Traveling Sock at Coney Island

Knitting in front of the Coney Island MTA station sign.

In an attempt to liven up my blog, I came up with a new and exciting feature. Get ready, You Three Readers! In a totally original concept*, I will bring my current knitting projects around New York City and show it visiting exciting areas!

*In fact, so completely original, that Slate wrote an entire article about the lameness of the traveling gnome concept here. There is, of course, Yarn Harlot’s traveling sock, and if you have ever gone on vacation to any major city, you have probably seen a fellow tourist photographing their teddy bear/gnome/sock in front of a famous monument.

Traveling Sock at Coney Island

In today’s fascinating installment, the ugly sock goes to visit Coney Island in the pouring rain during a nor’easter. Coney Island is beautiful in inclement weather, though it also tends to make me whine. A lot. We went in the snow a few years ago, and it was really amazingly beautiful.

You should go this year though, because they are tearing down Astroland and building condos.

Posted in travelingproject, Uncategorized at April 15th, 2007.

Odessa Hat

Pattern: Odessa hat from Grumperina

Yarn: Rowan Cashsoft Aran from Purl Soho, 1 skein plus just a little of the second skein. Color is foxglove. Each skein was $9.50. If you use the aran weight, you do need the second skein, but only barely.

Needles: 16 inches circular in size 4 and size 6 DPNs. The brand that is made of colored metal–um, Susan Bates, I think?

Modifications: I made this out of the aran weight instead of the DK. I also knit the ribbing for 2 inches instead of 1 inches, a la Brooklyn Tweed. I cast on 90 stitches and started decreasing at 5 inches instead of 5.5 inches.

Notes: This is a very elegantly written pattern. Every part of it makes sense. However, if you are knitting-challenged like me, it will turn out to be way harder to knit than it should be.

First of all, I wanted to make it out of a thicker yarn so it would be more manly, like the one made by Brooklyn Tweed. But since the yarn was heavier, how would this change my gauge? I decided to ask The Internets, and I emailed Mr. Brooklyn Tweed himself, Lickety Knit (who also made an aran weight Odessa), and Grumperina for help. The internet, allowing you to hassle people you’ve never met.

Anyway, Brooklyn Tweed gave me some helpful advice about knitting Odessa for a man’s head, Lickety Knit kindly contributed the advice that she had cast on 90 stitches instead of 110, and Grumperina also offered up her own head measurements for help.

Then I cast on three times. Like Goldilocks, I was convinced it was too big and then too small and finally just right. Then accidentally made the diagonal ribs flow out of the purl part of the ribbing instead of the knit part. And then I got confused during the decreases.

Anyway, I think it finally ended up working well. Adam likes to wear it like a Smurf hat instead of pulled down over his ears for some reason.

Odessa Hat

I make poor Adam crouch down on the sidewalk so I can take a photo of the swirling top.

Odessa Hat's tag

The tag inside the top.

Posted in Finished Objects 2007, Hats, Uncategorized at April 15th, 2007.