Wooly sock time

Of all the items of apparel we wear, socks are probably the one that has changed the least over the past few hundred years. Sure, new technology has brought us some special fibers and socks that are tougher or more moisture-wicking, but a good pair of wool socks still has the same charm and feel that our parents’ and grandparents’ socks had.

In recent years, I’ve been partial to these beautiful, thick, handmade beauties, imported by Yulia from her home in Ukraine and sold on Etsy. I love them! People think wool is always prickly or scratchy but these socks are soft and always keep my toes snuggly warm.

The natural sheep-wool improves blood circulation, performs the function of micro-massage and normalizes blood pressure. And there’s more. According to Yulia, the sheep-wool has unique properties due to the lanolin contained in it (animal wax). Lanolin is a natural antiseptic. At 95 degrees, it dissolves and penetrates the pores of the skin, where it has a beneficial effect on the joints and the spine, relieves tension in the muscles, and improves blood circulation and the respiratory system. Who knew?

With all the turmoil now in Ukraine, the socks also remind me how much beauty is offered from every corner of this big world that we live in. We are more connected than we think to people in countries thousands of miles away on other continents. This quote by Francis Thompson comes to mind:

All things by immortal power

Near or far

Hiddenly

To each other linked are

That thou canst not stir a flower

Without troubling of a star.

🧦🧦