New Angora Bunny Wool!

Fluffy clouds of soft angora bunny fiber is here! This locally raised angora is from a small fleet of bunnies right here in Denver.

Natural Angora Colors: White  |  Tort  |  Agouti  |  Blue  |  Black

Twelve cute French angora rabbits owned by Peggy Pearlman provided us with this rainbow of five natural colors. Handspinners, this is one amazingly soft fiber! Angora is super warm and insulating and can be blended with other fibers to add a sweet halo to your handspun--or you can spin it all by itself for an amazing yarn.

Emily has been spinning some 100% Angora yarn in the natural Agouti color. She is knitting it into what will be a beautiful Shetland-style shawl with a lace edging in Tort.

Emily's handspun 100% angora Shetland shawl in progress

Her fiber came from her own adorable bunny, Ms. Queen Victoria. (Branwyn the shop dog's sister!)

Queen Victoria the Angora Bunny with her sister, Branwyn

They are best friends!

Tour of the Western Slope with Ysolda!

Ysolda Teague was just in town visiting us again and this time it was for a vacation! Amber and I took a few days off to give her a proper tour of our lovely state and we have lots to report. She arrived just in time for our epic blizzard last Thursday so we just spent the first couple of days sewing and working in the shop. On Sunday we dug ourselves out and drove to the western slope for some animal-cuddling, nature-loving adventures.

Ysolda, Jaime, and Amber showing their Icelandic pride!

First stop was up in Norwood Colorado where we visited Peg and Woody of Pinon Wood Ranch. The cold weather was a perfect opportunity for us to wear our Icelandic sweater and test their warmth (which totally worked, btw.) 

Flower is showing us her smile.

Peg and Woody raise Shetland sheep and alpacas for fiber. Their Shetland sheep have won tons of awards for their beautiful fiber and we think they are the nicest sheep around! Peg's sheep love to cuddle us and stare into our eyes with long, loving gazes.

Ralphie and Cheddar are about to get real famous

Amber and I were so excited to discover an interesting genetic mutation that we think could be a goldmine - miniature sheep! Last year there were four sheep (Ralphie, Cheddar, Swissy and Lauren) born at Pinon Woods that did not grow. These two rams are a year old and still the size of a 2 month old sheep! We really think that they should use them to create a new breed of miniature sheep that we can keep as pets in the city. They are perfect!

Shetland sheep are known for their hardy yet soft wool and they come in 11 different colors. There are many different colors of Shetlands at Pinon Wood Ranch - they are all so beautiful!

Of course we couldn't resist getting our hands on some fluffy alpacas. Their fiber is soo soft--and look at that crimp! Amazing!

Since we last visited, Peg has opened her handspun yarn and fiber shop in an adorable trailer. She is able to take the whole shop easily from one event to the next when she is on the road selling her wares. Look forward to more of Peg's handspun yarns coming to Fancy Tiger this spring!

We were able to bring back some of their Shetland roving with us to sell at Fancy Tiger. We picked out seven natural colors provided by Mary Jane, Flower, Abigail, Butch Cassidy, Mercedes, Belle Star, and Gracie. If you want to try spinning or felting some of this lovely local fiber, just come on in!

Ysolda, Jaime, and Amber frolic in nature. Lots of knitwear going on.

Amber and I wouldn't be good tour guides if we didn't show Ysolda some of Colorado's natural beauty. Amber's parents, Neal and Suzan, took us on an epic snowshoe hike near Ouray. Fresh snow the day before made for a beautiful and pristine landscape. We finished off the day with some local beers at a pub and a soak at the Wiesbaden hot springs - it was the perfect day!

Our drive home lent an unexpected surprise. As we drove through Hotchkiss, a group of shepherds were moving a herd of 2000 sheep from one pasture to another, causing a road block on the highway. We were so excited and immediately pulled over for a photo shoot. It worked out pretty well don't you think?

Fun times in Colorado! Ysolda will be back in town next weekend for a lecture and book signing of her two (!) new books! Join us on Friday, February 17th from 7 - 9pm for more fun times.

New! Cestari Yarns from Mr. Francis Chester!

Francis Chester stole our little hearts at TNNA this year. His love of animals and farming began when he was ten years old and started his own farming business in Long Island. Now 60 years later he is living his dream in Virginia with his own fiber mill and flocks of Merino, Columbia and Taghee sheep. He even wrote a book about it!

We love Cestari's 100% US raised, milled and dyed yarns and picked up his woolen spun worsted weight yarn. Here is a little educational video about the farm and their mill.

Francis Chester and the ladies of Fancy Tiger

Woolen spun is a process that creates a squishy, lofty yarn. The fibers go every which way, making it an extra sproingy yarn that is super insulating and can be used for a range of gauge. We love it!

Better Know A Crafter: Amanda Pacheco

Several of us Fancy Tiger folks have Jared Flood's Rock Island Shawl on the needles right now, so we were all pretty amazed when Amanda stopped in wearing her finished Rock Island--because she had handspun the pretty lace yarn which she knitted it from! We love the long color repeats she got from spinning a hand-dyed roving.

Amanda Pacheco

What kinds of crafts do you do?

I crochet, knit, spin, dye, make batts...if it's fiber, I'm in. I love wearing something I made and I love draping my friends in handmade nomminess!

Tell us about your shawl.
Rock Island. I spun the yarn from Maude & Me roving and knitted it with support from Fancy Tiger. This was the finest yarn I've ever spun and the hardest pattern by far.

How did you learn to spin and knit?
I taught myself to knit and spin. I've been knitting for two years and spinning for one. My friend Caryn got me interested in spinning and has been my greatest support (and enabler!)

What is your favorite animal?
Any one that's spinnable. :)

Thanks Amanda! Happy spinning and knitting!

New Clever Charlotte Sewing Patterns for Modern Children!

Clever Charlotte sewing patterns are here! This new line of sewing patterns features modern clothing perfect for fashionable little folks.

We love the quirky packaging and can't wait to see you stitch these up!

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!

It's Time to Register for the Makerie Retreat!

We can't wait for the second annual Makerie retreat April 19th-22nd!

Jaime and I had tons of fun last year setting up shop in Boulder for the weekend in our Fancy Tiger Crafts pop-up shop. We were also delighted to take classes from the adorable and talented textile designer Lizzy House. This year we'll to return to the Makerie and choose classes from instructors including Liesl Gibson, Jenny Doh, Allison Bozeman, Alexandra Cave, Marisa Anne and lots more.

The Makerie takes place at Chautauqua, at the base of the scenic Flatiron rock formations in Boulder. Classes are already filling up, so be sure to register right away if you want to claim a spot!