There are many ways to approach a hand-knit garment. One common approach is to treat every knit item, at every stage of its development, as if it were of heirloom quality. This approach involves ensuring each hand knit item is made with the utmost care and attention to detail, with good, high-quality yarn, using carefully considered and executed techniques. This approach treats hand knit garments almost as if they were museum pieces, so as to extend their longevity for decades.
I am not of this school of thought.
I like to make my own stuff. I like being self-reliant. A few times a year I like to pack everything that I need into a 65 liter backpack and wander into the woods for days and days. I carry everything out that I carry in, so reducing the amount of stuff that I bring in the first place becomes key. There are a few schools of thought to approaching this problem.
Read more about how these socks made my recent trip to Buckhorn State Park all comfy and cozy, even though I spent about 24 hours under the tent dodging raindrops. Check out the post on Unapologetically Ersatz.