Me made

Hello there. It's been a while! Last time I checked in, I think I was knitting some socks. I'm knitting probably my favorite socks of all time right now:

Hermione's everyday socks!

The May weather in Maine has been fickle and frequently disappointing, fortunately I have a fairly deep bench of hand-knit wooly socks to keep my feet warm while spring decides whether it's going to happen or not. My new favorites will have plenty of company:

Taste the rainbow

This plus a couple pairs of thick store-bought hiking socks is my entire sock drawer. I wear each pair at least once a week. The oldest pair is going on four years old-- with zero holes! I have never had a store-bought pair last that long.

The new ones are a bit of a departure from the rest, I wanted a slightly fancier-looking pair in a less riotous color scheme. The yarn is Lorna's Laces Solemate, which is supposed to have magical foot-cooling properties. As much as I love the toughness of my old standbys, the nylon content sometimes makes them a bit sweaty and stifling to wear. I am curious to see what the tradeoff will be in terms of durability-- and I'll find out soon because once these are done I'll be wearing them ALL the time.

Colorway: Daley <3

Socks are my most consistently worn handmade wardrobe item-- they are a practical and benign extravagance, worth both treasuring and, well, wearing to pieces... and then mending and wearing to pieces again! The payoff on the time & money invested is pretty spectacular, setting aside the special satisfaction of wearing something I made. That, of course, is priceless-- and addictive! I want more handmade things in my wardrobe!

At the same time, I enjoy the process of making as much as I love the results... maybe more, if my success rate in knitting a sweater that I will wear as much as my hand-knit socks is any testament. And I'm about to set out on a new adventure in making that I have dreamt about for I don't know how many years-- SEWING!! So... I want to delve into the process of making garments and building a handmade wardrobe, and I think I will have plenty of fodder. It seems like the right time to come back, after such a long pause.