Jaime's Feather Quilt

--jaime

I fell in love with this quilt when I first saw it debuted by Anna Maria Horner at Quilt Market in Spring of 2012. In August of 2012 we had the amazing opportunity to host Ms. Horner here at Fancy Tiger Crafts for some workshops, of course, we asked her if she could teach the feather quilt. She was thrilled and all my dreams came true when I took her class for the amazing feather block that she designed. I only made one block in class, but it was the start of a new quilt that I was very excited about.

If you read the blog, you know I sew a lot of garments and quilts are fewer and farther between. I love using quilts on my bed so I almost exclusively make queen-sized quilts which take some time. In this case, a year and a half, but it was oh-so worth it.

This quilt is almost all from Anna Maria Horner's Field Study collection which had just come out when Ms. Horner visited us in Denver. I used Kona Cotton in Ash for the background color. The quilt took me so long that I ended up cutting Ash from three different bolts over the course of a year and you can see the different dye lots in the quilt. I don't mind, though, I think it adds some movement and character (but lesson learned: fabrics have dye lots, too!).

Each feather block is made up of 9 pieces of fabric. The "feather" pieces are cut from strip-pieced yardage, which actually went quite fast to make up. This is the most intense piecing I have ever done. I ended up developing an assembly line system which made it go faster and I used some downtime over the holidays to really dig in and finish it.

As with all my queen sized quilts, I sent this one off to be quilted. I used our local quilter, Jason Spicknall of Secret Stash Quilting. He did such an amazing job on this quilt and I love it. His simple ruler lines reflect the feathers in a way that compliments the design and does not detract from the feathers themselves. Perfect.

For the back and binding I used fabric from Anna's current collection, Dowry. I love love love the back of this quilt. The print is so amazing, I didn't do any additional piecing on the back. We have the full line of Dowry in stock now, if you're inspired to make your own feather quilt. This Feather Bed Quilt pattern is available for free here.

I love this quilt and am really proud of my accomplishment!

2013 Holiday Gift Guide: Extra Special Gifts!

It's that time of year again where we round up the latest and greatest in amazing craft supplies for our Holiday Gift Guides! This year we're starting with the extra special gifts you might consider for the most special crafty person in your life.

For the knitter who loves wool we have the amazing 1) Heirloom Romney Throw kits ($234). These amazing kits come with 12 skeins of US produced and milled Heirloom Romney yarn to make a large and luscious 72" x 54" knit throw and a high quality print pattern designed by Jocelyn Tunney. Each kit has 2 skeins each of 6 colors handpicked by us in four colorways inspired by the seasons. The Heirloom Romney yarn will wear great and look amazing for years to come. Winter is shown here--check our etsy store to see all four colorways. Any quilter would rejoice to receive a 2) fat quarter bundle of Anna Maria Horner's newest collection, Dowry ($100). This set features all 30 prints and is enough to make a queen sized quilt top. For the sewist who loves wool the obvious choice is the coveted and luxurious 3) Pendleton Wool Jacquard fabrics ($80/yd). Enough of this to make a skirt, jacket, throw, or poncho would make any lucky seamstress or seamster's dreams come true. For the fiber lover in your life we have the 4) Big Loop Merino bumps ($198). One of these yarn babies is enough for a throw or a couple of extremely large and lush scarves that won't burden the recipient with hours of work. This yarn works up in no time.

Stayed tuned this week for our Under $50 Gift Guide and Under $20 Gift Guides!

Quilt Market Fall 2013 Report

Amber and I just returned from Houston Texas for the fall Quilt Market. This is where we get to preview and buy new and upcoming fabric collections! We were able to meet all sorts of fabric and pattern designers, chat with other shop owners, and get completely inspired by all the amazing things happening in the fabric industry. Here is our report of the most exciting things we saw this fall.

The people over at FreeSpirit and their parent company Westminster Fibers have a lot of amazing designers on their roster. Amy Butler, Anna Maria Horner, Parsons Grey, Ty Pennington, Tula Pink, and Denyse Schmidt all have new collections that they were debuting at market. So much awesome stuff! Anna Maria Horner's new line Dowry is scheduled to be released first (any day!) and we love it. Dowry is classic, beautiful Anna Maria Horner style and we ordered it all. Her booth featured an amazing inspiration wall for Dowry and of course, tons of color!

Amy Butler's new collection, Hapi features Amy's bold florals and interesting geometrics. Her booth was bright and fun - we love the fabric wrapped, rustic god's eyes.

Tula Pink's new line, For Field won't be out until next spring, but it will be worth the wait. Ponies, bunny-dots, foxes and feathers grace the prints of this new line. Now you, too, can upholster your Louis XV chair in pink ponies!

Speaking of ponies...Sarah Jane's new line Wee Wanderer for Michael Miller Fabrics is a collection that perfectly captures any little girl's dream childhood. Lightning bugs and ponies frolic across the fabrics in beautiful hues of green, blue and pink. Perfection!

Birch fabrics is getting ready to release their highly anticipated collection of Charley Harper fabrics. We are hoping to get these in this month (soon!). We were excited to see things sewn up in them and even more excited to find they have added canvas, knits, and flannel prints to the quilting cotton collection - all organic cotton.

Leah Duncan has another beautiful collection coming out next year for Art Gallery Fabrics. We can't get enough of her unique illustrations and love the saturated green colorway she has in this new Meadow collection.

Ellen Luckett Baker has another collection coming out for Kokka. Garden features her bold graphic style on the cotton/linen canvas base we all know and love from Kokka. Her booth was adorable and we loved meeting her! Ellen has some inspiring projects for her fabrics in her books, 1,2, 3, Quilt and 1, 2, 3, Sew.

Just chillin' with Carolyn...surrounded by her beautiful work.

One of the collections we are most excited about is Carolyn Friedlander's Botanics for Robert Kaufman. Botanics features Carolyn's fine line drawn style in soft and bold colors. A few of the prints have a hint of metallic gold that is used perfectly. Get ready to sew with these fabrics in December and January.

the ladies of Cotton + Steel: Alexia, Sarah, Rashida, Melody,  and Kim

The talk of the market was the announcement of a new division within RJR fabrics formed by Melody Miller including herself, Rashida Coleman-Hale, Alexia Abegg, Kim Kight, and Sarah Watts called Cotton + Steel. Cotton + Steel will release their first fabrics next July so we don't have any prints to show you, but we know it is going to be awesome. Stay tuned to see what these ladies have up their sleeves for us. You can learn more by watching their awesome video here.

Look for all of these amazing fabrics and more to hit the shelves of Fancy Tiger Crafts in the upcoming months. Thanks, Quilt Market!

Erikia's Skirt Spectacular!

Hello! Erikia here, you may know that I love simplistic sewing and making up my own stuff. Well, I've been busy this summer sewing up a ton of easy skirts. Here's a look at a few I've made:

This lovely voile skirt was whipped up during a Fancy Tiger Crafts employee sewing night. The very talented Miranda taught us how to make circle skirts without a pattern in 2 hours! I loved it!

I saw a skirt similar to this online and fell in love with it. To make mine, I sketched out the pattern before starting. I already had measurements for a basic a-line skirt that fit me, so all I needed to do was calculate the measurements for the interior angles. It may look complicate, but honestly it was pretty easy. Little things that helped make this project effortless was layering the jersey cutting the front and back at the same time, using a quilting ruler and rotary cutter to cut the pieces and stitching it together with exposed seams. The best thing about this skirt was I made it out of a remnant, so it was super affordable!

Here's another simple a-line skirt with a little detail added to dress it up. I made a ruffle with coordinating fabric and edged it with matching crocheted trim. Adding the trim was the hardest part. I pinned it on, machine stitched it in place, put some fray check on the edges and hand-stitched the ends together. It was definitely worth it though because the trim is so cute.

This skirt is a favorite of mine! I drafted the pattern from a skirt I bought years ago. Gathering each tier of the skirt was the hardest part, but it gives the skirt amazing texture! I used a twin needle and stitched the fabric down flat with raw edges exposed. In addition to the skirt, I also made my tank top. This was another super easy project. It's based on a basic tank top and I stitched it together with a serger and left all other edges raw. It felt a little plain when I was finished, so I added the ruffle along the neckline, which was a leftover scrap.

Happy sewing!
Erikia

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!

Caitlin's Socialite-a-rama

Hello!  Caitlin here...as some of you may know, my specialty is garment sewing!  I love creating versatile clothing that can dressed up or down.  As we saw with Miranda's dress project, it's nice to find a go-to pattern that you know fits and can be a staple in your wardrobe.  For Miranda, it's Built By Wendy's dirndl dress; for me, it's Anna Maria Horner's Socialite dress! 

The first Socialite I stitched up was made with this sweet rose print by Heather Ross.  Turns out, Jaime and I think alike!

Then I realized it would be perfect as a top!  I chopped off the pattern at the pockets and made a cute top with this Anna Maria Horner voile. 

This top has been well loved, so when I spotted this beautiful Liberty print, I knew I needed to make another!  It's perfect dressed down with jeans and a cardigan, dressed up with a nice pencil skirt, and even with shorts in the summer!  I absolutely love the Socialite Dress pattern! 

My advice to you:  don't be restricted by the pattern in the envelope.  Maybe a dress can become a top, or vice versa.  A shirt can easily become sleeveless, and sleeves can be added to a tank.  Find your go-to pattern, make it your own, and your handmade wardrobe will grow faster than you ever expected!

If you want to see more of my crafty projects, check out my blog at www.sparrowsandspools.blogspot.com!

A Parade of Painted Portraits

I love the Painted Portrait pattern from Anna Maria Horner. I first made it when she came to visit last August and I have now made 4 of them! It is a versatile pattern that can be made as a sleeveless or sleeved top or dress. It can have a pieced bodice or plain bodice. No matter how you make it, I promise you will love it.

My most recent Painted Portrait is done up in a Nani Iro double gauze. This soft print is classic Nani Iro style and makes a great top.

This Painted Portrait features a contrast bodice of Anna Maria Horner's Crossing Paths fabric paired with a deep indigo voile. My dream is to one day embroider over the stitch design of the bodice fabric with bright pops of color...one day.

The Painted Portrait dress is brilliant because of these huge pockets! Dresses with pockets rule and I love that these are a fun design element of the garment. Thanks Anna, for making such an awesome pattern. I'm sure I'll sew up some sleeveless ones for summertime.

New Craft Books!

The big fall book release has left us with so much new information and so many great projects! Here are some of our favorites:

1) Pure Wool: a guide to Using Single Breed Yarns Sue Blacker - Sue Blacker is the woman behind one of our favorite yarn companies that we work with, Blacker Yarns. She produces single-breed wool yarns from primitive breeds, buying fleece from small farms in the UK. We love them. Now we have a beautiful book that talks about properties of each of these yarns and gives a pattern for each one - rejoice!

2) We Make Dolls Jenny Doh - Jenny Doh has collected patterns for soft dolls from today's top dollmakers such as Danita, Mimi Kirchner and Sasha Pokrass in her new book. They are all truly amazing and unique - a must have book for doll or soft toy enthusiasts!

3) Anna Maria's Needlework Notebook Anna Maria Horner - We have been awaiting this book ever since Anna Maria Horner released her own line of perle cotton and embroidery floss! Anna shares both instruction and projects for counted-thread embroideries and free embroidery. Projects and patterns are in true Anna style - rich colors and sophisticated designs that you will love!

4) Prints Heather Ross -You are probably familiar with Heather Ross's prints - ethereal fairy tales re-imagined in her whimsical illustration style. They are adorable. Many are out of print so you will be thrilled to know that Heather Ross has included a dvd of her prints for you to print out yourself on fabric/paper, you name it! She also has tons of projects for you to do with your new prints - everything from wrapping paper to votive candle holders to sewn garments. There is also a detailed section about creating your own designs in photoshop and how to use digital online printing.

5) Stitched Gifts Jessica Marquez - the projects in this book are so inspiring! Jessica covers gifts for any occasion from weddings to welcoming a new baby to all the holidays. I especially can't wait to stitch up a custom zodiac wall hanging.

6) Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing Gretchen Hirsch - this is the most highly-anticipated sewing book this season and it does not disappoint! Gretchen has made many fans over the years for her amazing blogforbettersewing and now her tutorials and patterns are collected together into an informative, retro-lovin' book. She covers skills for everything from tools to pattern-making and fitting.

7) New Dress-a-Day Marisa Lynch - Marisa Lynch's takes the fear out of sewing for the fashion-inclined newbie sewist. Marisa's guide covers techniques and projects for altering thrift store finds into modern, fashion-forward garments. With chapters like "2 minute Tunics" and "Quick no-sew fixes" even the sewing challenged can have a handmade wardrobe in no time.

8 ) Hexa Go-Go Tacha Bruecher - We are all obsessed with English Paper Pieced hexagons  - now there is a new and modern book full of projects to keep you piecing! Tacha covers all the how's of EPP and then she gives you lots of quilts, bags and wall hangings to make with your new hexagon addiction. 

9) Knitting the Perfect Fit Melissa Leapman - The beginning of Melissa Leapman's new book focuses on techniques for shaping - you will never be confused again about which decrease leans what way and where to put them. She also includes sweater patterns with various styles of fit so you can be sure to find one that will flatter every body type.

10) Super Scary Mochimochi Anna Hrachovec  - We love all of Anna Hrachovec's quirky designs and it is only fitting that she has released a "Super-Scary" book of her knit creatures. There are patterns for things like "itty-bitty witches" and baby "vampire brats." My personal favorite is the chapter for "mix-and-match" monsters where she gives instructions for various tails, limbs, tendrils and bodies so you can make up your own super-scary monster.

11)  Heart Felt Knits Tamara Mello - Of course we're smitten with Mad Men's Christina Hendricks and love that she wrote the foreword to Tamara Mello's new book. If you've been looking to try felting your knits or just need some fresh new projects, check out this book. The projects are modern and sophisticated and include goods for everyone in your life.

12) Felted Feathered Friends Laurie Sharp - Laurie Sharp is the woman behind Woolpets - she has written two amazing books on needlefelting and designs a ton of great kits. Her newest book is all about birds - one of her specialties. She give full color step-by-step photos for each bird variety so you know you will be successful when you use this book.

The holidays are almost here and there is no lack of inspiring projects to get you crafting your heart out for all your friends and family!

Field Study Craft Crunch!

As you probably know if you're a blog reader, we just had the amazing Anna Maria Horner visit us here at Fancy Tiger Crafts. Her brand new collection, Field Study arrived a couple of days early so of course Amber and I had to whip up some new outfits.

Anna sent a trunk show for her events full of samples sewn up in her new fabrics. I might have tried on the "Painted Portrait Blouse" she sent that was sewn up as a sleeveless pocketed dress. I knew immediately that I had to make one. This pattern is awesome and I had already made another version of it, a long-sleeved blouse. There are at least 12 different ways you could sew this pattern up so this time I made exactly what she sent with the trunk show. SO CUTE!

I choose one of my favorite prints from this collection, Coordinates in Midnight. Start to finish this dress took about 5 hours - it was serious craft crunch time getting it done in time for Anna's arrival. It turned out beautifully.

 
I love it. It looks great and feels comfortable to wear. The pockets are amazing - not only do they add an interesting visual element, but I can have my lipgloss and phone on me at all times. This dress is going to look great over leggings in cooler months with a cute cardigan thrown over it so I'm looking forward to wearing this one for a while.

Amber used the fantastic "fine feathered" print from Field Study to make this Wiksten Tank "Tee". After already making four Wiksten Tanks, she changed this one up a bit by adding short sleeves and bright blue piping to it. Perfect!

To add these cutie sleeves to her tank she used both the Wiksten Tank and Wiksten Tova patterns--creating a short version of the Tova sleeve pattern piece and substituting the armhole from the Tova, drawing it over the Tank armhole.

Emily, Amber and I all took Anna's Multi-Tasker Tote class over the weekend and we love our new totes! Perfect for an evening of knitting and picnicing in the park with friends and doggies! Next time you are in the shop ask us about our totes, please. We'd love to gush about them to you!

Epic Sewing Weekend!

We just had the most epic weekend! We had two amazing sewists visit the shop for tons of funtimes, learning and inspiration.

First up on Friday night, Jacquie Gering, author of "Quilting Modern" was here with millions of quilts! Jacquie displayed tons of quilts from the book as well as new designs. They were amazing. It was like being in a museum where you could touch things.

We loved her attention to detail in everything from thread color to fabric choice. She was amazing to meet and we can't wait to have her back one day to teach.

A surprise treat was that Angela Walters (author of Free Motion Quilting) was also in town and stopped by! We about peed our pants having two such famous quilters in the shop at once!

Angela Walters, Jacquie Gering, Susanne Woods (of Interweave), Jaime and Amber

Saturday night, Anna Maria Horner was here! She has been a huge inspiration to us since the beginning with her amazing colorful,on-trend fabric designs and her smart, fashionable patterns. We were so thrilled to welcome her to Denver and Fancy Tiger! Many people came out to meet her, chat about her new line, "Field Study" and generally just hang out. Funtimes were had by all.

Sunday, we really got down to business with back-to-back classes with Anna. First we learned about strip piecing in her "Feather Quilt Block" class. All of the feather's made were amazing and Amber and I are both looking to make queen-sized feather quilts.

Anna shows Anna some piecing techniques.

Some serious cutting

Amber and Jaime's blocks

On our way to making a quilt!

The second class was her Multi-Tasker Tote. Anna warned us that making this bag in 4 hours was going to be a squeeze, but the Fancy Tiger students rallied and everyone finished their bags!

Amber and Jaime's bags.

This bag comes together in a way that let's you know Anna Maria Horner is a sewing genius! It is awesome with pockets on the inside as well as 4 outside pockets for quick and easy access to keys, phone, etc. Everyone did such a great job and each and every bag looks amazing!

Happy students with a happy Anna.

Thanks so much Jacquie and Anna for making the trek to Fancy Tiger Crafts and sharing your amazing inspiration and knowledge!