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!

Lumpy Space! Stephen West KAL

Every summer Stephen West has a shawl KAL and I love joining in the fun! This year, instead of it being a mystery, it was for your choice of one of 3 different designs - each very Westknits-esque. I chose to make the Lumpy Space pattern - I love the elongated shape of this shawl and I couldn't resist the stripes!

Pattern: Lumpy Space by Stephen West
Yarns: a = Orkney Angora dk in neon peach, b = Lopi Einband in pale beige, c = Madelinetosh Dandelion in Nectar, d = Jill Draper Nimbus in Shell
Size made: one size
Alterations: none, although I ran out of my Nimbus yarn so I had to end a few rows early 

Lumpy Space uses four yarns. I decided to use up some stash yarns so I incorporated a couple of yarns I had picked up on my travels, making this an extra special shawl. The neon orange angora yarn was from Scotland and the Lopi laceweight was, of course, from Iceland. The Madelinetosh Dandelion was leftover from my recent Vasa tee and I just couldn't resist using some luxurious Jill Draper Nimbus - a laceweight blend of angora and silk.

In true Westknits fashion, I did some experimenting with various fiber types and weights. For the inner shape of orange and cream - it was a blend of super-soft angora mixed with super-tough lopi. I held the lopi laceweight double to keep up with the dk weight of the angora. The outer stripes are a mix of soft merino/linen and more angora. Here again, I held the laceweight Nimbus double to work better with the Dandelion and to add more angora halo!

I love the shape and size of this shawl. It can be wrapped around several times for extra neck-coziness and it is in-between a scarf and shawl shape - my favorite. I ran out of Nimbus towards the end so I'm short just a couple of stripes, but it is still a great size. I'll admit, I was cursing this pattern during the picot bind off of over 800 stitches, but I'm so glad I persevered! The contrast picot edge give the shawl an adorable frame that really takes it over the top.

Thanks, Stephen for another fun knit! Be sure to stop by the store today from 12 - 1:30 to meet Mr. West in person and see even more of his awesome designs.

Follow Your Arrow Mystery Knit-along

I just finished a mystery knit-along (MKAL) from Ysolda Teague called Follow Your Arrow! A mystery knit-along is a KAL where you don't know what the pattern is and the pattern is usually released in sections so its a surprise as you knit it. A MKAL can be scary to commit to, so its good to know you like a designer before you sign up. Ysolda Teague is one of my favorite designers and this was her first MKAL so I knew it would be a win. The project was a shawl that used about 680 yards of lace to fingering weight yarn and that's all I knew going into it. Ysolda did her MKAL with a new twist - it was also a choose your own adventure MKAL! Each of the 5 clues would have 2 options for a total of 32 different shawls that could be created. WHAA?!

The nature of this MKAL was a little stressful for me. Each week I had to choose which pattern to follow without knowing what the finished result would be! I really had to let go of my control and attachment and just go with the flow. It ended up great. In the beginning I chose to follow the more geometric options and I love the unique shape that this produced.

I knit my Follow Your Arrow out of Meadow lace yarn by the Fibre Company. I've been itching to knit a shawl in this pale aqua color Pennyroyal since we first got this yarn in last summer so picking out the yarn was the easiest part of this KAL. Meadow is a light-fingering weight yarn that is a luscious blend of merino, llama, silk and linen. The yarn has a beautiful hand and drape and was dreamy to knit with. I knit the options ABBAA so my shawl only used about 620 yards of yarn.

My favorite perk that came with participating in Ysolda's MKAL was seeing what everyone's project was shaping up like each week as the clues were released. The number of possibilities of this shawl pattern made this so fun! You can go to Ravelry and check out tons of finished shawls here.

I can't even believe that Ysolda was able to write a pattern with so many options that worked out so well - she really is a knitting genius! I would totally recommend this pattern and yarn to anyone looking for a really fun knitting adventure!

Katy & Jaime: Arbutus Cowl Pals!

--jaime

We just got in Rockwell and it is an adorable and wonderfully farm-y yarn. I wanted to knit something up quick using one skein of this yarn and choose the pattern Arbutus by Jane Richmond in her beautiful book, Island. Katy had already made an Arbutus cowl and wore it to work often so I knew how cute this little cowl was. Arbutus is a 3-tiered cowl that is knit in the round. The tiers are constructed by casting off stitches and then casting on even more stitches than before. The cowl knits up super-quick and it fun and interesting to knit with reverse stockinette stitch ridges. 

Katy made her cowl out of local dyer Sleep Season Goods hand-dyed, DK. Arbutus uses 225 yards of DK yarn so it is a one-skein project for a lot of luscious yarns we carry. Sleep Season Goods DK merino often comes in one-of-a-kind colorways and this pattern shows off the amazing hand-dyed nature of the yarn perfectly. 

Katy in her hand-dyed Arbutus

The Rockwell made for a extra squishy cowl - Rockwell is a Cormo/Merino blend so it is a spongy yarn and it even retains some of the natural lanolin for more woolly goodness. I love the feel of this special yarn close to my neck and wear my Arbutus often. I used the color Marine which is a super-saturated turquoise-blue, but still retains the marled look of Rockwell.

We carry Jane's stunningly photographed book, Island, here at the shop as well a ton of beautiful yarns to choose from. This cowl would also make a great gift - it's quick to knit up and everyone can use a cozy cowl!

Yoked: Our Second Annual Sweater Knit-A-Long!

It's that time of year again, when we all just want to stay inside, cozy up to Fancy Tiger's warm fire and knit ourselves a new sweater. Well you're in luck! Our second Annual Sweater Knit-a-Long is here. Hannah Fettig's new book Knitbot Yoked contains a collection of four round yoke sweater patterns worked from the top down. These patterns are a great introduction to Fair Isle knitting. Hannah Fettig provides extremely knowledgeable tips and techniques especially if this is your first time trying Fair Isle knitting. The yarn recommended for these sweaters is Quince and Co. Owl. We stock all colors of Owl so make sure to get in your special orders (see details below) to make certain we have your future sweater in stock!

Here is how the KAL works:

• Pick your colors and purchase your yarn, book, and needles from us by January 7th and receive 15% off.
• Fancy Tiger will be taking special orders for Owl from Quince and Co. Place your order by December 16th to make sure we have your colors in stock and reserved for you in time for our cast on!
• Cast on! We will be casting on for our sweaters on January 7th at Craft Night for any local folks who can join.
• Knit! We'll be knitting our sweaters together every Tuesday night for the duration of the KAL.
• Finish! We hope to finish our sweaters by March 11th. Bring your sweater to craft night on the 11th (even if its not done) for a photoshoot and a high five!
• If you don't live in Denver you can still join in the fun. Use the hashtag #fancykal on all your photos so we can follow along with your progress virtually. You can order your yarn from us and receive your discount with a quick email of your order, phone number + mailing address to info@fancytigercrafts.com. 

Of Course here at Fancy Tiger we have already started dreaming up our colors!

Kayes Cardigan   |    Barred,  Cinnamon, Acacia

 Basic Round-Yoke Unisex Pullover     |     Huckleberry

Birdie Fair Isle Cardigan  (with additional colorwork options in foxes or bunnies)    |     Hemlock, Chamomile, Cinnamon, Tawny (for a cute fox version!)

Willard Fair Isle Pullover     |     Cerulean & Chamomile

We are so excited to kick off 2014 with a new Fancy Tiger Crafts Knit- a-long! We can't wait to see what you will make!

Come One, Come All, Check Out Our Aranami-Along!

We are all snuggled up over here at Fancy Tiger Crafts with our new Aranami shawls! Thanks to our amazing customers who picked this pattern for our most recent KAL. Bonus: we finished just in the nick of time for snowy Denver city! 

The Aranami Shawl pattern by Olgajazzy calls for 5 colors which aid to the beautiful ombré effect many of these shawls have. We couldn't wait to get our hands on some Brooklyn Tweed Loft for this project. Some of the ladies opted to use a variety of different yarns, just look at those colors!  It is such a perfect pattern for a project on the go and for using up small amounts of fingering weight yarn. Each motif is worked one at a time and is quite easy to remember.

Here are the folks who made this KAL such a success! 

Alsn

Favorite thing about the Aranami KAL: I liked how easy it was to memorize the pattern so I could knit with friends and have complex & deep conversations. 

Yarn: Elemental Affects Shetland Fingering

Colors: Mediterranean Night, Ciel, Light Denim, Mioget + White

Amber

Favorite thing about the Aranami KAL: I loved the spectrum of colors that everyone chose for their shawls & I liked the addicting motif knitting.
Yarn: Brooklyn Tweed Loft

Colors: Wool Socks, Homemade Jam, Thistle, Plume, Pumpernickel

Betsy

Favorite thing about the Aranami KAL: I really enjoyed the construction of this shawl; it was like watching a puzzle take shape. When I realized the Cinnamon didn't marry well with the other colors I decided to bracket it with fawn. I absolutely love the final product!
Yarn: Elemental Affects Shetland Fingering

Colors: Cinnamon, Forest Moss, Fawn, Lichen, Ochre

Caitlin

Favorite thing about the Aranami KAL: I enjoyed the repetition & therapeutic nature of the pattern. "Just one more repeat!"
Yarn: Elemental Affects Shetland Fingering

Colors: Pumpkin Spice, Red Bark, Deep Garnet, Old Gold, Burnt Cinnamon

Emily

Favorite thing about the Aranami KAL: The camaraderie of working on the project together really inspired me to knit fast and steady.
Yarn: All my own hand spun from Spinzilla 

Colors: Dire Wolf, Earth Wolf, Grey Wolf, Rabbit Wolf, Sun Wolf

Jaime

Favorite thing about the Aranami KAL: I loved knitting this! It was so addicting and I love everyone's color combos... #neutralsforever
Yarn: Brooklyn Tweed Loft

Colors: Pumpernickel, Truffle Hunt, Storm Cloud, Wood Smoke, Fossil

Katy

Favorite thing about the Aranami KAL: How quick it was + MODULARNESS. Also my matching project bag!
Yarn: Cascade Sport 

Colors: Shrimp, Anis, Blue Hawaii, Como Blue, White

Kiyomi

Favorite thing about the Aranami KAL: It was so easy to knit & I finished it!! =)

Yarn: Cascade Sport 

Colors: Charcoal Grey, Ginseng, Sage, Light Grey, White

Pink

Favorite thing about the Aranami KAL: This shawl made the Zauberball color changes look awesome!
Yarn: Lace Zauberball

Colors: 1874 Rusty

Rachel

Favorite thing about the Aranami KAL: I liked making the individual waves because it made me seem like a faster knitter than I actually am.
Yarn: Jamieson & Smith Shetland Jumper Weight

Colors: Fuschia, Berry Heather, Raspberry, Lavender Heather, Rose Heather

Sara

Favorite thing about the Aranami KAL: Knitting this was addictive and satisfying. The finished project is so soft!
Yarns: Lotus Mimi & Jade Sapphire

Colors: (Lotus) Purple, Light Grey, Beige (Jade Sapphire) Cream & Dark Gray 

Sophia

Favorite thing about the Aranami KAL:  Hooray! Perfect for stash busting!

Yarn: Cascade Baby Alpaca Lace

Colors: Mocha, Turtle, Ecru, Indigo, Chianti Heather

So much happy fun time! Knit-a-longs are the best! 

Thanks to all of you, we have another successful Knit-a-long completed!

If you missed this one don't fret--check back on Monday for the reveal of our Second Annual Sweater KAL, starting in January!

New Fancy Knit Along! Join us!

It is that time of year when our hands ache to feel wool yarn running through them and our necks beg to be warm...a Fancy Tiger Crafts Knit-a-long is in order!! Our customers chose the next Fancy KAL for us and we are happy to join in the fun. This is a pattern that Amber and I have been wanting to knit for quite a while: Aranami Shawl by Olga Buraya-Kefelian (Olgajazzy!) This beautiful scalloped shawl uses 5 colors for a fantastic ombré effect. The recommended yarn for this shawl is Brooklyn Tweed Loft which will be a joy to knit with. We stock all 32 colors of Loft so any and all of your ombré dreams can come true.

Here is how the KAL works:

• Pick our your colors and purchase your yarn, pattern, and needles from us by November 5th and receive 15% off.
• Cast on! We will be casting on for our shawls on November 5th at Craft Night for any local folks who can join.
• Knit! We'll be knitting our shawls together every Tuesday night in November.
• Finish! We hope to finish our shawls by December 3rd. Bring your shawl that night (even if its not done) for a photoshoot and raise a glass with us in congratulatory address! 
• If you don't live in Denver you can still join in the fun. Use the hashtag #fancykal on all your photos so we can follow along with your progress virtually. You can order your yarn from us and receive your discount with a quick email of your order + mailing address to info@fancytigercrafts.com.

Amber and I have already picked out our colors and can't wait to start! Of course, I chose to use 5 of the 12 natural colors in the Brooklyn Tweed palette.

Fossil, Woodsmoke, Stormcloud, Truffle Hunt, and Pumpernickel

Amber went for shades of green for her shawl and it's going to be beautiful!

Pumpernickel, Artifact, Tent, Sap, and Foothills

We can't wait to see what you pick! We hope you can join us for the Knit-A-Long adventure!

Laurelhurst Sock Knit Along was Socktastic!

-jaime

We recently finished our Laurelhurst Sock Knit Along! The Laurelhurst is a pattern by Star Athena and it is awesome. It includes lace and stripes so it was exciting and interesting to knit. We had 8 participants finish their socks. I have a confession. I have never knit socks before. This was my first pair. I love them. I may not be a sock addict, but I know this isn't going to be my only pair of socks. Here are all the socks you can expect to see hittin' the streets of Denver!

Alsn: Cascade Heritage Sock in Como Blue and Grey

Amber: Sweet Georgia BFL Sock in Grape Jelly and Espresso

Caitlin: Madelinetosh Sock in Kale and Antler

Jaime: Madelinetosh Sock in Grapefruit and Silver Fox

Pam: Cascade Heritage Sock in Mustard and Italian Plum

Pink: Malabrigo Lace in Carrot and Amoroso

Shannon: Cascade Heritage Sock in Como Blue and Raspberry

Sunne: Madelinetosh Sock in Edison Bulb and Antler

Nice work everyone! We love to see everyone's finished socks and awesome color combinations!