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There’s this maintenance thing with older bodies. And one thing my mother told me years ago that’s both true and useful (only one? I hear a mutter from overhead.) It’s about feet. Unhappy feet make for unhappy cranky people. I’ve now been to three conventions wearing only handknit socks. For A-Kon I had only three pair. For ArmadilloCon I had four pair. For WorldCon I had five pair. It made a huge difference. Even though my feet swelled badly on a couple of days (hard floors, lots of standing, etc.) the socks didn’t dig in and make things worse. I’m hoping to get the sixth pair finished by NYCC, as that will be a longer trip, with fewer opportunities to wash & dry wool socks. (These are not machine-washable wool socks.)
Here are the A-Kon socks, in order of seniority, left (oldest) to right:
Here are the WorldCon socks, in order of seniority, R to L (same three pairs of course at the other end of the row.)
The short red ones (that I have on today) were the first, and are the biggest in width. Too big, but boy are they comfy anyway. The teal blue (second pair) are a little too big. The greens are the first with a reinforced heel (eye of partridge); the second reds are the best fit so far in the foot, though just a little long in the toe. The light/medium blue were difficult but I did manage a different heel reinforcing stitch and they fit pretty well.
Next are the more emerald green (past the gussets and onto the foot), and the first turquoise (only on the ribbing so far.) In the future: purple, more red (I really like red socks!), a true royal blue, another turquoise, another emerald green, a rich brown, a burgundy-ish.
Other maintenance chores to sustain the writer….exercise, food, music.
Comment by Mj — September 9, 2012 @ 4:04 pm
I think it is fantastic that you knit your own socks – they look gorgeous. I may have to take up knitting!!
Comment by Elizabeth D. — September 9, 2012 @ 9:23 pm
I was so busy at World Con that I didn’t think to look down at your feet. All of those socks are beautiful, and I’m sure are worth the space in your luggage and in the sink where they are washed. (Be careful of some soaps though; years ago when Woolite changed its formula, I ruined some wool and silk.) I can’t deal with warm socks until winter though.
My feet have been swelling this last week. My problem is shoes that are never quite right, but I’m not about to make my own, because that would be hard on my arthritis. (I know how though, and before it became too painful, used to do wood carving too.) My feet break through shoes in a few months.
Comment by elizabeth — September 9, 2012 @ 11:31 pm
Mj: You do realize you opened a door to the Knitting Vampires, didn’t you? Knitting can take over space and time, though it also fills otherwise uncomfortable corners of time (like waiting in doctors’ offices) with a sense of purpose. Despite what anyone says, socks are not that difficult. _Perfect_ socks are that difficult, but serviceable, colorful, comfortable socks are not that difficult. Should you continue to be interested, I strongly recommend doing socks first in worsted-weight yarn on #5 or at most #4 needles. In a solid strong color. That way you can see the stitches. And find the needles when you drop them.
Elizabeth D. The shoes I wore most days at WorldCon are fairly new (bought shortly before WorldCon) and are the best fit I’ve had in years. They are “country walking shoes” (the shoe salesman said) and look like it, but still…good on my feet. I don’t find the wool socks any hotter than any other socks (less, because they breathe better) but every person’s feet are unique.
Comment by Karen — September 10, 2012 @ 1:37 am
I had less trouble when I was younger (probably because I was more resilient), but I inherited my dad’s tendency to tenderfoot.
I’m actually better off most of the time when I go barefoot around the house (or office, when no-one is looking) than I am in shoes.
BTW, my shoes must be all leather (despite what Vegans might wish) because leather breathes and plastic… doesn’t. Such is the source of my tenderfoot issues.
In other words, you’re absolutely right! Cotton or nylon do nothing to protect my feet from the problem of thin skin being exposed to moisture and friction. Wool socks (I’ve been lucky to find some that are thin and fit after a few washes in hot water from the men’s section of shops and catalogs) absorb the moisture that causes blisters and worse (ever had the heel of your foot rubbed raw enough to bleed after walking 1/4 mile in flats? — yeah, that bad).
In other words, I salute you in your sock-making enterprises. A woman with happy feet is a happier woman (something to which fashion designers should pay more attention)!
Comment by ellen — September 10, 2012 @ 2:08 am
Shoes…what a nightnare! I get blisters and callouses no matter what and now own dozens of pairs just so I can rotate blisters!
Comment by ellen — September 10, 2012 @ 2:10 am
Love the socks, by the way!
Comment by tuppence — September 10, 2012 @ 8:51 am
I’ve finally managed to find reasonably comfortable shoes at a runners store. And the salesman actually paid a lot of attention to the fit – had me walk stockingfoot the length of the store just to see how I walked! And encouraged me to really walk rounds of the shop in the shoes to make sure they were right, even suggested I go outside for a short jog down the block for Pete’s sake. (That shows real trust in a new customer!)
I now have both winter walking shoes and jogging shoes which I use for the summer.
Comment by Chris — September 10, 2012 @ 9:29 am
Yay handmade socks!!!
Comment by Jenn — September 10, 2012 @ 12:42 pm
Your socks are great. I love the colors. You will have to make a nice variegated next.
Comment by elizabeth — September 10, 2012 @ 3:29 pm
Jenn: For the present I’m sticking to solid or at the most “heathered” colors. (I now have a sizeable stash of yarn to go through for socks, so it’ll be at least 4 more pairs of socks before there’s room for more yarn.) The first multi-ones will be striped from leftover yarn from the first socks, if I can figure out how not to have them bleed into one another in an ugly way. Murky brown isn’t my idea of fun socks. Maybe just wash the feet and not the tops?
Comment by Karen — September 10, 2012 @ 7:53 pm
I’ve had great success washing multicolored sweaters in ice water.
Just fill the sink with regular water and whatever soap you use, then throw in a tray of ice. The cold water keeps bleeding to a minimum.
Comment by Genko — September 11, 2012 @ 9:21 am
Gosh, I may have to learn to knit socks. Good wool socks are worth a lot, but it does get tiresome to pay so much for SmartWool socks — the only ones that seem to last any time at all. Making my own would be good in that I could add reinforcing on the heels, where I always wear holes in them (that’s why SmartWool works well).
I wear Birkenstocks almost all the time, as I have what one chiropractor called peasant feet. That is, wide and tending toward flat.
In the house (where my office is), we are barefoot or wear slippers of various sorts. When I’m most dressed up (i.e., in full robes and regalia) I’m barefoot — happy feet!
Comment by NancyNew — September 11, 2012 @ 10:56 am
My dear sister-in-law got everyone in the family Smartwool socks for Christmas last year. Since no one in the family knits socks, it’s the next best thing. Several of us have told her that any time she wants to provide the Smartwools, we’ll be thrilled.
Comment by NancyNew — September 11, 2012 @ 10:59 am
SOmething worth trying is addition of a mordant to wash water–vinegar or salt works–to improve color-fastness. If I were handwashing socks, I’d use 1/2 cup vinegar or 1/4 cup salt, and let ’em soak for 30 minutes or so.
Comment by elizabeth — September 11, 2012 @ 11:26 am
NancyNew–thank you. I had been washing each color separately, but this would let me wash related colors (at least–the blue and the green, for instance) together. A time and water saver. Not to mention using the leftover yarn for striped socks.
Genko: Should you want to try knitting socks, there are reinforcing yarns that can be added,as well as just more wool on the wear areas. (Looks at clock, leaps back to kitchen table & copy edits.)
Comment by Jenn — September 11, 2012 @ 2:20 pm
You may want to look up the “Russian Join” for when you use up your left overs. It is a good way to avoid end weaving and you can make your own style of variegated thread.
Vinegar has been my favorite color stay.
Comment by Karen — September 12, 2012 @ 5:37 am
I love vinegar as a color stay — for cotton, linen, silk, and wool. It turns out that my process chemist uncle has a clear explanation — acid conditions that require acid conditions are likely to cause similar chemical reactions.
There it is. If you can control the chemistry of the water you use every time you wash your socks (distilled water is your best shot), you are most likely to be able to control the the chemistry that cleans your socks.
I’ve used distilled, semi-frozen water for family embroideries without harm.
I’ve also seen vinegar change the color of hues I thought were beautiful in my dye-pot.
Just my opinion.
Comment by Catherine — October 20, 2012 @ 11:23 pm
Ah, hand knit socks. I have enough for a summer at camp (ie 8+ pair). I prefer superwash wool (camp staff has not the time for fiddly wash) with at least 10% nylon knit over size 0 needles. not only is this comfy for my Princess and the Pea Feet, the smaller gauge means they wear longer. Mom and Dad are getting socks for Xmas this year.
Comment by elizabeth — October 21, 2012 @ 9:53 am
Catherine: The Turquoise One socks are Superwash. I started with wool I had, which wasn’t. I think we all work with the yarn and gauge that feels good to our individual feet.