

Staff Holiday Gift Picks: Cat & Emily

Here is part three of our staff holiday gift picks. Cat and Emily are here to share some of their favorite things with you. Feel free to forward this along to the person who doesn't know what to get you this year!

Hi! My name is Cat. I work and teach Crochet 101, Tunisian Crochet and Pjoning at Fancy Tiger Crafts or the Fancy Tiger Land of Wonderment and Joy, as I like to refer to it. I am a crochet fiend and I recently learned to sew so I have also been making some clothing items and a few quilts.

Malabrigo Rios Superwash Merino $14
Abalone Crochet Hook $15

I am completely obsessed with the Malabrigo Rios yarn that we just began carrying a couple of weeks ago. I bought it on a whim right before teaching a crochet class and by the end of the class I was madly in love! I went home and made a hat and matching neck warmer that very night! It's soft and spongy and wonderful to work with. The colorways are so beautiful that it's almost impossible to chose one--although, my current favorite is "Piedras" (pictured above).

The abalone hook is the tool of my other current obsession, Pjoning or "Bosnian" Crochet. This hook makes stitching fast and easy. It feels so nice in your hand that you won't want to put it down, although it's beauty may distract you from your craft! This hook with this yarn is a match made in heaven!

Ink & Spindle Fat Quarter Bundle $35

These cute little bundles of hand-printed fabric goodness are a perfect stocking stuffer for anyone who sews and even for those who don't, but appreciate art of any kind. The fabric and printing process are produced in ethical and sustainable processes by two amazing Australian women. These fabrics are great for quilting or framing or anything else you may do with two pieces of 18.5" x 18.5 " fabric.

The Gentle Art of Domesticity $35

This book literally changed my life. I walked into Fancy Tiger a couple of years ago and there it was on the front table. Until I read Jane Brocket's gentle words of encouragement and inspiration I never felt that I could do crafting of any kind. It may sound silly to you lifelong crafters, but I was tied down by chains of perfectionism and that nasty little "you can't do that" voice. After reading this book I wanted to (and did) begin to make beautiful, hand-crafted items of my own and I'll never look back. I recommend this book to both new crafters or any kind and those of you who have been knitting/sewing/whatever for your entire life. It's well written and you'll want to look at the photos over and over again.

Salutations! I'm Emily, and I teach advanced knitting and spinning here at Fancy Tiger Crafts. I love constantly pushing my skills, and am often caught crafting in public. Knitting is definitely my first craft, but I love spinning, sewing, quilting, crochet, naalbinding, leatherwork, metalwork, beadwork, and whatever else I can get my hands into!

Peter Rabbit Hand-Dyed Angora Yarn $22

As some of you know, I recently acquired a new family member and my first fiber animal, Victoria. She is an English Angora Rabbit, and is totally in love with Branwyn, our shop dog. This little ball of cuteness makes the softest fiber ever! And now we have Angora yarn! Although it isn't from Victoria, it is super soft and hand dyed in the most gorgeous colorways. I think I will make a triangle shawl with this one...

2-7/8 yards of Memiore A Paris Japanese Lawns $37.30 Schoolhouse Tunic Pattern $16

I have been watching so many beautiful Schoolhouse Tunics coming out of our Schoolhouse Tunic class! Great job, ladies! Now, I think it's time to make one of my own. I knew when I opened the shipment of these Memoire A Paris Japanese Lawns that at least one of them had to be mine. But which one? This pattern looks so great on every body I have seen them on, it would be a great gift for the lady sewist.

Dressmaker's Handbook of Couture Sewing Techniques $26.95

I don't know if you guys know just how much I love wool and silk. I love wool and silk! But with finer fabrics, finishing those edges can be tricky. This book has so many tips for working with trickier fabrics, but can be used in almost any application. There are so many gorgeous techniques well photographed in this volume. This would make a wonderful gift for a sewist ready to make their garments look amazing on the inside, too.

Thanks Cat and Emily! Come back tomorrow for Betsy and Amber's holiday gift guide!

Joel Dewberry Quilt Craziness!

When Joel Dewberry released his Modern Meadow fabric collection we all fell instantly in love with it. Several of us made quilts out of it and we are soo excited, we had to share!

I used one of the jelly rolls which is a collection of pre-cut fabric strips that are 2 1/2" wide by 44" long. Having the fabric pre-cut made this quilt a breeze and I finished it in one weekend. One jelly roll was enough to make a throw size quilt so I am all ready to cuddle up on cold nights. This throw uses all the fabrics in the Modern Meadow collection and I love it!

Jess made her first quilt also using a jelly roll. Her quilt is another example of the countless ways that the jelly roll can be cut up and pieced together. Jess was super excited about finishing her very first quilt and couldn't resist rolling around with it!

Cat also made a Joel Dewberry quilt, but she pieced the fabrics herself rather than using a pre-cut bundle. Cat's beautiful quilt is a larger size for her bed and it is her first large-scale quilt. We are totally impressed she did her own machine quilting on such a big quilt. We especially love the single log cabin square that she placed in one corner. Nice work, Cat!

Modern Meadow makes us happy - thanks Joel Dewberry!