Niqkita's Sock Journal

It’s Monday morning and I have so much to do and say that I’ve no clue where to begin. I have to hurry in to work because we’re a tad short handed this morning so I don’t get to have my lazy morning at home editing all the images we’ve shot in the past week[s]… I haven’t added many new items lately, but wow do we have a lot coming!!! including these fabulous satin gloves that I shall make live this evening. …when you put them on, they’re so luxurious
you’ll effect an accent & feel a need to hide from the paparazzi
…oh the things we’ll show you in the coming weeks!!!
But first, we have oodles of orders to pull…
bye for now!

I don’t usually take sock shots in the sunlight, but when I woke up two Sundays ago to a bright sunny morning I decided to give these pretty new knee highs a shot in the sun. We’ve been getting some really pretty stripes lately and I can never pick favorites so I wore one of each of these with one of each of the new Dreamy Knees…

it made me happy all day

That afternoon, after staying up late the night before finishing a batch of Strange Monster arm cozies for us Rene & her partner Cameron dropped off what would become our last batch of these beloved cozies.

a few days later we learned she passed away the very next day.
A sadness fell over us that was hard to shake. I’d barely gotten to know her in the past few months since we’d met as we mostly exchanged emails and talked briefly during her drop offs. We were about the same age and I loved that she wore pigtails too.

If you own a pair of her cozies treasure them forever because she really did make each and every one of them herself. If you don’t own a pair you best grab some while we still have some. Today it’s grey and we’re finally going to get some rain…
so here’s to the rainbows and sunshine to come.

The O Marled are among very-very favorite socks, in the top five for sure!
But on chilly days, or nights, nothing beats snuggling into a cozy pair of our
Super Marled Dream Stockings (except maybe the Super Dreamy Stockings…)
So, why were we out of these for the past couple of years? The mill we work with was having trouble getting the yarn and we could get lots more over the knees out of the supply than we could these thigh highed Super version. This year we’re thrilled to be fully stocked on both lengths!

These come all the way to the tops of my thighs and stay up pretty well for around the house. They are super comfy for pulling on first thing in the morning or for a cozy layer under your pants. They are 90% cotton and a heavier knit than the Super & O Dreamy stockings. The Dreamies, being an acrylic blend, have that super soft feel, almost a fluffiness to them, the Marled are very soft also, but it is different…
more substantial.

For my size 8.5 feets I prefer the small size
…though they both fit me, the small is just right and the large is loose. So I found it funny that I ended up keeping the large black cherry pair we used in the images and EG was accidentally sent a small pair for her size 11 feet.

I assured her that my large pair is indeed larger than the one she received
and we are sending her a new pair so she can give you the full run down on how they fit larger feet later this week or next. If only we could have merely switched pairs this morning when I read her email!

My pair is about 42 inches long from heel to rolled cuff.

One final thought before I open the discussion up for the rest of your thoughts….
the ankles can get baggy when they start to ease slowly down your legs. I tried wearing them with a pair of ankle boots so they could hang over the tops like leg warmers or leggings and it looked super cute, the top image shows this minus the boots which I had just removed before taking the picture.
(because I’m silly like that sometimes!)

the inspiration…

The temptation…


One size, one flavor, many fits

O Nubbies…
Thick, creamy, sweet & delicious
…just the way we like our Over the Knee Socks!!!

Or leg warmers as the case may be.
Among the many things I am grateful for are my neighbors
and their amazing garden…

They have twice as many dogs as we do and seem to walk them constantly when they are home. When they are away I sometimes sneak over with my camera and take advantage of the little oasis they have created over the years.

Now, when I say sneak I mean away from Lola who hates to be left out of anything involving going outside, and she knows very well that cats and squirrels frolic over there in the absence of dogs.

Indeed our neighbors know all about my adventures among their maples…

and bamboos…

and were more than happy to see their garden show up in an ad in Bust and the Willamette Week’s finder’s guide to Portland 2008-2009.

and so, now you too know where I wander off to, my camera and I.
and soon there’ll be a whole slew of new items among the maples & bamboo.

or…
where was it made and why does it matter?

Try as we might, most of us end up with stuff carrying this tag. As a buyer I’ve tried to avoid it, but sometimes even items I’m familiar with that didn’t use to come from China show up with the tag, if I ask I am often assured there isn’t a change over and it was just a temporary source. Add to this the idea that not everything that comes from other countries is made under questionable conditions. We tend to think highly of European items and Japan has risen to be thought of as a reputable source.
At one point I started discontinuing anything that I found a China tag on…
now I’m not certain that is a solution in itself having talked to a lot of people about the good and the bad of it and will continue to carry items made all over the world.
It seems almost all “costume items” (non-stocking-type things like gloves and petticoats) are only mass produced in China, causing even conscientious suppliers to send us Chinese items because they just can’t get them elsewhere.

So what’s a girl to do? I make an effort to add where its made to all new items, usually after the fiber content if it isn’t in the main description copy (for anything we’ve missed feel free to email us and we’ll check for you). We try hard to keep an eye out for changes in the warehouse & update the descriptions as needed
…not as easy as it sounds but we still try.

Any item that carries the Sock Dreams label absolutely must be made in the US or we won’t sell it. While I definitely favor US made socks and such there are a lot of great styles out there to be had so do your own research and make your own conclusions about what you do and do not want to purchase, here, there and everywhere…
whenever possible buy handmade & locally produced items
and buy as many socks from Sock Dreams as possible!

Every so often I go through and pick a few items that need to leave the building.
Not because I don’t love them (well, sometimes that is the reason)
…but more often because we just need to make room for new stuff.
Since we have a huge Cronert order coming for fall I chose a handful or two of the Cronerts that are not going forward to part with at a great price to you, my fellow sock enthusiasts. So if you’ve been longing for Cronerts but didn’t want to splurge now is your chance to stock up for far less than they usually cost!
Go see everything in our sale & clearance room and tell your friends because we still don’t inundate your inbox with our sales ads.

One month ago today a film crew of two arrived at our shop to film a segment for a local program called Portland Now on the CW channel.
Air time is Saturday June 28th at 9:30 pm and Sunday, June 29 at 4:30 pm
…if you miss it, or are not here in Portland with us, you can also watch it on their website anytime you like. Since I generally prefer to be behind cameras rather than in front of them I opted out of being interviewed this time and let our charming & lovely marketing girl Brigid step into the limelight for this occasion.

Of course, Bsti & I were there to watch from behind the curtain and were at least as nervous as Brigid was. I paced & answered every question in my head, every moment of silence seemed like forever til the next question was asked or answered.
I can’t wait to watch it on the big screen tonight!!!

Just the other day we changed out the center display in the store, so rather than the bright spring-colored stripes in the program you will now see these comfy & environmentally friendly EG ECO Slinky knees if you come sock shopping with us…

I have been obsessed with wearing flip flops for the first time in years and these toesocks are part of the reason. They are one of two new ToeToe toe socks specifically designed for walking (the other is actually a reintroduction of the terry looped wool version, with more colors ). Better than bare toes in flip flops because feet stay cleaner and sweat is absorbed, plus feet are cushioned and protected. I’ve barely been seen out of these since they first arrived (I have all 3 colors=) and they’ve got competition with all the other great styles we’ve added lately, not to mention all my old fav’s.
I scrunch ‘em down around my ankles if my legs get too warm
…and I pull them up near my knees when the sun goes away.
Convertible & comfy, plus they’re made with COOLMAX® to keep your feet cool!