fancy tiger crafts

Episode 45: Angie Lenoir and Stephanie Stotts – Family farms, friendship, yarn stories and Kismet Fiber Works

January 6, 2016

Sponsor: Fancy Tiger Crafts is a special yarn, fabric and notions shop based out of Denver Colorado. This inspired place is owned and operated by self proclaimed fiber nerds, Jaime Jennings and Amber Corcoran…two women who’s hope and journey have allowed them to share their knowledge, adventures and passion in fiber, and this is reflected in their beautiful shop as well as their endeavors in creating their own farm yarn Heirloom. Fancy Tiger Crafts is one of my favorite places to shop online for fabric, patterns and yarn, and I recently attended one of their craft nights and it’s even better in person. I’ve just began cutting out the Fen pattern and excited about their #fancykal that just started which you can find more info about on their blog. And make sure to mark your calendars for January 21st, where Fancy Tiger is hosting Superstar Knit Night with guests Laura Nelkin, Romi Hill, Miriam Felton, Jill Draper, Anne Weil and Lorilee Beltman. Grab your project and come hang out with knit with all these amazing fiber folk. Make sure to visit Fancy Tiger Crafts in person and online at fancytigercrafts.com and on Instagram @fancytigercrafts.

Fiber folk: You know I love yarn with a story. There are so many facets of these stories…where it came from, who raised the fiber animals, who spun the yarn, dyed it, designs with it and so on. But what makes a yarn story even more exciting and the knit more satisfying, is the impact these yarns have. Angie Lenoir and Stephanie Stotts are two friends who created a fiber company which grew into focusing on creating yarns with a story and a mission. You can find Angie and Stephanie at kismetfiberworks.com and on Instagram @kismetfiberworks.

On January 15-17th Kismet Fiber Works will be at Vogue Knitting Live in New York City at the Yarn Culture booth #713. And a special surprise, several of the Tajik women who spin the Pamiri yarn will be flying from their home in Tajikistan to New York City to attend Vogue Knitting and meet those who attend the event. I would encourage anyone who is near NYC or plans to visit, to stop by on Sunday from 10-2 and welcome them and to show your love and support of what they’re doing.

Sponsor: Feel Good Yarn Co, the creator of SilverSpun yarn. This incredible cotton and silver blend yarn is produced using only American sourced fibers and is spun by the folks at North Carolina State University. Aside from it’s beautiful texture and stitch definition, SilverSpun yarn has some pretty amazing therapeutic and thermal properties because of it’s unique silver content, which you can hear more about in episode 33. They’ve introduced two new products, a colored version of their flagship product, the sport weight SilverSpun yarn and a new fingering weight version of the SilverSpun…perfect for socks, shawls and other knits. I recently knit Gudrun Johnston’s Hermaness hat in the SilverSpun and am in love with the soft and sturdy fabric. Make sure to visit feelgoodyarnco.com for more information and to buy this very special yarn.

Woolful Knit-a-long: And if you’ve seen the latest issue of Taproot, Shelter, then you know of the most recent pattern from Carrie Bostick Hoge, the Portland Pullover, designed in Brooklyn Tweed’s Shelter yarn. I’m in love with the elegant yoke of this design, and it’s neckline. So much so that I started the next Woolful knit along featuring the Portland Pullover. I’ve just received my yarn and began swatching. You can find more details here. And if you don’t already subscribe to Taproot, visit taprootmag.com to subscribe or grab the latest issue Shelter which is where you can find this pattern.

Man on the Street: For this week’s “Man on the Street” I asked the question, “What fiber skills or techniques do you hope to tackle this year?”. We had some great answers from Sonja (@atreebytheriver), Kristi (@kristi_sweetkm), Amy (@urban_farm_wife), Beatrice (@threadandladle), Maria (@ninja.chickens), and Barb (@stixandstring).

Giveaway: The winner of last week’s giveaway is Jenifer, you’ve won a 2 year subscription to Taproot magazine. Congratulations!

This week’s giveaway is sponsored by Kismet Fiber Works and they’re giving away a skein of their Pamiri Cashgora yarn. To enter this giveaway, leave a comment on today’s episode’s blog post.

Music by Jónsi.

95 Comments

Making Podcast Woolful Podcast

Episode 39: Jill Draper – Fine arts, color girl, small farm yarns, and Jill Draper Makes Stuff

October 27, 2015

Sponsor: Ewetopia is a local yarn shop in rural Viroqua, WI, carrying a beautiful selection of yarns and fibers, including their very own line of hand dyed yarns. One of my favorite things about Ewetopia is it’s generational foundation, the shop was started by Kathryn Ashley-Wright and later her mother Lisa Wright joined her as partner in the business. Along with Kathryn’s grandmother Gloria and her daughters Stella and Mae…you’ll sometimes find all four generations busy around the shop…what a special thing to have. In addition to the Ewetopia shop and yarn brand, Kathryn and her family have a farm in southwestern Wisconsin where they grow certified organic hay and rotationally graze their flock of 50 ewes…comprised of Corriedale, Border Leicester and Merino crosses, which contribute to their Ewetopia yarn and fiber line. If you’re in the Viroqua area or just passing through, make sure to visit them in person. You can find a selection of Ewetopia yarns and fibers, and more info on the shop and farm online at ewetopiafibershop.com. And find them on Instagram @ewetopiayarn.

Fiber folk: Jill Draper is what I would call one of the OG’s of hand dyed and small farm yarns. From studying fine arts, to making decoupage vases and then finding her calling in dyeing yarn which led to creating her own bases from small flocks around the US, Jill is a gem in this industry and craft. So much of my early interest in farm yarns came from watching Jill’s journey and passion for working with traceable fibers and milling with domestic mills. Many of you may be familiar with Empire, or yarn babies as many call them…boasting 1280 of aran weight Rambouillet wool. She recently released her newest yarn Rifton, a wonderful combination of natural colored and dyed wool. You can find Jill’s incredible line of yarns at many of your favorite local yarn shops and her newest yarn Rifton in her Etsy shop Jill Draper Makes Stuff. Visit jilldraperblogs.blogspot.com to follow her adventure in yarn making and on Instagram @jillmakesstuff.

Sponsor: Fancy Tiger Crafts is a special yarn, fabric and notions shop based out of Denver Colorado. This inspired place is owned and operated by self proclaimed fiber nerds, Jaime Jennings and Amber Corcoran…two women who’s hope and journey have allowed them to share their knowledge, adventures and passion in fiber, and this is reflected in their beautiful shop as well as their endeavors in creating their own farm yarn Heirloom. Fancy Tiger Crafts is one of my favorite places to shop online for fabric, patterns and yarn, but I’m even more excited to visit the shop in person when I’m in Denver in a couple weeks. I plan to pickup their newest sewing pattern Fen and hopefully find some time to sew this Winter. Starting this coming weekend they’ll be hosting Brooklyn Tweeds Wool People 9 Trunk Show, so make sure to visit Fancy Tiger Crafts in person and online at fancytigercrafts.com and on Instagram @fancytigercrafts.

Man on the street: For this week’s “Man on the Street” I asked the question, “What is your favorite yarn with a story?”. We had some great answers from Amy @urban_wife_farm, Melissa @hey_lady_hey, Leanne @leannecoppola

Giveaway: The winner of last week’s giveaway is, Jordan You’ve won 2 skeins of Lincoln Longwool yarn from Orchard View Lincoln Longwools. Congratulations!

This week we’re giving away a skein of Jill Draper’s Rifton Spun to Stripe fingering yarn. To enter this giveaway, leave a comment on this blog post.

Music by Jónsi.

145 Comments

Making Podcast Woolful Podcast

Episode 34: Brooke Sinnes – Boarding schools, California, Natural Dyeing and Sincere Sheep

September 15, 2015

Sponsor: I wanted to thank one of our sponsors for this week’s episode, Fancy Tiger Crafts, a beautiful yarn shop based out of Denver Colorado. This inspired place is owned and operated by self proclaimed fiber nerds, Jaime Jennings and Amber Corcoran…two women who’s hope and journey have allowed them to share their knowledge, adventures and passion in fiber, and this is reflected in their beautiful shop as well as their endeavors in creating their own yarn Heirloom, which you can find in their shop, both in person and online. Make sure to share and visit fancytigercrafts.com

Fancy Tiger Crafts has an exciting event coming up in the beginning of October, Wool Day at the Lyons Farmette…a local fiber retreat which will include your choice of two classes, a catered lunch and a cocktail hour. What could be better than spending a day of spinning, knitting and dyeing in the presence of fellow fiber enthusiasts and a fiber animal bunch…ending with cocktails with the Alpacas. For more information and to register, visit fancytigercrafts.com/events.

Fiber folk: I first met Brooke a couple years ago when I sat across from her at a little knit gathering Karen from Fringe Supply Co had at her studio. At the time I wasn’t aware that she was the force behind Sincere Sheep, but it didn’t take long for me to get to know the passion, knowledge and love this woman has for the fiber industry. She’s so giving with her knowledge and has been a great encourager and connector for my own fiber pursuits, enlightening me about wool classing and encouraging me to attend a local wool classing certification and introducing me other fiber folk who have great wisdom to share. But more than all that, she’s an extremely hardworking mother who naturally dyes the most beautiful collection of domestic yarns. You can find Brooke at SincereSheep.com and on Instagram @sinceresheep.

Sponsor: I wanted to thank our other sponsor for this week’s episode, Stash, a local yarn shop based in Corvallis Oregon who will be celebrating their 4th anniversary next month. The owner, Sonia was a very early supporter and encourager of the podcast and it’s been so great to get to know her a bit and watch all the positive energy she puts into her shop and fiber community. This week Sonia a new podcast, Stash, where she explores topics around creativity, motivation, and staying inspired while running a creative business through conversations with all types of makers. Make sure to visit when in Corvallis and online at stashlocal.com…and stay tuned in the next couple weeks as Stash launches their new online shop, carrying many of the same wonderful yarns, notions and patterns you find in store.

Farmyard Tales: I’m beginning a new segment on the podcast that will rotate with the regular Man on the Street segment…it’s aptly named Farmyard Tales…fun and encouraging anecdotes from farmers and their farmyards…starting with mine.

Many of you know that back in April we welcomed a flock of 4 Icelandic ewes to the ranch…Ethel, Louise, Lucy and Alice. We bought them from a lovely woman near us who thought they might be pregnant from an escaped ram. We watched them over the following month and yes, it did appear as though they might be pregnant. We had a vet out to confirm and opted to skip the ultrasound because he also believed they were pregnant and we’d know soon enough, right? Wrong. The very fluid possible due date has come and gone and so it appears we just have fat sheep. Because of their new greener pastures, small added grain for “pregnancy” and thickening fleeces…it would appear we’ve been duped. This is after much anticipation of lambs, including building projects to prepare for them..haha. What is it they say? That everyday is a lesson in farming? Well this was a humorous and humbling one for sure.

Giveaway: The winner of last week’s giveaway, is Judy from Judy in the Dyes! You’ve won the Pompeii hat kit, which includes a skein of natural SilverSpun yarn and a skein of dyed SilverSpun yarn, along with the Pompeii Hat pattern. Congratulations!

The giveaway this week is sponsored by Sincere Sheep and we’re giving away, not one, but three Brookfield Shawl pattern kits, which includes a skein of Sincere Sheep Silken Fingering and Brookfield a pattern created by Annie Rowden for Among Friends, a collaboration between Brooke of Sincere Sheep and Lorajean of Knitted Wit. To enter this giveaway and be one of the three winners, leave a comment on this post.

Events: For all of the UK listeners, I wanted to bring your attention to an event happening this weekend at Loop, in London. On Saturday September 19th, Nathalie Lété will be painting Loop’s large storefront window in honor of their 10th anniversary. If you’re in the area, make sure to visit for this beautiful event and to also check out Loop’s new book 10, featuring twelve patterns celebrating ten fabulous year of Loop London…including designers Pam Allen, Ysolda Teague, Stephen West, Donna Higgins, Juju Vail, Tif Fussel and Kirstin Kapur and many beautiful yarns.