StarTyrian

Hey y'all. Just a quick update to let you know I can't take fiber art commissions for a while. I gotta focus on things a little closer to home. I need to be able to walk away from the internet for weeks at a time without pissing people off, and that means not making new commitments.

Don't worry, nobody's dead, the zombie apocalypse hasn't started, I'm just shifting my priorities. I'll be around off and on, I just can't say when.

Take care!

I'm opening up four commission slots, get 'em while they're hot! I can do custom-dyed spinning fiber, handspun yarn, and snuzzly knitwear. Just drop me a DA note!

----
PRICES:
I'm afraid it's not easy to come up with a simple price scale, given all the variables involved. But this should give you a general idea:

HANDSPUN YARN:
Are you crafty? Ever worked with handspun before? Oooh it's a whole new world. You gotta try it. I will custom dye and spin the yarn of your dreams, and darlings, I am GOOD at this. Anything from cobweb lace to super-bulky, from simple sock yarn to one-of-a-kind art yarn plied with beads and ribbons. I usually hand-dye the fiber before spinning for cool effects -- heathered, marbled, self-striping, gradient, marled, barber-pole -- but I can also dye a spun skein for that almost-solid kettle-dye effect, or hand-paint it for a variegated look.

Here's a rough estimate of the cost per 50g skein (in general, you need one of those for a hat, two for a pair of socks, six to ten for a sweater):

100% wool, wool/mohair blend, superwash wool, superwash wool/nylon blend: $10

100% merino, merino/wool blend, superwash merino, superwash merino/nylon blend: $12

wool/silk, merino/silk, more than two fibers in a blend: $14

art yarn (beads, metallic thread, ribbon, felt bobbles, etc.): $26

Notes: The wool/mohair blend is in the $10 category right now because I got an incredible deal from a supplier; it may get more expensive later. No 'blend' fiber can be done as a gradient color; the technique just doesn't work with the carder I use to blend the fibers.

KNITTING

The price of knitted items is in addition to the base cost of the yarn; I can make things from my handspun, or I can buy yarn to match your specs. If you want commercial yarn, your color choices might be somewhat limited, and it might end up being more expensive than the handspun. In general, cotton is cheap, wool is middling, silk is pricey.

Hat: 1 skein + $10
Scarf: 2 skeins + $20
Extra long scarf: 3 skeins + $30
Cowl: 2 skeins + $20
Arm warmers: 1 skein + $10
Mittens: 1 skein + $10
Gloves: 1 skein + $20
Socks: 2 skeins + $20

Notes: I have to charge for each skein I need to buy or make, so a multicolored pattern might be more expensive. Fair Isle, intarsia, cables, and complex pattern stitches are more work, so I'd have to charge more. With handspun or especially nice commercial yarns, I suggest we keep it simple so the yarn can strut its stuff.

------

Because handcrafting takes time, I'm only opening four commission slots at a go. Note me if you want one! (Or just if you have questions; I'll only put you in a slot once you're sure you want to commission something, so don't fear overcommitting. ^_^)

1. Poncho for meaikoh
2. Hat and armwarmers for LaughingAstarael done!
3. yarmulke for The-Ice-Syrin done!
4.

I'm entering the dAKnitters 'Knitting on a Budget' contest, and the rules ask that I mention it in my journal, so here's the contest, and here's my entry. If you like fiber arts, go make votings! Only vote for me if you think I rock the mostest, dolls. There are some seriously awesome craftsmen/women in that community, and I am probably not the awesomest.

...

In other news, I'm nearly done with the commission knitting. I'll be posting pics of the hats later today, I reckon. Only the gloves left to finish, and just the sewing-up there. One thing about getting a bastard of a head cold, once I was past the 'too sick to knit' stage, I had plenty of time to do nothing BUT knit. Well, and watch movies. Hellboy 2 was shockingly awesome, The Hulk was actually pretty dang good thanks to good old Ed Norton and a nicely understated script... um... and I watched a million episodes of Naruto too, shaddap, I was on NyQuil.

And yes, my dears, I washed off the germies before packing up your hats. I'll be sending them as soon as I feel walking to the mailing store wouldn't result in me plus hats head down in the gutter, gurgling softly. The comedy value of that event would not, I think, justify having to remake the hats.

EDIT: Slots are all full for now, my loves. I'll update this entry when I open up again, so if you watch my journals you'll get a heads-up. Thanks so much!

--

Righto, time to pimp my mad sticks-and-string skillz again! Y'all know you want this snuzzly goodness. Just drop me a DA note!

See some of my work here!

I'm afraid it's not easy to come up with a simple price scale, given all the variables involved. But this should give you a general idea:

HANDSPUN YARN:
Are you crafty? Ever worked with handspun before? Oooh it's a whole new world. You gotta try it. I will custom dye and spin the yarn of your dreams, and darlings, I am GOOD at this. Anything from cobweb lace to super-bulky, from simple sock yarn to one-of-a-kind art yarn plied with beads and ribbons. I usually hand-dye the fiber before spinning for cool effects -- heathered, marbled, self-striping, gradient, marled, barber-pole -- but I can also dye a spun skein for that almost-solid kettle-dye effect, or hand-paint it for a variegated look.

Here's a rough estimate of the cost per 50g skein (in general, you need one of those for a hat, two for a pair of socks, six to ten for a sweater):

100% wool, wool/mohair blend, superwash wool, superwash wool/nylon blend: $10

100% merino, merino/wool blend, superwash merino, superwash merino/nylon blend: $12

wool/silk, merino/silk, more than two fibers in a blend: $14

art yarn (beads, metallic thread, ribbon, felt bobbles, etc.): $26

Notes: The wool/mohair blend is in the $10 category right now because I got an incredible deal from a supplier; it may get more expensive later. No 'blend' fiber can be done as a gradient color; the technique just doesn't work with the carder I use to blend the fibers.

KNITTING

The price of knitted items is in addition to the base cost of the yarn; I can make things from my handspun, or I can buy yarn to match your specs. If you want commercial yarn, your color choices might be somewhat limited, and it might end up being more expensive than the handspun. In general, cotton is cheap, wool is middling, silk is pricey.

Hat: 1 skein + $10
Scarf: 2 skeins + $20
Extra long scarf: 3 skeins + $30
Cowl: 2 skeins + $20
Arm warmers: 1 skein + $10
Mittens: 1 skein + $10
Gloves: 1 skein + $20
Socks: 2 skeins + $20

Notes: I have to charge for each skein I need to buy or make, so a multicolored pattern might be more expensive. Fair Isle, intarsia, cables, and complex pattern stitches are more work, so I'd have to charge more. With handspun or especially nice commercial yarns, I suggest we keep it simple so the yarn can strut its stuff.

------

Because handcrafting takes time, I'm only opening four commission slots at a go. Note me if you want one! (Or just if you have questions; I'll only put you in a slot once you're sure you want to commission something, so don't fear overcommitting. ^_^)

1: hat for bluemarigolds
2: gloves for the-myeerah
3: yarn for Alet sent!
4: arm warmers for bluecanariel sent!
5. arm warmers for Wijiic sent!
6. hat for Sychaeus

(Heh, got three requests at the same time for that last slot, so I opened up a couple extras this time. They're all relatively fast projects, so I don't think it'll be a problem.)

The new chapter is up! Thanks for waiting so patiently, darlings. I know it took us a long time. I was pleasantly surprised how few people got cranky about waiting. (To those who did: you get what you pay for, sweetie. ) After a short break for storyboarding, we'll be going back to weekly updates now. I do think doing the whole chapter at once improved the quality, but it also created a lot of pressure and suspense, which was kinda stressful. Hopefully doing a detailed storyboard before starting the next chapter will allow us to keep some of the improvement in artistic continuity without making y'all wait for months and months. ^_^

Oh, quick edit -- I just realized I never mentioned on my DA that I now have a Fictionpress account. I'm Jumping Jack Flash. I've put up pretty much everything I ever wrote that wasn't, you know, buttwipe fodder. So if you like my writey, go take a gander: www.fictionpress.com/~jumpingj…