I am very glad my plush customers are patient sorts (and I've been trying to be clear up front about the utter chaos that is my work life these days.) This hell-year keeps happening, and I'm NOT jinxing myself by saying next year will definitely be better, but at least I'm moved into our new house now, and the kiddo is in school now, and getting more independent all the time, so *hopefully* I'll be able to get a reasonable work schedule going at last? December, of course, is a terrible month for that, but January is looking promising?

Feel free to check in about your place on the list, I've had to shuffle things around to meet a Christmas deadline, and January is going to be busybusybusy, probably, since I'll be trying to catch up on everything this move + holiday chaos has delayed.

That said, I AM tentatively planning a kickstarter for the Thorn toys starting late January! And I intend to get the flops I currently have photographed and up for sale this week, so if you like the spiky cats, keep an eye peeled. :3

Better pictures coming soon, meanwhile I've gotten a video of me squishing it, showing that it's not such a big, bad kitty after all! https://t.co/4ngRnLeX1u?amp=1

Working on getting some more casts with fewer bubbles (they're not obvious, but there are a few in both the test casts.)

Yes, will probably sell at least some of these, but I just CANNOT guarantee they'll be bubble-free, so mostly pre-made so you can see that sort of thing up front.

Just... Kinda having some frustrations with rules requiring only safe, sanitized content, and hoping there's *something* out there that allows actual kinky content, furry content, etc.

Making the pornoplushes has been too much fun. Honestly it's been about the only thing stirring any real enthusiasm in me the last few weeks. (The world, you know? The USA in particular.)

I am like... about 70% cackling like a loon at how ridiculous they are (especially while trying to film a video... omg it was hilarious) and then 30% going "man, actually this is kinda hot?"

I won't lie, I'd kinda do the stallion. (I am not anatomically set up to do the dragon, despite being male.) I'll refrain, though, since I plan on eventually selling him.

Anyhow, while I'm blathering on, I should mention that I tested to see if the outie goes into the innie properly with these, and indeed it does! Though it's a tight fit, lol. I'll have a still photo of that up here later, but right now you can catch the video on my patreon.

It's very short and kinda potato-quality, but as noted above, also still kinda hot? It's up for all tiers, so just $1 will get you it.

Edit: Oh hey, helps if I link to the Patreon. Check it out right here. It's mostly my writing, including fanfic, original writing, and erotica, with a few exclusives but largely just early access. But now and again I do bonus stuff like this.

Realized I forgot to mention this over here, though I've talked about it on my writing account and twitter. :3

A virtual furry convention, aimed particularly at writers, is going on right now!

Convention for scheduling, etc: https://oxfurredcomma.com/

Twitch to watch the current panel: https://www.twitch.tv/furwritersguild

Discord for live vending etc.: https://discord.gg/t4N2u4f

I'm selling my books, but also plushes, tails, ears, and other furry miscellany. Come drop by!

Or however you spell that. I'm doing the whole set, but unlike the pony princess giant beanie set, that sold out pretty fast, so far I still have all the ones I've made. (So if you want Eevee, Flareon, Espeon or the just-finished and not yet posted Jolteon, lemme know! Or if you want to claim one of the ones I haven't made yet. I'm sewing Umbreon right now, and Vaporeon is just waiting on some fabric in a color I ran out of.) If they don't sell over FA/DA/Twitter, they'll sell next time I can do a convention, and they've been so great for my productivity/mental health balance, compared to the stress of my other projects right now, so I'm not worried about that, but I figured I'd let people know they're still available. I might do more ponies soon too, given how much people liked those. :D

Although speaking of other projects, if you have commissioned me (or backed my kickstarter back in the day) and haven't gotten your stuff, do feel free to check in! I know I have very patient customers, but you shouldn't expect to wait forever, so do please don't be shy about sending (polite) messages asking for updates!

Also, speaking of Twitter! I'm using the site now. I've had a twitter account for years, but never did much with it. Now I'm actually posting most things, both writing and sewing related, there first. As well as, you know, cat photos and rants about stupid people online and so on. :D So do check it out!

https://twitter.com/bladespark

Please drop me a line? You can PM me here, or e-mail me at spark.costumes[at]gmail.com I have one on the project list, but although I'm usually more organized than this, I swear, I *cannot* find any messages about the details of color etc. or how much was paid for it or where it's supposed to go, either.

My life is one long, slow, slide into complete and utter chaos right now, ugh. I don't even want to get started on the personal bullshit or the internet nonsense or any of it. But I would like to at least keep on top of the shit I'm being paid for, even if nothing else gets under control!

I have a writing account that is full of gay smut, if you like gay smut. Check it out:  sparkwrites (It's also got tons of clean stories, fanfiction, fantasy, and just oodles of writing.)

I have just uploaded a fun, kinky, completely shameless teaser there. The full story is up on my Patreon account. https://www.patreon.com/bladespark

Yes, this is a shameless attempt to lure people in so they can give me money. :3 I'm trying to see if I can make a living writing, so I gotta try these things. I'll try not to spam about it too much.

----

State senator Richard White made two mistakes. One was using a work e-mail to arrange to pay for sex with a nice young gay man. The other was thinking that just becuase he's "the computer guy" it's okay to tell the new intern your password. Oops. Now he's being blackmailed into meeting up in a hotel room to do who knows what, but the worst part isn't the depraved sex acts he'll be forced into, the worst part is that he might actually enjoy them...

http://sparkcostumes.com/list.html

I made a list!

And now you can see it in multiple places at once, because this is THE list of spots on the internet where I have content of some kind.

Plus my Furry Writer’s Guild profile, which has no content, but I’m kinda chuffed about it at the moment? I still don’t *quite* qualify for the SFWA guild and I’m not sure I’d be interested in paying the dues even if I did (they’re a great organization overall, but still…) but the FWG is pretty nifty.

But yeah. Writing stuff, sewing stuff, even the erotica-only tumblr I haven’t really properly unveiled yet, since the book I made it to promote won’t be out for at least a few more weeks.

If you want to see what I’m up to, here are all the places you can.

P.S. You will never find me on Facebook. Never.

I haven't spammed about this in years, so hey, might as well.

Do you like to read stories? If you like fanfiction, especially My Little Pony or Legend of Zelda, you should read my stuff! I post tons of it over on my writing account,  sparkwrites

If you like vampires, romance, or steamy smut, you may also find some things over there of interest.

Also, it's one of the main places where I'm announcing publication news. I've been submitting stories to people, and will have both e-books and actual, physical, dead tree editions coming out over the next year or so.

So go and check it out.

Hey! Yep, for the first time in like two years, I have my commission list back under control. Which means that completion times are running about six months right now. So hey, if you've been waiting around, wanting a plush, fursuit, or other project from me, now is a good time to get in touch. Just e-mail me at spark.costumes[at]gmail.com

https://www.kickstarter.com/project.....-for-artists-0

I just backed it. The sheer number of times I've accidentally ordered the wrong @#$%@#$% color of minky, just because I can't keep the names of the shades I already have straight is embarrassing. Photos of the colors are notoriously unreliable. This is very awesome. I hope it succeeds!

I have been neglecting uploading stuff here. That's in part because I was closed for commissions for a while. I'm technically open now, though my prices are changing and my wait times are still long (and I have to sort out a ton of stuff on my website, and there's just too much to do!) But hey, I figured it's about time to stop sitting on this stuff and go ahead and upload it.

Still here. Still kinda swamped. Still broke. :P Trying to sell a couple of MLP plushes, you can check out my recent uploads for them.

I have technically opened commissions again, though my project list is roughly a year long just now. I'm amazed by how patient people have been with me, it's been great. :3

The kiddo is doing good, she's napping right now.

Anybody still actually following me? It's been a while since I really did much with this site.

So it looks like there's not an ideal auction site, really, so I might as well trying selling everything here. :3 Anything left over will probably go up for auction somewhere eventually. Adding links as I upload the pictures. Baby keeps interrupting me, so it might take a bit.

Everything has free shipping if you buy more than one (except the freebie items.) I will also throw in a finger puppet, wooly slug, or Christmas Tree Tribble free with any other item purchased. Just ask!

Full price, super awesome things:

Fuzzy Pythons, $27 each. http://www.furaffinity.net/view/22173558/

Night Fury Loonakit, $50. http://www.furaffinity.net/view/21783905/

Half price things:

Husky type tails, $20 each. http://www.furaffinity.net/view/21786258/

Fox and wolf type tails, $20 each. http://www.furaffinity.net/view/21786268/

Plushie style pony tails, Fluttershy $20, Twilight Sparkle $30. http://www.furaffinity.net/view/21786304/

Misc. tails, Roo/otter $25, Mouse $10, Dragon $30. http://www.furaffinity.net/view/21786676/

Small/children's tails, $10 each. http://www.furaffinity.net/view/21786699/

Brushable pony tails, $8 each. http://www.furaffinity.net/view/21786711/

Ears, $6 per pair. http://www.furaffinity.net/view/21786777/

Tribble-type Loonakit plushes, large $15, mini $8. http://www.furaffinity.net/view/21786766/

Free one with other stuff:

Tree tribbles, large $4, small $2. http://www.furaffinity.net/view/21786830/

Finger puppets, $2 each. http://www.furaffinity.net/view/21786862/

Wooly slugs, $1 each. http://www.furaffinity.net/view/21786889/

I haven't used one in years. Back in the day there were a few that were okay, but I can't even remember what they all were anymore.

What ones still exist? Are any of them any good?

I have a TON of stuff to sell, I'm okay with moving most of it relatively cheaply, and listing by posting here on FA doesn't seem to work terribly well these days. TBH that's probably my fault, I haven't kept this account active, and I know a lot of my followers have drifted away.

Most of it's things like tails and ears, with a few other odds and ends. I really should sell a bunch more of my Pokemon plushes, and my ball joint dolls too. Taking photos and listing everything on ebay is so much frigging work, though. Bleh.

So it's been a while since I actually uploaded anything here, I figured I should post an update.

No, I'm not dead. Yes, I am still working, but I wildly underestimated this whole "having a baby" thing. I'm currently working about six hours a week. Given that before getting pregnant I was doing about sixty hours a week, well... yeah. Things are slow, I am stupidly behind, yadda, yadda. Thankfully my customers are all lovely, understanding people and nobody has given me any crap about it. (I've had a few polite refund requests, which are fine, though alas at this point my bank account is not super healthy either, so any more foing forward may take some time.)

Given that I'm something like five months behind at this point, and not catching up any time soon, I've more or less closed new commissions. If you really want me to make you something, and you're VERY patient and don't care that it might take a year or so, you can still drop me a line, but otherwise you should probably look for somebody else to make your whatever it is.

I'm not really bothering to upload what little I'm finishing here, because there doesn't seem much point in promoting my work when I'm not looking for new projects, but I will eventually go back to regular uploads.

Meanwhile, here's a picture of the little goober that's slowing everything down so much: http://sparkcostumes.com/photos/alb.....414_105511.jpg

Thanks to all my customers for being so nice, thanks to everybody else who's still actually watching me, and here's to the day when I'm just running my usual two or three weeks behind and I can start uploading stuff and taking projects again. :D

Not dead yet. Baby is eating my life.

Also, just a little PSA: insulting my peers is really not going to endear you to me. If you think that somebody's prices are "outrageous" that's your right, but I've had enough rude people say that to my face about *my* prices, that I'm not going to shout for glee when you say some other fursuit maker is a rip-off, and you want me to do it cheaper. I'm just going to lump you in with all the cheapskates who've insulted me directly. So yeah, it doesn't make a good impression.

Not to mention that it implies I'm cheap, which is *also* rude.

I *think* I've e-mailed this to everyone, but in case I missed anyone I'm also posting it to my various art sites.

Hi folks. Things have been interesting around here lately, in the Chinese curse sense. I had hoped I wouldn't have to send out a message like this, but given what's been going on in my life lately, I think you all should know about it, and how it's going to affect your projects.

The TL:DR is that absolutely everything is going to be late, and I have no way to estimate exactly how late. Somewhere between two weeks and two months is likely. No projects will be abandoned, absolutely everything will be finished eventually, but for anyone who is unhappy with these further delays, I will be quite willing to offer a full refund of whatever funds have been paid so far.

So, the details, for those who want to know why. Cause one, I got pregnant. So far that itself hasn't delayed things much, but it means that I scheduled in an entire month (March) when the baby is due with no hard project deadlines, because I figured I wouldn't get much done. This was fine, but it also set off a bit of a cascade of other events. Because baby coming meant we needed more room, we started idly looking around at larger homes. We hadn't planned on actually moving until after she arrived, but we found the perfect place last month, cheaper than we'd expected, and had to jump on it. So we have just spent the last month moving things. Between our ordinary household stuff, my work studio, and my husband's office, we have more to move than most people.

I had thought I'd be able to sort of move part time and work part time, but the moving disrupted everything so much that this entire month I've barely gotten any work at all done.

Another factor is the kickstarter I ran earlier in the year, which was hugely successful, but that success has caused some problems. I have far more kickstarter plushes to make than I'd originally planned, and haven't gotten as many done by now as I'd hoped, (the embroidery machine being a butt hasn't helped) which means that fitting these plushes into my schedule will probably put me even further behind. Also, the excess of plushes to make, coming after Bronycon, where I had to make something like 100 plushes in just two months, just has me stressed and burned out. I will be completely honest and say that right now just the thought of sewing is depressing, which only slows things further. So that is also a factor. (I'm sure pregnancy hormones are not helping there either.)

Also, because of the gap in March, where nothing is scheduled, anything that was supposed to be done early in the year (Jan-Feb) that runs a little late will end up getting pushed past that gap and run *very* late, so some projects may be particularly delayed. And after the baby comes I have no clue whatsoever what kind of work schedule I'll be able to keep. I know she won't suck up 100% of my time, but how much she will need is very much up in the air, this is my first kid.

So the end result is that right now I'm about a month behind because of the move. I want to really buckle down and get at least partially caught up over the next few weeks, but with the stress, depression, and burnout from how much I've been working lately, I don't know if I'll be able to. That combined with the upcoming baby means that delays may end up being months long for some projects, but I can't say for sure. I don't want to promise I'll get caught up and then break that promise. I also don't want to just say "to heck with it" and assume everything will take months and months longer either, though. I know that will make people unhappy, and making my customers happy is very important to me. I'll be trying my best to get stuff done as quickly as I can. I just don't know exactly how quickly that will be.

I know a lot of you have waited patiently for a very long time already, and won't be thrilled at the idea of waiting an unknown amount of time longer. Unfortunately the situation is what it is, and trying to meet every single deadline may only end up burning me out more and making things even worse in the long run. So this is the best compromise I can offer you:

Anybody who doesn't want to wait can get a full refund. (Probably right now. Depending on how many people want refunds, I may also have to delay those slightly because of limited funds in my account, but I have enough on hand to refund at least some people right away.) Those getting giveaway prizes... I'm very sorry, but you'll just have to wait, as there's nothing to refund you.

For those who are willing to wait longer, you have my sincere thanks. I will try to be as open and transparent as possible with you all about how things are coming, and I do not mind if you want to check in and ask for the status of your project (just not every day, please, I'll just have to repeat myself a lot if you do that.)

I will not be changing the "ETA" dates on my public project list, because I don't *know* what the new ETAs will be, but I do remove projects from the list as I complete them, so you can get an idea of how things are coming by taking a look at it. (List is here: http://bladespark.livejournal.com/1226131.html ) As you can see, nothing from October has been finished yet even though the month is nearly over, so yeah, right now things are behind about one month.

If you want to ask about your specific project, feel free, but be aware that right now "I don't know" is likely to be the best answer I can give you.

Thank you all for your support, I do appreciate my customers, you have been (mostly!) wonderful people and I hope that we can get everything worked out and everyone happy despite what a mess I've made of things.

Where and when to find me:

1. In the dealer's room. (Booth 717.) I will be there the entire time it's open.
(However, if you'd like to chat with me, I suggest coming by late in the day on Saturday, or on Sunday, when sales will be slower and I'll have time to talk. Friday is always super busy, especially early on.)

2. Quills and Sofas writer's hangout.
I'll be dropping in there in the evenings, after the dealer's den has closed. I can't give a specific time, but it's another good place to look to find me.


How to recognize me:
1. My badge will say "SPark" on it.
2. I'll be in a snazzy suit and tie.
3. I look like this: http://www.sparkcostumes.com/photos.....s/DSCN3883.JPG

Also, here's a handy guide to things that are okay/things I find annoying.

Do:
Buy stuff from my vendor table.
Ask me about my stories.
Ask me about my sewing.
Ask me about my drawing.
Tell me about your stories, sewing, art, etc.
Spend as much time talking in Quills and Sofas as you like.

Don't:
Stand in front of my table, blocking everyone else from looking at it, if you're not buying something.
Ask me to give you my sewing patterns. (I won't.)
Stand at my booth and talk for three hours about your stories, sewing, art, etc.
Glomp, pounce, hug, etc. I am not super touchy-feely, sorry!

I'm looking forward to seeing at least a few of you there. :3

So today is my birthday (that's not the announcement), and I keep forgetting that it is and then being reminded. I celebrated it on Wednesday, because too much is going on this weekend.

One thing that went on this weekend was that I got a positive pregnancy test*.

Yep. Baby. Baby is a thing that will be happening. I am pretty excited, needless to say.

This will affect my sewing business a bit, though. Assuming that it's a normal pregnancy, nothing goes wrong, I don't need to be put on bed rest, etc. I should be able to finish all my current commissions pretty much as scheduled. The baby is due in March, which coincidentally is when my commission list is full until. Pregnancy itself won't keep me from sewing, so all those projects should get done. Any future projects that people commission going forward, though, will be happening during "brand new baby that I need to care for" time, and thus I will be unable to offer any guaranteed deadlines of any kind.

I will still be taking commissions, and I will still guarantee that they'll be finished eventually, but I have no idea how much actual work time I'll have and how much time the baby will suck up, and how long it'll be before I have the energy to do anything like my normal work load. I don't make promises I can't keep, so I just won't be promising any deadlines at all for some time.

Anyhow, this is still pretty awesome, even if it is going to turn my life upside down. But I figured I should let people know. :3

*A few of you may be confused because I have answered to "he" and "him" and so on. I am "genderqueer", to use the simplest possible term for it. I'm totally happy with people assuming I'm male, I feel very masculine most of the time. Right now, for obvious reasons, I'm feeling more like a woman than usual. :D But male pronouns are still fine. Or female. Either way, really, I don't mind.

Well okay, not "last", since I will still be making pony plushes after the kickstarter is over, but if you want to back and get a plush this year rather than sometime next year, now's the time. The campaign ends Sunday afternoon, so you have just two days left to back.

https://www.kickstarter.com/project.....r-pony-plushes

The kickstarter has funded! See? https://www.kickstarter.com/project.....r-pony-plushes

I am so fricking stoked! Now... stretch goal time!

https://www.kickstarter.com/project.....r-pony-plushes <--this link now contains a video of me, rambling on about ponies and embroidery and showing off adorableness.

I really can't deal with this any more. There is too much stress. There are too many expectations. There are too many people who insist on perfection and yet come to somebody less than half the price of the best makers out there. There are too many people who think it should fit like a glove and yet also want to be able to move freely and do acrobatics in it. There are too many people who just don't understand what goes into making a fursuit, and too many people who think I can read their minds and make it just the way they imagine it when they haven't even told me important details about what they want, and I CAN'T make them look like what I picture in my head, let alone what some customer pictures. I can't do this anymore.

I am still taking plush commissions, obviously, and I will finish out all the fursuit commissions I've currently been hired to do, but I just can't deal with the stress of making fursuits anymore. Maybe someday. Maybe on some kind of premade basis. Maybe... I don't know. There are things about suit making I like, but the stress is just killing me and today has been kind of the last straw.