TNNA Report 2014

--amber

Jaime and I just returned from the whirlwind of magical yarn-y goodness that is TNNA! We saw some of our favorite folks--pattern designers, yarn producers and wool aficionados--and met many new friends to inspire our upcoming year of wool love!

One booth that had us swooning featured baa ram ewe's Titus yarn. There we met Verity Britton, one of the forces behind baa ram ewe, and quite an adorable Yorkshire gal. Her Titus yarn is a scrumptious blend of Wensleydale, Blue Face Leicester and Alpaca, all raised in the UK. If the breed-specific blend wasn't enticing enough, they got us with their tagline, "The drape and softness of a sleeping cat." Yes, please! We can't wait to get our hands on this pretty yarn which should be here in late summer.

We visited Olga Buraya-Kefelian--otherwise known as Olgajazzy--and were taken by her new patterns. We were so excited about her graphic Fractals hat, that we picked up the yarn it was sampled in. Anzula Cricket will be showing up later this summer in some striking hues!

The Pom-Pom magazine ladies were there all the way from England! We were thrilled to hang out with Lydia and Meghan, the founders of Pom Pom Magazine, who are both the sweetest and most stylish ladies around. We got a sneak peek at the next issue and we are already planning our projects.

Laura Nelkin, beaded jewelry knitter extraordinaire, mesmerized us with her sparkling jewels. We ordered a bunch of kits for knitting with beads.

The ladies of Kelbourne Woolens debuted Knightsbridge, the newest Fibre Company yarn which is a beautiful blend of baby llama, merino wool and silk. They had a slew of classic new patterns in a handsome palette of colors. We loved seeing their inspiration board! Knightsbridge will be here this August.

We finally took the plunge and ordered Kenzie, a tweedy worsted weight from Skacel's HiKoo line. This soft, woolly yarn has a touch of angora and alpaca mixed in--just enough to give it a soft halo while still letting the texture of your knitting stitches take center stage.

We picked up the insanely soft and delicate CashSilk Lace from Sweet Georgia yarn. Our palette will inspire you to make eye-catching shawls out of this soft, silky yarn, which will be here in July.

We met Waejong and Anna, the duo behind Loopy Mango's Big Loop yarns, the most stunning super-duper bulky yarn in the universe.

I wanted to come home with this amazing blanket so bad! We ordered loads of big wool for the shop in new bright colors which will be here this fall--I can't wait to make my own blanket in the blink of an eye on giant size 50 needles.

All these and more will be coming into the shop from June - October so we hope you're ready to take your knitting to the next level with so many amazing new yarns and patterns! Sewists, don't worry, we're on our way to Quilt Market next weekend and will report all our findings...

TNNA Columbus Fun 2013!

--amber

Jaime and I had a pile o' fun and saw a million exciting new yarny things at the TNNA trade show in Columbus last weekend!

We debuted six new patterns for our Heirloom yarn, and re-released our classic My Favorite Sweater pattern--now featuring Heirloom as well.

Here is quick look at the trade show behind the scenes fun:

From left to right and from the top:
(1)Nebula--the newest yarn from Anzula--is a sparkle yarn that we ordered in dark, moody shades. Look for it to hit the shop in August. (2-3) Funtimes were had with Stephen West, designer extraordinaire and very fun person. (4) New colors were ordered in Madelinetosh + there is a new yarn coming that you will love! A.S.A.P. is Madtosh's new chunky yarn set to arrive in November, just in time for last minute gift knitting.  (5) Jaime and I had the joy of trying on samples from Annie Modesitt's book, History on Two Needles. Knit replica of the Sutton Hoo ceremonial mask? Amazing.

(6) The folks at Schacht are geniuses, they distributed the Zoom Loom (which we currently have in the shop)  for all the yarn companies to swatch up their yarns! We loved seeing how yarns from different companies worked in this little loom-ette. Our favorite was Knitted Wit's mini rainbow skeins--those will be coming soon for Zoom Loom-ing, knitting, crochet or embroidery fun.  (7-10) Lucky Cat we love you! We ordered some special fiber braids from this adorable spinning fiber company--crazy soft blends that include Possum, Angora, Yak, Camel down, Wild Silks and more! Look for these buttery soft blends in a few weeks.

(11-12) The Crafty Diversions booth was full of exciting things, like teatime with Ysolda! She has a book in the works that is going to be amazing! Miriam Felton was there with her upcoming collection, Modern Colorwork. We can't wait for all the exciting things these ladies have in the works!  (13) Carol Feller was signing copies of her soon-to-be-here book, Among Stones. (14-15) Funtimes were had with Cirilia Rose, including a pedicab race (which, btw, Jaime and I won) and exploring the streets of Columbus with our Stephen West knitting bags.

(16) The Meow Collection. Do I need to say more? Well okay, this hand-dyed BFL sock yarn comes in a range of colors based on our feline friends' coat colors. PLUS, $4 from every skein is donated to the Meow Foundation, a no-kill shelter helping abandoned cats find happy, permanent homes!  (17-18) Nerd alert! Jaime and I are so excited for the upcoming special issue Interweave magazines: unofficial Harry Potter Knits and Downton Abbey Knits! Also, Jaime found a hobbit. (19) One of The Fiber Factor challenge sweaters. Of course, Meghan Navoy's cat sweater is my favorite pick! We can't wait to see the judging of Challenge 2 this Friday, with Stephen West as one of the guest judges! (20) Freia Ombré and Freia Flux yarns will be here in September with all their soft stripey goodness!

(21) Jaime and I were happy to meet one of our favorite designers, Olga Buraya-Kefelian. She has new patterns arriving soon and we want to make them all! (22) A wall made of wool in the Blue Sky booth. (23) Look for the speckly goodness of The Yarns of Rhichard Devrieze in the shop in September. (24-25) What! We even got to go visit with Anita of Sew to Speak and April Rhodes at their sewing shop in Columbus while we were there!

Keep an eye on our blog, instagram or facebook to be the first to know when all the newest goods arrive!

TNNA Report: February 2013

Amber and I just got back from warm Long Beach for TNNA, The National Needlearts Association trade show. This is where we go to see new products, get inspired by new designs, and touch base with our favorite companies and designers.

As you already know if you're a blog reader, we debuted Heirloom our 100% American Romney yarn. We had a cute little display set up in the Elemental Affects booth. It went great and we heard some positive and exciting feedback. Look for Heirloom soon in fine LYS across the US.

Jeane deCoster, Jaime and Amber with Heirloom!

We loved Moving Mud artisan glass works. We picked up (and brought home with us!) these beautiful handmade glass darning needles. Come by soon, they won't last long!

Glass Darning Needles from Moving Mud

Malabrigo has a gorgeous new yarn coming out late Spring - Mecha. Mecha is a superwash, bulky weight single ply and, as always, the colors are stunning. We can't wait to get this in stock! We will let you know as soon as we get it in...

Mecha by Malabrigo

We were thrilled to pick up not one, but two new lines from the Fibre Company. Tundra and Acadia will be joining Terra and Road to China Light here at Fancy Tiger Crafts. Stay tuned for more on these lux yarns when they arrive this Spring. We are always inspired by the Fibre Co. aesthetic--they and their booth were too cute in their fancy shoes and cabled Flor tiles!

Fibre Co. Tundra color cards and Maura's hot shoes on knit FLOR tiles

Local company Schact was there with an adorable new pin loom - the Zoom Loom! This simple and affordable little loom is perfect for anyone wanting to dabble in weaving as well as a great way to introduce kids to the wonderful world of weaving. These cuties will be here in April.

Jaime and Jess make magic with Zoom Looms

A new trend that we are on-board with is mini-skeins! Some yarn companies are now offering their yarn in smaller put-ups for colorwork, small projects and general craft uses. We loved the design of Knitted Wits mini-skeins, called Gumballs, Gobstoppers and Jawbreakers! We ordered a bright palette of Gobstoppers - little hand-dyed skeins of worsted weight wool--perfect for colorwork and stripes.

Gobstoppers and a kids sweater made from them!

We did it. We finially ordered the unique Silken Straw yarn from Alchemy Yarns. We love how unusual this 100% silk yarn is and can't wait to see what you do with it. More to come when this gets here next month. Alchemy's booth featured this life-sized felted owl...I'm pretty inspired to make one of my own!

Silken Straw by Alchemy Yarns and the coolest felted owl of all time.

We can't wait to see what you'll make with all the inspiring new yarns, products, and patterns we have coming!

TNNA, Here We Come!

We are thrilled to be taking our Heirloom Romney to TNNA this weekend! TNNA is The National Needlearts Association and this weekend is their big trade show for yarns, patterns, needles and everything in between.

As you may know, we have been working closely with Jeane deCoster of Elemental Affects to develop this yarn and are excited that it will be making it's big debut. Shops around the country will be able to stock Heirloom in their stores and we can't wait until everyone can get their hands on this gorgeous yarn.

beebalm|cabbage|sweetpea|radish|tomato|carrot|calendula
 wellwater|nettles|favabean|mullein|quinoa|goldenbeet
hubbard|bluemaize|hyssop|huckleberry|poppyseed|natural|fig

We have two brand new colors to complete our palette: Carrot--a vibrant orange, and Fig--a soft cool brown.

We've been knitting up a storm in this lovely rustic yarn so we will have plenty of samples to show off. Sunne just finished this bright version of her Quandary Peak Mittens in Cabbage and Natural.

We made handy little info cards to hand out so everyone can see how Heirloom is the best yarn ever!

We will also be buying new yarns and products to sell at Fancy Tiger Crafts while we are in Long Beach. Be sure to check back to see our report on all the awesome stuff we found at TNNA.

TNNA Report Winter 2012

Amber, Jess and I just got back from Phoenix where we attended the Winter National Needle Arts trade show. This is where we get to see what's new and exciting in the yarn world and order new yarns, books, patterns and notions! We were really excited to go since we have lots more space now and can expand our yarn offerings! We will have lots of lovely new products coming into the shop over the next few months that we ordered - here is a small preview of some of the awesomeness to come...

We have been dreaming of the Fibre Company yarns for some time and as soon as we walked into their booth - and were greeted by the charming and adorable Courtney Kelley and Hannah Fettig - we knew it was the right company for us. Their gorgeous yarns are all spun and dyed in the U.S. They have designed fabulous patterns so you will have no problem finding something to knit with them. We picked out palettes of two yarns - the Road to China Light (a fingering weight alpaca/silk/cashmere/camel blend) and Terra (a worsted merino/silk/alpaca blend) and we ordered lots of their beautiful patterns. We also ordered Hannah Fettig's new book of patterns, Coastal Knits, that you will love!

Ysolda Teague was signing copies of her two new books, Whimsical Little Knits 3 and Saturday Treat. Jess and Ysolda were both sporting their new button hats (a pattern from WLK3) so it was a great photo-op moment! Both new books are on their way to the store and Ysolda will be treating us to a visit here at Fancy Tiger Crafts on February 17th to do a lecture and book signing!

One thing we knew we wanted to carry once we moved into our new store was the Schacht Cricket Loom. This affordable, table-top, rigid heddle loom is a great beginner loom and introduction to weaving - and made right in Boulder! We were able to try it out and we think you will love it! Look forward to its arrival in late spring and classes with Liz Gibson this summer.

It's always fun when we get to visit the Habu booth. We love them for their many interesting and unique yarns and picked up three new Habu yarns. We are super excited about this paper chenille yarn and the matching pattern by Cocoknits for little airplant pot holders. Perfection.

The most exciting thing that happened at TNNA was meeting with our favorite producer of heritage breed US yarns -  Jeane deCoster, the woman behind Elemental Affects. We will be working with Jeane to develop her new US grown and milled 100% Romney yarn, our first private label yarn. We were able to decide on the palette to be dyed and we will be coming up with names and labels for the new yarn. It is a beautiful, hardy yarn that is everything we could have ever dreamed our first yarn would be. We can hardly wait to share all the details so stay tuned.

At the end of it all we couldn't resist getting our country on with Ysolda and Miriam Felton!

TNNA Report: Columbus 2011

We had a blast at the TNNA trade show in Columbus! We picked up exciting new things: yarns and patterns, buttons, books, spinning fibers and felt. It's going to be a fantastically inspiring fall around here!

Our vote for cutest booth of all time goes to Ysolda, who decked out her space with a tea party, treats and photo booth funtimes. We stopped for a refreshing cup of Earl Grey and got to try on knit samples and peruse copies of her soon-to-be-arriving book Little Red in the City. We think you are going to love this book. She really gets nerdy about knitting and in the most fabulous way.

Photobooth fun! Amber is wearing Ysolda's Chickadee, Jaime is in the Liesl and Ysolda in Melia

We asked you on Facebook which new sock yarn to pick up and folks chose Anzula! Here is the hottness that is Anzula Squishy. We love the super saturated colors of this semisolid hand-dyed merino/cashmere. Can you handle the fabulous throw that was in Anzula's booth? It reminds us of this one from the Purl Bee, which is also made out of Anzula Squishy...yum.

Hooray for 140 years of Imperial Stock Ranch! We have a major crush on this yarn company. At TNNA we raised a glass to celebrate their anniversary and got to indulge ourselves on chocolates. We picked up another yarn from their line, Tracie Sport. It is a fabulous tweedy sport weight yarn, made from 100% Columbia wool from the Imperial Stock Ranch in Oregon. Fantastic new patterns are on the way, too, including these knee-high socks!   

Chocolates wrapped in the cutest Columbia sheep packaging...Happy 140th, Imperial Stock!

Ragga! We love this Icelandic knitting superstar! You may remember Ragga from our epic knitting trip to Iceland last fall. Ragga hosts amazing tours of Iceland (you should book one right now) and has recently published Knit Your Own Lopapeysa, a DVD tutorial on traditional Icelandic sweater knitting, which you can purchase at Fancy Tiger if you can't join her in Iceland. Ragga is sweet as pie and brought us presents--an awesome traditional Icelandic shawl book that I've been hankerin' for and some of the weird salty licorice candy Jaime got hooked on while visiting Iceland. Ragga, we love you.

We can't get enough of Knit Collage. Are these yarn wrapped twigs the cutest thing or what? FYI, new colors are coming this fall. Eeeeep.

Madelintosh! New patterns, new colors, new yarns are coming! Can we just say Edison Bulb might be the color you have dreams about...

 We've got lots more surprises in store for fall, so stay tuned for exciting new things!

TNNA Spring 2011 Report

We had tons of fun at TNNA this weekend! We saw many of our favorite fiber and yarn companies and met some new folks, too.

Jaime and I started out at the Knit Collage booth where Amy showed us what was new in her world of glittering handspun yarns. Jaime had a hard time resisting the urge to eat the precious skeins.

Amy recently spent six months in Punjab teaching 18 local women to hand spin art yarns. Some of her new yarns are inspired by that region and have bits of colorful sari silk and paisley sequins spun into them. We also love the new 100% silk handspun yarn embellished with glittery metal disks!


Our Colorado friends, Schacht, were there debuting their newest spinning wheel, the Sidekick. This adorable sister wheel to the Ladybug is compact and folds away for easy transportation. We can't wait to get some of these cuties in the shop! Barry of Schacht is really into bicycles as well as spinning wheels and has outfitted these new wheels with quick-releases like you would see on a bike wheel. He is kind of a genius... We love that we have such an amazingly innovative company making hand crafted spinning equipment just down the road in Boulder!


You might know we are total nerds about heritage sheep breeds. You can imagine our delight when we walked into the PicoAccuardi booth and they had naturally dyed fiber for spinning and felting in every sheep breed imaginable. Now we can spin our favorite cute breeds like Gotland and Wensleydale in magically hand-dyed colors!


We admit to being biased towards all things woolly, but we loved the color and uniqueness of this recycled cotton jersey t-shirt yarn from Be Sweet. What a bright, fun summertime knitting yarn!


Oh, cashmere, why are you so soft? I want this cowl. It was like wrapping luxurious warm butter around my head. I am dreaming of the day we receive our package of Jade Sapphire Cashmere and I am making that cowl. It was really hard not to run out of the convention center with that pile of cashmere...


We were delighted to see the ever adorable Joanna Johnson at the Lamb's Pride booth! She was there with her soon-to-be-published knitting storybook, Freddie's Blanket. She recently came to Fancy Tiger for a book signing of her first book, Phoebe's Sweater, and we fell in love with it. We were so excited to see her at TNNA decked out in an amazing dress and cardigan which she made from supplies she purchased at Fancy Tiger Crafts! Too cute!


That's just a few of the wonderful things we found at TNNA--also look forward to Lorna's Laces, U. S. raised Shetland lace yarn, Imperial Stock Ranch two-ply worsted, Hand-dyed Aran weight yarn from Alisha Goes Around, new Habu yarns, Neon merino yarn and so much more!

Yarn Market Report: TNNA Long Beach 2010

We just got back from Long Beach and the 2010 TNNA Market! We were totally inspired by all the fun and exciting yarn, fiber and accoutrements!

Here is a sneak peek at some of the fun new things coming to the store soon!




...plus, coming soon: spinning wheels, silk and stainless steel yarn, naturally-dyed sock yarns (which includes a Stumptown Coffee colorway!), Japanese paper yarn, Utah raised and milled alpaca yarn in 22 natural colorways, sustainable wool yarn and roving from Oregon, recycled silk ribbon yarn, hand-dyed Blue-Faced Leicester rovings, and lots more exciting stuff!