The yarn has a lovely, firm but cushy feel. I loved the colors, and the feel in my hands, and was happy every stitch of the way. However, I made a mistake in the decreases on the left gusset of the right sock that I'd never made before, and it took several days of experimenting to figure out a solution for it. So the socks were finished and wearable four or five days after they came off the needles. At last the day came for wearing them for the first time:
They haven't been washed in this picture--they're right off the needles onto the feet. And the feel is wonderful, exactly what I like.
Here's a close-up of the left sock, with shadows helping to show the cuff, leg, heel flap, and gusset as well as the foot. This is not the gusset I had trouble with.:
And here's how they look laid out on the bench of the picnic table.
They've now been worn a day, washed (no problems there) and are in their plastic bag in the sock drawer, part of the regular rotation...now ten pairs are in that rotation. As usual, they softened a bit in washing, but they didn't go all limp and wishy-washy like the purple ones did (the purples are still comfortable, however.) I have enough yarn for four more pairs like this. The next pair of socks, a soft blue-green, is on the needles, still on the cuff ribbing, and the pair after that (another emerald green) is also started, but under an inch long. Purple will probably follow the blue-green, and one of the yarns on order will follow the emerald. I have four pairs to go to reach fourteen--the two-week rotation. Then another seven pairs to reach the three-week rotation, and so on. I'm guessing that different yarns of different brands will produce socks with different durability...some may last only 50 wearings, and some will last 100, maybe even more. But the more pairs, the fewer wearings per year, and thus the more years that pair will last. And eventually, I'll have enough socks to slow down on the knitting of socks (and do something else as well) and just knit replacements for longer rotations.
And I really, really, REALLY like these socks. They're very comfortable for my feet.
