Over the past week or so I have had three, yes three pairs of socks wear out at the heels.  One of them is an early pair of The Boy’s (made during that period of deeply unsuitable yarns I mentioned earlier).  The other two are mine and were made a bit later and with more suitable yarns.  Alas, even with appropriate yarn, socks are not everlasting.  In all three cases I caught the damage when it was just a thin spot and not a full-fledged blow out.  This means darning them isn’t actually all that hard, and I have very little excuse not to do it.  I even have remnants of all the yarns.  I just need to collect the necessary fortitude and dedication and actually do it.  If I waver, I’ll just have to compare the time to make new socks (at least 20 hours a pair) versus the time needed to repair them (about an hour a pair) and brow beat myself into doing the right thing.

I am, however, taking the spate of holes as a sign that I need to buy some of the mythic ‘wooly nylon’ reinforcing thread.  I’ve heard it’s perfect for carrying along with the main yarn while working heels and toes.  My socks (and The Boy’s too for that matter) always wear out at the ball of the heel.  I think it should be fairly simple to reinforce that area in upcoming socks.  I may even take the reinforcing thread and work it into our existing socks in that area to see if it helps stave off future holes.

I’ve got two other small administrative notes.  First, Wednesday is the last day to leave a comment on this post for a chance to win one of three free patterns.  Second, a new sock is coming out either at the end of this week or the beginning of next week.  This is one of the (many) secret projects that’s been depriving you of pictures over the last few months.  It’s finally ready to go and will be here soon!