In Which the Pirate Shows Off Completed Jaywalkers.

Though I’ve knit two pair of simple toe-up, short-row heel, ribbed-leg socks, I decided it was time for something a little more complicated for my third pair – Grumperina’s Jaywalker, from the September 2005 issue of Magknits. The Cherry Tree Hill Supersock (colorway ‘Java’) came from a Socktober sale at Red Bird Knits, and it was time to get it out of the stash! I got a double discount on that order – once for the sale, and the other from the exchange rate. Buying yarn from Canadian websites has some perks!

Here’s one from the back. When I first started knitting socks, I was all about the short-row heel, especially for striped socks. Now I see what the flap heel is all about, and how well it fits. Picking up stitches for the gusset isn’t as difficult as I’d thought it might be. I do like toe-up socks because it’s harder to run out of yarn before you’re done with your sock. Towards the end of Jaywalker Two, I was panicking that I wouldn’t have enough yarn to finish the toe! I started knitting faster, as if that would get me to the grafting before the yarn ran out. It must have worked, because I finished the second sock with just twelve yards of yarn left over.

I just love how the yarn striped across the tops of my feet and that the colors are aligned from one sock to the next. That wasn’t planned, honest! My next socks (after Pomatomus) will be another pair of Jaywalkers in a self-striping yarn which will show off the pattern better… and which have more yardage to the ball than the CTH, so I can avoid the fear of a toe-less second sock! I really love the pattern, and could see myself making quite a few pair.