New Books!

There have been a ton of new books released this Spring - here is the lowdown on all the new crafty goodness!

1. Handsewn by Margaret Rowan - This book is a beautiful encyclopedia of techniques for all types of handsewing, including tailoring techniques and embroidery embellishments.
2. We Love to Sew by Annabel Wrigley - This is a fantastic book for aspiring young sewists! The book is filled with fun projects, each with detailed photo tutorials that make the projects easy to follow.
3. The Essential A-Line by Jona Giammalva - a book all about A-lines! This book includes 1 paper pattern with 17 different tutorials based on the pattern including pleats, ruffles, decorative pockets and patchwork!
4. Stylish Dress Book by Yoshiko Tsukiori - We are so glad this book is now in English! This is one of our favorite Japanese sewing books featuring simple and, yes, stylish dresses and tunics.
5. Just Sew Stories by Katie Allen - This book contains awesome projects for gifts! Everyone in your life is covered--with awesome projects like a "Totes" tote, Frida Kalho throw pillow, a hipster doll or a life-sized realistic and personalized cat pillow!
6. Growing Up Modern by Allison Harris - If you are looking to make a baby quilt, look no further, this book is just what you need! Allison's book has lots of patterns for Baby, Crib and Twin sized quilts ranging in difficulty from beginner to advanced
7. Patchwork Please! by Ayumi Takahashi - This book is amazing--I if I can find the time to make all the projects in this book, my house will be the craftiest and cutest place ever!
8. Knitted Letters by Catherine Hirst and Erssie Major - This book is filled with witty and charming projects that involve letters or type. There are charted knitting patterns for tons of awesome fonts as well as my favorite project - 3D knit, stuffed letters!
9. Knit With Me by Gudrun Johnston - This mother/daughter collection has been highly anticipated by us Fancy Tigers as we are huge Gudrun fans. She did not disappoint! Knit With Me includes 12 sweaters and knit accessories in Gudrun's beautiful and sophisticated designs, sized for adults and kids.

See you soon!

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!

Crafty New Books!

It's that time of year again! Every spring and fall, we get inundated with tons of new books! This spring's new books will keep you crafting all summer long! Here's the lowdown on some of our fave new releases.

1) Happy Home Jennifer Paganelli  |  2) So Pretty Crochet Amy Palanjian  |  3) Unravel Lanoo Books  |  4) Improv Sewing Nicole Blum & Debra Immergut  |  5) Fabrics A to Z Dana Willard  |  6) Quilts from the House of Tula Pink Tula Pink  |  7) Circular Knitting Workshop Margaret Radcliffe  |  8) Finishing School Deborah Newton  |  9) Mom & Me Knits Stefanie Japel

1. Happy Home by Jennifer Paganelli. You are probably familiar with Ms. Paganelli because she designs fantastic fabrics for FreeSpirit and she has also written the fun girl's sewing book, Girl's World. Her new book from Chronicle captures her unique style and love of bright colors. Happy Home features sewing projects for everything from bags to dog beds to banners, pillows and quilts.

2. So Pretty Crochet by Amy Palanjian. So Pretty Crochet features 24 crochet accessories projects from 12 different designers. All of the projects are beautiful and delicate with a Victorian flare. If you are interested in making jewelry, mittens or cuffs there is lots to inspire in this stylish book. Some interesting crocheted banners and bags round out the offerings.

3. Unravel. Unravel is a book you will want to display on your coffee table and look at again and again. It details the fashion of knitwear from the 1930's through the present. There are tons of beautiful photographs, vintage ads, and drawings. 

4. Improv Sewing by Nicole Blum and Debra Immergut. Nicole and Debra were just at Fancy Tiger Crafts doing a demo from this awesome new book and we are all converts of their style and approach to sewing with knits. They take the fear out of sewing with jersey through simple, yet classic styles and easy to follow advice and tutorials. They show you how to draft your own patterns so you can make clothes that fit great. This book is perfect for the sewist who is ready to explore the wonderful world of sewing with knits!

5. Fabrics A to Z by Dana Willard. There are so many wonderful books on sewing and finally there is a wonderful book on fabrics! This in depth guide details every type of fabric imaginable and talks about properties, how to care for them, and how to work with them. There are also sections on ribbons, buckles, zippers and tools - a must have book for every serious sewer.

6. Quilts from the House of Tula Pink by Tula Pink. Amber and I are really lucky because twice a year we get to go to quilt market and meet people like Tula Pink. We love her! Her booth is always spectacular because of her amazing quilts. She comes up with interesting designs that are both unique and gorgeous. We are so excited that she has a book out that captures the spirit of her booths at market. There are 20 quilt projects in this book, but also fantastic things like shower curtains, lampshades, and pillows. Now we can all experience the magic that is Tula Pink!

7. Circular Knitting Workshop by Margaret Radcliffe. This new book is a great reference for any lover of circular knitting, or anyone who wants to learn about circular knitting. There are techniques for converting patterns to be worked in round and various methods of circular knitting are explained in detail with great photos. In addition to all of this reference-style information, there are tons of great patterns for everything from hats and mittens to shawls, sweaters, and socks.

8. Finishing School by Deborah Newton. This is another great reference-style book for serious knitters. This book covers everything you'd need to know to properly finish a piece. There are various techniques and tutorials for blocking as well as seaming techniques.  Ms. Newton even goes over how to sew on a button or install a zipper. Fantastic!

9. Mom and Me Knits by Stefanie Japel. We love Stefanie Japel and are so excited about her newest book, Mom and Me Knits. Stefanie lives here in Denver so we have the pleasure of knowing her and her 2 adorable daughters. Mom and Me Knits features beautiful, classic knits that are sized for both mom's and their daughters. It was wonderful to host Stefanie this past weekend for a release party for this book. If you haven't picked up your copy yet, there are still signed copies to be had!

New book titles are coming in every day--next time you stop in we'd be happy to show you our favs!

New Spring 2011 Books! Craft your heart out!

Spring means rain, gardening, radishes and new books! We have tons of new books in the store to teach and inspire you. Here are some of our favorites this Spring...

There are two amazing quilt books that make me so excited for quilting! My favorite is The Modern Quilting Bee Block Party by Alissa Haight Carlton and Kristen Lejnieks. Alissa Haight Carlton is a founding member of the Modern Quilt Guild and this new book is a perfect example of what the Modern Quilt Guild is all about - stunning modern designs. I want to make every single quilt in here...

Also new and exciting is the Modern Log Cabin Quilting by Susan Beal. This book has lots of amazing projects using the easy and versatile log cabin design. You will love it!

We love Meg McElwee! She is the woman behind the Sew Liberated patterns and her first book Sew Liberated contains tons of awesome patterns. Meg's newest book, Growing Up Sew Liberated is one of the most adorable kids sewing books of all time. This book has everything from tee-pees to toys to clothes to baby slings. My favorite though, is the Reversible Hooded Play Cape - it's sure to make all magical dreams come true!

Harvesting Color is a new natural dyeing book that we love! It is awesome because it teaches you how to harvest your own natural dye plants and materials so you don't have to rely on purchasing natural dyes that are often coming from far away places. Now you can dye yarns with plants from your backyard using this colorful and environmentally conscious book. Author Rebecca Burgess even teaches you how to make your own mordant from rusty objects.

Vintage Modern Knits is a new book from Interweave that features vintage inspired patterns, updated for modern fit and yarns. We love that it includes a pattern for a traditional and olde-fashioned Gansey!

Just in case you missed it - Knit. Sock. Love. by Cookie A is hands down the most exciting sock book to be released in many months. It still has us knitting and dreaming of socks all day long!

Spud and Chloe at the Farm is an adorable picture book style story featuring patterns by designer Susan B. Anderson for all your favorite farm dwellers.

So...we don't really have supplies for terrariums (check out our new neighbor Ironwood for that!), but we couldn't resist this beautiful and informative new book on building your own terrarium. This includes information about different plants and habitats and crafting terrariums from found household objects!

Liesl Gibson Book Signing this Saturday!

Join us this Saturday, as we are happy to host author and designer Liesl Gibson, the woman behind Oliver + S sewing patterns and the new book, Little Things to Sew. This book is full of the-most-adorable sewing patterns for children. With it's stunning photography and inspired projects, this book is perfect for anyone who wants to sew cute items for cute kids!

Liesl Gibson Booksigning

Saturday, April 30th

3 - 5pm

Fancy Tiger Crafts

Liesl will be signing copies of her book and we will have the brand new Oliver + S patterns available for purchase.

Class Picnic Blouse + Shorts

Family Reunion Dress

Seashore Sundress

Liesl's newest fabric collection, Modern Workshop, will be here too! Come by for treats and fun times!

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!

New Books That Make Us Want To Craft Everything!

Inspiring new craft books are arriving left and right! We can't keep up with all the lovely, inspiring craft projects!

We are doing our best, as Jaime shows below modeling her new "Pointy Elf Hat" from More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson. She knit hers up in a couple hours in Malabrigo Aquarella yarn. We love how Joelle's books are divided by how long each project takes, including everything from quick two hour projects to eight hour and longer projects. Every project is simply beautiful.


Jaime and I both got inspired to make the cute toys in Sue Havens' Make your Own Toys book. Jaime made a cute little fox and I made a floppy patchwork kitty. These were so much fun to make. What an adorable use for all our favorite sewing scraps!


The handsewn dolls in Hillary Lang's book, Wee Wonderfuls, are cute as cute can be.


Alicia Paulson's newest book, Embroidery Companion, is a beautiful modern take on vintage style embroidery. Alicia includes patterns for embroidery, cross-stitch and crewelwork projects. It makes me want to embellish everything!


Style Stitches is Amy Butler's newes book, chock full of structured bags for every seamstress. Twenty-six new Amy Butler bags just waiting for you to make them! Yes!


I'd better get back to crafting!

New Cute Craft Supplies From Around the Globe!

New Japanese felting supplies are here! Most of these so-adorable-they-can-only-be-Japanese crafting kits, books and tools now have instructions translated into English, for more fun and less "say what?".


Felt ball makers are back! These sweet felting tools flew out of here last time we got them in. They make perfect little wet-felted wool balls with ease!


This new felting book is cute as cute can be!


And from Germany, the land where magically self-patterning sock yarn originates, Ambiente yarn is here! These little balls of sock yarns come in the prettiest colors which transform into a faux Fair-Isle pattern of stripes and speckles as you knit. You may know, we are all about making shawls out of our sock yarn around here, so keep your eye out for some Ambiente shawl action!

New Tina Givens Opal Owl Fabrics!

Opal Owl is here! This fantastical little fellow and his friends are part of the new Opal Owl fabrics illustrated and designed by Tina Givens.


The collection includes a panel fabric for making your very own Opal Owl sewn book. We couldn't resist and Jaime already sewed one up in just a few hours. Fabric books were a staple back in the day and we love this modern version with its original story by Tina Givens.

Exciting New Books!

We have been eagerly anticipating Joel Dewberry's new book, Sewn Spaces. We love his fabric collections--they are always inspiring with their botanical, geometric modern prints. Stylish sewing, applique, embroidery, fabric stenciling and even glass etching are represented in this awesome book! Projects range from bed pillowcases that are easy enough for beginner seamsters to more advanced projects like upholstery. Joel also included a pajama pattern so you'll look stylish lounging around on all your fancy new sewn home decor!



Ori Ami Knits is a celebration of Habu Textiles yarns. The knitting patterns make use of some of Habu's interesting and textural yarns, such as silk wrapped stainless steel, paper yarns, silk tweeds, wool/stainless steel and more.


A new book for handspinners, Get Spun, is a great all around guide for spinning unique art yarns. It is super informative, covering everything from knowing your tools--spinning wheel, drum carder, etc--to what to spin--sure, wool and mohair will be cool, but how about adding plastic bags and hex nuts--to dyeing and plying and more!


In the Loop: Knitting Now examines contemporary knitting--as art, activism and narrative. If you want knitting to blow your mind this is the book for you. Included are knitted full bodysuits, deep fried sweaters, knitted human hair and razor wire knitted cozies. Weird and awesome.

New! Tons of New and Exciting Crafty Books!

Loads of newly published and amazing crafting books have been arriving almost daily around here! I almost can't stand how inspiring they all are. Here are some of the new store favorites.

Quilting is the new craft obsession for a few of us at Fancy Tiger Crafts, myself included, and with new fabrics arriving all the time I just dream of making patchwork quilts all day. Whip Up Mini Quilts is full of adorable quilting projects with great, modern style. Perfect timing to feed my obsession! My next project just might be the little art quilt which features hand embroidery as well as applique--cute!


Martha Stewart has done it again with this epic book chock full of great projects, tutorials and ideas. Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts covers everything you ever wanted to know about sewing and fabric crafts. Tutorials with clear pictures and directions will help crafters learn everything from embroidery to upholstery to quilting to printing on and dyeing fabric. There are so many projects--baby gifts and nursery items, bags, napkins, curtains, aprons and toys--all executed in Martha's simple and classic style. This book is a great all around sewing book and reference for the beginner or experienced seamstress.


The Homemade Home is a lovely book to help you decorate every room in the house with a handmade aesthetic. There are projects such as embroidered wall art, applique curtains and planting in teacups and tin cans. There are plenty of sewing projects, but many projects included use fabric, paper, and paint!


We have a whole ton of new Japanese crafting books in so we just featured our favorites. Here we have a needlefelting book, Small Dogs. This book will make you giddy with its cute wooly dogs (and one companion cat) and stunning photography. Picture tutorial makes it easy to use even if you don't read Japanese!


Felt Mascots is another ridiculously cute Japanese felting book. In it you will find the cutest of cute bunnies, chipmunks, finger puppets, llama, turtles, sheep, elephants, dogs, lion, birds, matryoshka and more! This book also anthropomorphizes ice cream treats, so you know we give it two thumbs up.


The Feisty Stitcher is a new sewing book that will be perfect for Summer! We love the oilcloth bike basket and the fused-plastic (re-using shopping bags) messenger bag. Great ideas for re-using materials and fun projects make this book unique.


Craft Challenge: Dozens of Ways to Repurpose a Tea Towel gives you tons of ways to upcycle a tea towel destined for greater things than drying your dishes. It includes fun and simple projects like totes, tops, aprons and slippers, toys for little ones and even a backpack for Fido! I really love the saddlebag for your bike. Bike related crafts are all the rage for summer 2010!



We love Wendy Mullin's style and her new Built by Wendy: Dresses book is no exception. This book includes three paper patterns for basic dress styles plus tons of instructions for altering each style into hip, classy, or simple designs. This book is great if you are interested in designing your own dresses but don't have experience with drafting patterns.


This highly anticipated second book by Natalie Chanin gives you more amazing Alabama Stitch Style! Alabama Studio Style has projects for home and wardrobe in Chanin's unique hand-stitched and layered style. Recipes and decorating ideas abound so you can experience Alabama style everyday!