Bean!
I finished my original hat and scarf combo design inspired by everyone's favorite time traveling doctor. It's in my Etsy shop and I'm also donating one to Penguicon. Next, I'll draw up the pattern and sell it, too, in my shop for space man fans.
Inspiration
A scarf was a must for this hat, since it adds to the tribute, but I didn't want it to be too similar to that icon. Instead, it's designed to look like a time machine with the lights on. I used a raised stitch pattern to create the effect of the wood paneling. There's a pocket at the end of the scarf, and I swear it's bigger on the inside than it looks on the outside.
Details
For my first prototype, I used a blended yarn with some yarn from recycled bottles, but it was too satiny and new. Next, I ordered a yarn made from 100% recycled denim fabric remnants. It has the right weathered look. The search for a perfect button led me to this steampunk button on eBay. It's a perfect tribute to our time traveler's fob watch. Finally, I named it after my favorite line, "Oy, space man!"
I added my trademark tree charm inside the crown of the hat to denote the tree donated for every item, then set up my photography studio!
New photography studio set-up
When I read Handmadeology's
tutorial on studio-quality photos I knew I had to try it out on my new design. I had a white table, which helped a lot. Between that, using the rule of thirds to compose my shots, and learning to adjust the ISO and aperture, it all worked so well that none of these photos are even edited! What do you think?
Inspiration
A scarf was a must for this hat, since it adds to the tribute, but I didn't want it to be too similar to that icon. Instead, it's designed to look like a time machine with the lights on. I used a raised stitch pattern to create the effect of the wood paneling. There's a pocket at the end of the scarf, and I swear it's bigger on the inside than it looks on the outside.
For my first prototype, I used a blended yarn with some yarn from recycled bottles, but it was too satiny and new. Next, I ordered a yarn made from 100% recycled denim fabric remnants. It has the right weathered look. The search for a perfect button led me to this steampunk button on eBay. It's a perfect tribute to our time traveler's fob watch. Finally, I named it after my favorite line, "Oy, space man!"
When I read Handmadeology's tutorial on studio-quality photos I knew I had to try it out on my new design. I had a white table, which helped a lot. Between that, using the rule of thirds to compose my shots, and learning to adjust the ISO and aperture, it all worked so well that none of these photos are even edited! What do you think?
To inaugurate this momentous occasion of my first post to you, I'm going to post the most recent thing to excite me on Etsy. Alpacas! Oh, you know you can't look a them and not want to cuddle up tout de suite! 
Etsy's diversity never fails to amaze me. Last week I found heirloom morning glory seeds for flowers whose petals looked like silk sea anemones and seeds for paint-black radishes, and this week I found alpaca yarn hand spun by the alpacas' keepers. As the locavore joke goes, it even tells you the names of the animals sheared for that very skein. Best of all, you get a card from the animals. Jill, these are blue-ribbon alpacas! Their closet doors must be plastered in them, just like yours were from swim meets. Do you think I should switch all my items over to luxury yarn? On mother nature's other hand, there also upcycled yarns. At first these seem suspiciously like unraveled Goodwill sweaters. Ooh ooh! UNRavelry! But over 200 yards of WW 100% cashmere for a mere Alex Hamilton? NOW I understand! The best stuff from this window shopping spree is over in my future shop's faves.
