Better Know A Crafter: Nancy Lowell

Nancy has been crafting up a storm with her appliqued felt pillows! Each of them is a one of a kind creation and Nancy often uses her fabric choices to inspire the imagery she created on the pillows. Most of the pillows have applique on both sides. We love the detail and stitching!

Nancy Lowell

1) What inspires you to be so crafty?

I am a teacher. I cut, paste, and draw all day for my students.


2) Tell us about the pillows you've been making.
I am appliqueing onto pillows I've made. My patterns came out of my head. I use embroidery thread and wool felt.


3) How did learn to applique?
No one taught me how to do this--I just started doing it. It runs in my blood.



4) What is your favorite animal?
My two dogs.

Thanks Nancy! Happy crafting!

Jade Sapphire Cashmere Yarn

Jade Sapphire hand-dyed cashmere is here!

This yarn is the absolute softest thing we've ever touched. Jade Sapphire is a 100% Mongolian cashmere yarn--known for it's long staple length and extremely soft fiber, Mongolian cashmere is top notch!


Did you know that one cashmere goat only produces about 150 grams of cashmere a year? That is just 3 skeins of this luscious yarn! During the spring the cashmere goats moult, and their warm, downy undercoat is combed out by hand. It is then cleaned and any coarse hairs are removed, leaving this lofty, lightweight and super insulating fiber. It's pretty special!

We love this free cashmere cowl pattern. It's the same cowl that Amber fell in love with at TNNA and is a simple slip stitch colorwork pattern. Just ask us and we'll give you a free copy when you purchase a skein or two of Jade Sapphire.

Pearl & Jack: A Sock Monkey Love Tale

We'd like to share a heartwarming story with you, a tale of crafts and a tale of love. And of sock monkeys.

Pearl & Jack

Once upon a snowy day in February, Pearl the sock monkey sat inside wishing she had a woolen hat to keep her head warm. Being a crafty monkey, she set out to knit up a warm cabled hat. She chose the perfect shade of mulberry merino yarn to bring out the pink in her cheeks and a flattering cabled beret pattern--Gretel by Ysolda Teague.


Pearl is quite the avid knitter and was finished in time to enjoy the fresh snow fall.


She donned her perfect little Gretel, smiled, and set out to enjoy her favorite snowy day pastime, snow angel-making!


Suddenly around the corner came a handsome fellow. Jack the sock monkey also enjoyed a snowy day and became immediately smitten when he saw Pearl making angels in the snow.


Pearl blushed at being caught playing in the snow by herself. "Your rosy cheeks give you away. You need a hot drink to warm you after a day in the snow," said Jack.

She joined him and together they walked to the local coffee house, Metropolis, where Jack ordered a latte for two from the barista.


It was a perfect afternoon and by the end of the day two sock monkeys were in love.

The End

A special thanks to:
Miguel at Metropolis for the mini-latte for two
Angelique for knitting a mini Gretel
Betsy for making Pearl the pink sock monkey
Zach for making Jack the sock monkey

We Are In Love With Blacker Heritage Wool Yarns

You may know that we at Fancy Tiger can get really nerdy about sheep breeds. It has been a long time goal of ours to carry un-dyed yarns of various heritage breeds. Our dreams have finally come true! We are very proud to introduce Blacker Yarns pure breed wools. A UK company that works with and supports small sheep farmers by giving them premium prices for their wool, Blacker mills the fleeces themselves, making yarns that wonderfully represent the qualities of the wool of various traditional breeds.

May we introduce you to some of these cuties?

Southdown

Amber's favorite breed because of their cute smiling faces, the Southdown sheep is one of the oldest purebred sheep in the world and originated in Sussex, England.

Shetland

One of the smallest breeds of sheep, the Shetland is originally from the Shetland Isles. The wool comes in eight distinct colors and is considered one of the finest wools in the British Isles. We are stocking it in the natural colors, fawn and moorit.

Ryeland

These sheep are quite little and almost resemble teddy bears. The fleece is fine, crimpy and warm. We are stocking Ryeland in a natural heathered grey-brown.

North Ronaldsey

A rare sheep that grazes on seaweed, the North Ronaldsey sheep is mainly found on the island for which they are named. They are small sheep with strong wills. We are stocking it in two beautiful natural shades.

Jacob

Jacob sheep have distinctive dark brown and white fleece. They are an ancient breed of horned sheep that can have up to six horns. The two colors of their fleece are sorted to create up to five different shades of grey--brown and white together appears grey!

Wensleydale

These beautiful tall and elegant sheep have long shiny coats with fine wavy wool. This yarn is the most lustrous of all the wools and is incredibly soft.

Gotland

Gotland is a Swedish breed developed by the Vikings on the island of Gotland over 1,000 years ago. This breed is Jaime's favorite because of it's lustrous grey wool and it's magical properties. The Gotland wool is the exclusive wool used for the Elvin cloaks in the Lord of the Rings films.

Blue-Faced Leicester

Blue-Faced is known for its lovely, fine soft wool. The softness is comparable to Merino, but it has a beautiful loft and lustre. The breed has a distinctive Roman nose which gives them an aristocratic air.

Black Welsh Mountain

Black Welsh produce a near black fleece that is best for outerwear, as the beautiful dark colored wool is coarse and durable.


We are so excited about this beautiful palette of natural colors and textures and we can't wait to see what you make!

Good Times with Stefanie Japel

Stefanie Japel, lovely lady and fabulous knitter, visited us last weekend! She shared some tips on embellishing your handknits and signed copies of her books, Glam Knits and Fitted Knits. We had a blast and can't wait to see her again at The Makerie retreat in April!


Ali of The Makerie baked the most delicious sugar cookies. Jaime and I were super excited to finally use this cookie/coffee stencil of a knitting diagram which we brought back from Iceland. The cookies were almost too cute to eat!


Thanks Stefanie and Ali!

Knitting Jared Flood

We have all been busy working on epic knitting projects this winter so our project posts have been sparse. I did take some time to whip up a couple of small projects last month that both used patterns from Jared Flood. If you're not familiar with Jared Flood, his stunning photography has made him famous among knitters. He designs sophisticated patterns and now has his own line of US grown yarns that we are dying to get our hands on.


Have you heard how in love I am with yellow right now? I came back from Iceland with a suitcase full of yellow yarn! This project is the Romney Kerchief from Jared Flood's blog. While he does not write out the pattern, Jared gives plenty of details as to how he made this simple triangle shawl and it was easy for me to figure out. I picked up this lichen-dyed Lopi lace yarn in Iceland and was looking for the perfect pattern for it. I love how simple this pattern is - perfect to show off the rich color and texture of the yarn. I love my Lopi Kerchief!


In October we went to the Taos Wool Market and I fell in love with the un-dyed yarns from Elsa Wools. Their yarns are all made from Cormo wool sourced from Colorado and Montana and are US milled. The woolen-spun Cormo yarn is springy and soft. I decided on knitting Jared's Ptarmigan cowl pattern. I wanted something that would knit up quick during the busy holidays. This cowl is super warm and the lace pattern looks great in the pale un-dyed gray of the wool.



Yay for knitting!

First Friday: Stefanie Japel and the Makerie!

Fancy Tiger Crafts is pleased to be hosting Stefanie Japel and the Makerie this First Friday! Join us for treats, libations and fun times!

This Friday!
February 4th, 6 - 9pm
Fancy Tiger Crafts

Stefanie Japel is an amazing knitter and author of the books Glam Knits and Fitted Knits. Ms. Japel will be signing copies of her books as well as demonstrating techniques for knitted embellishments. You will also find her teaching knitting workshops this April at the Makerie, Boulder's upcoming creative retreat!


The Makerie is a creative retreat launching in Boulder, CO this spring! Ali from the Makerie will be on hand this Friday to answer questions about the retreat.

The Makerie will be full of amazing crafty workshops in sewing, embroidery, knitting, painting, block printing, photography, pattern making and more, and is designed for ANYONE who loves to be creative, wants to be more creative or dreams of being creative. The Makerie has an amazing line-up of teachers from around the country for this inaugural year. In addition to the classes, there will be wake-up yoga &/or hiking, as well as healthy, organic & local yummy foods. People will have the chance to stay in cozy cottages, eat communal meals together & simply be part of a fun, creative community for a few days. Fancy Tiger Crafts is excited to be there, too! A Fancy Tiger pop-up store will be open during the retreat for campers and Boulder folks to shop for crafting supplies.

Hope to see you this Friday!