Niqkita's Sock Journal

EG Smith is one of our original suppliers and still among my personal favorites…
so when I was told Eric was creating a “green line” I was ecstatic. I thought it would just be a handful of environmentally friendly styles like our beloved Two Brothers Organics. Instead it is 40+ items! So I’ve been ordering them in small batches to get us started, beginning with the ones I found most appealing…

These Slinky Knees were most certainly the first one I wanted to try…

But first, just what was recycled and where did it come from?
I asked our rep Frank and he spoke with the resident yarn expert for the company in charge of EG Smith and it turns out that our recycled yarns are actually regenerated yarns. The mill takes the scraps from cotton jersey manufacturers such as HANES, and breaks them down, reweaves them and produces new product, it is recycling waste, but it comes from products never worn and cleans up the end result of “scraps” which in the old days would have made the rag bag or the dump. Also on the information highway, the uncertified cotton they are using as blends in the ECO socks comes from Poland and China and is reported to be Organic (they are working on Certification), which gives us an even better Green Product. They are also starting to blend in ECOFIL yarns (plastic water bottles recycled into polyester fill yarns). So they are recycled, regenerated, and still PURE enough to satisfy even the most ardent organic mavens.
So there you have it, the official explanation of the origins of our lovely new socks. More of these will be added this week, and over the coming weeks and months…
They are all pretty awesome!

You loved them and then you lost them…
those missing socks that never came out of the dryer to meet up with their partner.
I myself have an area on the counter where we fold clothes covered with lonely single socks awaiting their long lost companions. I leave them there hoping it will be in the next pile we bring down to wash, and every so often they get moved to a box where I have accrued a sad amount of singles. Where do they all go? plenty of theories abound but I’ve yet to learn a proper explanation. I once heard that it was the basket in upright washers, during the spin cycle random socks would somehow jump ship hoping to find a new world full of hope and adventure, so I got a front loader, but my socks still vanish. Where have they gone? Our very own Amanda, sock dreamer extraordinaire and official Dream Stockings coordinator envisioned it well in the image above. A slew of sock goblins wreaking havoc on our innocent socks, chewing on their heels, tugging at their toes and cuffs, wearing them for hats, running off with them to who-knows-where. Never to be seen again…
Now there is an official day to mourn these lost socks and today, May 9th, is it. But rather than being sad over what is no more, we suggest you by some new socks, lots of them, so many you will never miss a lost sock again.

Thanks to everyone who took advantage of our Lost Sock deal!
The sale is officially over now, the code has been expired…
You’ll all have your new socks very soon!!!

Crazy are the space dyed…
by nature, all space dyed socks are unique individuals, like me, and hopefully you.
this means from one pair to the next they do not look the same
within a pair they do not look the same
…sometimes, but not always, not usually anyway.
And sometimes this drives people crazy because they want their socks to match…
eachother, or the pair they saw when they said, “yeah, I want those!”
But that’s just the way they are, nothing I can do about it
…except, maybe, not offer them at all
and we don’t want that do we? no, we don’t, because we like them.
No, we love them! and have always said these would be great for our shoppe
then you can see exactly what you are getting when you buy them
which leads to craziness because then you’ll want to see each and every pair
and this just is not possible on the website, wouldn’t it be cool if it were?
but I assure you, chaos would ensue and we just aren’t going to try and tackle that!
But all the while I keep ordering in more & more because Nouvella just has so many…
and I can’t resist them!
…terry shorties: Short, just past your heels, not quite past your ankles
…terry crews: past your ankles, maybe to your knees,
(((these just might be one of my all time fav’s)))

…and space dyed knee highs: up to your knees with ease and they’ll stay up there too!

they all come in a dizzying array of choices
and I add a few nearly every time I order
next time you’ll see the likes of sparkle, coney and space star…
what do they look like? I can’t remember, but they’re sure to be fun!

Here’s an example of potential variations…

(image links to a much larger version for detail)

Here it is! Our official logo, by the amazing Echo Chernik.
The socks are based on our Dreamy Knees, the arm warmers are these
…and the blue lotus in her hand represents Lola.
(you didn’t know Lola is short for Lotus did you?)

We packed up and headed to the coast when the holiday rush slowed down.
While there I gave my new pair of striped over the knee Toe Toe socks a try.
Tonight I’m wearing them again and loving them! When I first pull them up they are fairly thigh high, but they stay really well just above my knees.
Those aren’t what I wore for the stormy drive out though…

I wore my beloved charcoal M Squared knee highs, still a personal favorite even if they cause a little controversy. I didn’t take them off til around the middle of the second day there when I wanted to try on my toesocks and get pictures by the coast in them. Mr Natosi chose my newly acquired blackcurrant Diamond Ribbed knee highs. I love the color!!! I was coveting them for weeks before I decided I must have a pair, and wouldn’t you know it? he likes them too!

Other socks were enjoyed at the beach
and more new stuff will be showing up over the coming days including this beauty…

B.ella’s Kalana wool tights, made in Italy, totally warm & comfy!

The choreographer/director of the dance video in the last post sent me this still image this weekend. I love that they are all wearing our striped Dream Stockings!
I don’t get a chance to post every worthy picture people send us.
…but some are just so charming I can’t resist.

Now, to start our week…
two nice letters I found in feedback this morning:

Message:
I just received a variety of your socks/thigh highs from my hubby. I love the socks & your site and have added you to my bookmarks. I sense an addiction brewing ;)

Sincerely,
Rachel

Message:
Just found your site… where have I been. Thank goodness there are others who share my passion for socks. My faves are stripy ones - there used to be a store here in my town called Socks Appeal, but they have long since closed down, so I was left to scour the shelves during Halloween mostly to try to find some comforting socks… I had almost given up hope. Thank you again - soon to be a very loyal customer! :)

Malena

and an odd one…

where can I get info on mens floppy socks

thank you

Brian

Can anyone tell me what “men’s floppy socks” are exactly?

11/28/07 update, loose socks was what he sought.

Liz & Amanda recently dreamed up a whole new batch of stripy combinations…

Last week they all arrived here at the warehouse
…so we set about trying them out and taking pictures

Liz did the photography and write up (”copy”) for this style
and I was beckoned to join them for a group shot to use for the thumbnail
…it was a welcome break from my daily doings! We both had cameras so I shot a few from my perspective. They are pretty colors, unusual combinations I wouldn’t have thought up myself, and the usual old-fashioned fit, like the other striped Dream Stockings have. Someone recently referred to this as being “from the days before lycra”. Actually, they do have a touch of lycra in them, just not that snug, hold onto your every curve, kind of lycra content most socks have, and many of us like it that way. They go over our knees and stay in our dreams, they may not stay up perfectly or fit everyone and we love them just the same! if you love our various colored knees combos or our M Stripes these are a cornucopia of yummy new choices!

You might’ve noticed that we’ve added a bunch of new socks from Sock It To Me in the past week, including the new SITM men’s socks. We now have nearly everything she offers except some of the patterns which we’re sure to bring in this winter to help brighten those long dreary days we’ll be having. Everyone who was here on picture day last week was more than happy to get a new pair to try (and for many, including the Great Amanda above, it was not their first pair). So how do we really feel about Sock It To Me? Here’s some of the buzz around Sock Dreams about them:
“Some of the cutest/funkiest socks around”
“One of the consistently most satisfying socks”
“The super heroes fit perfect, but the Maroon tri-stripe are kinda snug”
“Super fun and super cute”
“Really stretchy, comfy on little feet and they stay up forever”
“One of my favorites”
“Vivid, perfect knee highs that don’t shrink down to half size in the dryer”

I took these photos of the super cute pastel rainbow stripes at the beginning of summer(note the irises ;)) and now that it’s fall ~even if the forecast high for today is 31°C (88°F) lol~ these deliciously coloured socks will remind you of all the rainbow sorbet you scarfed down with delight all summer long :D

Newly restocked, I see, and ready to keep your feet comfy and cool just in case it’s still hot where you are too :)

We’ve been blessed with beautifully cool mornings here in the pacific northwest. Some mornings & evenings have even been nearly chilly making socks and extra covers ever inviting so we gave a few of our newest men’s socks a test run, or test walk to be more accurate. All three of these have varying amounts of virgin wool, nylon, viscose, cashmere & angora. Virgin wool is wool that has been spun for the first time, as opposed to recycled fibers. Viscose fascinates me because it is what they make rayon and cellophane from and according to Wikipedia Rayon is a very versatile fiber and has the same comfort properties as other natural fibers and can imitate the feel and texture of silk, wool, cotton and linen. The bad thing about rayon is that it isn’t usually machine washable but these are, though gentle handling is recommended. The Giacomo argyles were my favorite to look at…

Since they are “men’s” socks they fit men’s shoe sizes 8-13 so any of you ladies who have trouble with the usual girl sized sock will find a friend in these since that would cover women’s shoe sizes 10-15 with generous ankle/calf room.

These were my sweetie’s favorites…

They were the first pair he picked out when shown the selection and have the loosest tops as you can see they don’t have the the turned welt cuff like the other two, though all will fit muscular calves just fine. Almost itchy before being washed, extra sensitive people beware, they do soften with gentle washings as the fibers fluff up, cotton socks worn under is also a good solution for sensitive feets, I thought they were very comfy for wool socks, I love that about Biella socks!