Knitted?
Posted Dec. 24 by Crystal
The second most common question I get (after "How did you come up with that?" answer: I bought a bunch of scales to make actual metal maille with and hated it, had to do something with the scales, invented this) is "Why the yarn base?" The answer is threefold:
- Knitting is faster and more fun (for me) than weaving maille.
- This gives a flexible base that expands when your dice collection (or arms) do.
- Metal beats up your dice and makes them all scruffy. This way the metal is all on the outside-dice stay "new" longer.
I've been making these for three years now, always with the same warranty: if the scales wear through the knitting then mail the scales back to me and I re-knit them for free. No takers yet, all those bags and gauntlets are still in use. I tested it with my destructo-boy son. His gauntlets and dice bag are still intact, if a little fuzzy around the edges after two years of HARD wear. I figure if a 6 year old can't kill them, normal human use won't be a problem.
Merry Christmas
Posted Dec. 24 by Crystal
All of us here at Crystal's Idyll wish you all a very Merry Christmas. We hope your holiday plans are happy and safe. And look for alignment-based dice bag patterns coming in the new year.
The Start of My Costuming Career
Posted Jul. 21 by Crystal
My freshman year in college a dorm mate heard I could sew and asked me to turn a blanket into a cloak for her. She loved the result so much it was her coat all winter. Everywhere she wore it she got comments, including one from a man who wanted to know where she got it. She wouldn't tell him, wanting hers to remain one of a kind. Fast forward 5 years. One day my husband of about a year and I were discussing costuming. He said, "Do you remember the cloak AJ had our freshman year? She wouldn't tell me where she got it." Once I was able to stop grinning enough to speak I filled him in on who the creator was.
That was 14 years ago. Since then I have made my handsome husband innumerable costume pieces, many of which draw compliments. But none of them have given me as much glee as that first piece when he realized HIS WIFE COULD DO THAT!
Summer Events: Washington Midsummer Faire
Posted Mar. 14 by Crystal
We're very excited to have our booth at the Washington Midsummer Faire for ALL THREE WEEKENDS (the first three weekends in August)! This is one of the biggest renaissance fairs in Washington state, so come check out the gypsy horse riders, the Seattle Knights and our awesome wares!
The fun doesn't stop there! We have more plans going on into Autumn, but we'll keep those to ourselves for now. Check back later for details.
Business As Usual
Posted Mar. 1 by Crystal
We are still enjoying increased popularity, for which we are very grateful, buy we're now ahead of the orders again. So check out our store for several new items in stock. As usual, if you don't see exactly what you're looking for, ask us and we'll be happy to make yours exactly the way you want it. Turnaround time for custom orders is currently less than a week.
Thank You, Ms. Day
Posted Nov. 10 by Crystal
Earlier today, Felicia Day of The Guild and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog fame shared this wonderful picture of her Phoenix Dragonhide Gauntlets. We are very grateful for her feedback, but the sudden surge in popularity has left us a bit short on items ready to sell.
Currently, all Dragonhide items are sold out and available only by custom order, which we will gladly take here, and will be added to our production queue as soon as we have your complete order information (sizes, colors, etc.). Please allow up to 2 weeks from then until your order is completed.
For those who don't want to wait, Games & Gizmos in Redmond, WA has a few Dragonhide Dice Bags available in their store, which they are willing to ship to you. See their web site to order.
In the mean time, go ahead and follow us on Twitter or Facebook to keep up to date on all the new, cool and unique items we will offer.