Jaywalkers

The Sockapaloooza socks are done! (Ok, they were done last week, but I never had time to post about them...) Unless you have been away from your internet connection for the past year, you'll know that these are the Jaywalker socks that everyone and their uncle has been knitting.

Here's how they look, in all their glory!!
(Why yes, my office plants DO like to impersonate tropical jungle foliage...)

And now for a tour of the Sockapaloooza component sock parts ...

Just because I am obsessive to the point where I should be locked up a bit of a perfectionist who did not want to run out of yarn, I started at the toe, using Natalia's toe-up version of the pattern. Every sock needs a good toe. (This one is a short-row toe, à la Wendy.)
I liked the toes so much, I used a short row heel too. Double wrapped for extra hole-reduction. The toe-up gusset thing just wasn't doing it for me in this pattern. Moving along, we have the leg. I was getting kind of bored by this point . Cara, how do you maintain your stamina?? Luckily, I was able to do a good chunk of the legs while visiting with family and friends, so things moved along quickly. Finally, the ribbing and the cast-off. I'm partial to Elizabeth Zimmerman's stretchy sewn cast off. And, the completed product, minus the feet ... This is what I had left for yarn when I finished ... the ball on the right is the scraps leftover from weaving in the ends. The card on the left has several yards that I reserved to send to my pal in case she ever needs to mend anything. (Single sock used for size comparison). And, one last shot of me modelling them. Yes, I did wash them after this!!!
This was a fun pair of socks to knit. The pattern was amusing, but simple enough to work on the go. And, I like how the variegated yarn looked in the zig-zags.

Project specs:

Pattern: Jaywalker socks (second size)

Yarn: Artyarns Ultramerino 4 in color 106.

Needles: Addi Turbos, size 1, using 2-at-once Magic Loop technique

Gauge: About 8 sts/in

Modifications: Worked the pattern toe-up. Short-row heel instead of heel flap and gusset.

Comments: I hope this fits my pal!! Her feet are about the same length as mine, which is why I can model them. However, her feet are also wider than mine -- 9.5" circumference as opposed to my 8.25" -- so the socks are a bit large around my foot. The legs are also a bit looser than I would wear them, but I like my socks tighter than most. I think these legs should fit anyone with an average-ish leg. Thanks, Alison, for organizing Sockapaloooza! And thanks to my sock sister Ashley for keeping track of a bunch of us!