Thoughts on (boot) socks

As I struggle through the variegated socks I cast on back in June - really I think the problem is I get eyestrain from knitting such tiny stitches in a moving vehicle, so maybe I should forget them till I get to be more sedentary in a couple of weeks - I am realizing that they are very thin.

For maybe 12 weeks of the year, thin socks are exactly what I want to show off under the strap of my Mary Janes. The rest of the time, I'm either in sandals with no socks, or shivering in my unlined Blundstone boots (or ripping up the heel flap in a pair of super insulated rain boots, which is why I stick with cheap athletic socks when the weather makes those ones a necessity.)

Clearly what I need are boot socks which, incidentally, would be way way faster to knit and have stitches I don't have to squint to see. Not that this is a driving factor in my sock knitting choices or anything, what with being so stoic and all.

I've been digging through the stash and it seems I have a truly ridiculous amount of Patons Classic Wool, way more than I need for the mitten plan, so I could spare some for warm feet. Plus, I'd get to go on with the incredibly addictive 2+2, 1+1 stripe design. This colour combo might make for some cool socks to match my favourite heathery scarf:


But can you get away with Classic Wool for socks if you use small needles, or would they just wear right through?

While I was hunting up chunky wool for socks, I remembered this bison/seacell blend yarn I splurged on about 18 months ago and never knit up:


They're the same gauge as the Mary Jane socks and I'm thinking I should be clever and do something pretty with cables or lace. Probably cables, as they're warmer. With luck I'd have them finished around this time next year - just in time for fall!

I bet you're wondering what I was procrastinating about enough to go back hunting through the stash for socks I don't need for months yet, right? Well....


I got the cuff width right this time. And I swear I the rounds count up the same too. But definitely, one of these cuffs is longer than the other.

Sigh...