If you're like me (and, let's face it, of course you are!), you need yourself some thick socks in the winter. And if you're a knitter, then you think to yourself, "Hey, I can make thick socks instead of paying $19/pair for the nice wooly kind!".
Let's face facts here: if you're a knitter, it is very unlikely that you will spend less than $19 on the wool for your nice thick socks. You will make your way to your local yarn store and you will swoon at some baby alpaca or hand-painted merino, and then you will buy $19 worth of it to make your thick socks. Now, there are other benefits to making your own socks -- they'll fit you perfectly, you'll know how to repair them if you get a snag, and they will look totally awesome. But they will not save you money.
A big issue for us cold-footed northern-dwelling outdoorsy-types is that most sock recipes call for (wait for it!) sock-weight yarn. Sock weight yarn is super thin (only one size up from 'lace weight', in fact), and is great for making thin-yet-warm socks that most people need for wearing inside dress shoes. But do I wear dress shoes? No, I do not. I wear big thick boots all winter. Thin socks do not become me.
I have been looking for many moons for a sock recipe that called for worsted weight wool, and finally I have found one! Enter Thuja! Actually, Thuja entered the world more than two years ago (in the Winter '05 issue of Knitty), but that is neither here nor there. Thuja entered my house last night, and I am very excited to knit a nice pair of thick socks. So for anyone else out there who is looking to knit socks that are both warm and thick: Thuja!
