fibretales

I had a request from a friend recently, a pair of special socks to keep her pinkies warm when the temperature dips. She is travelling , and her footwear of choice will be thongs (flip-flops). So a toed sock is required; not having knitted such a beast before, I naturally needed to do a little research, so looked in the usual likely spots - more of which later - am I looking for a mitten with a toe added or a sock with a thumb? I've got to the right spot now and have to make up my mind soon. However, as knitting leaves a certain amount of brain power unattended, I was musing on the complete lack of justification for the art of hand knitting socks at all in this day and age. I know there are legions of avid sock knitters out there, and indeed I do knit a few of the beasts myself, BUT, how can I justify to the bean counters who rule the world that there is a need for warm woolly socks that commerce just can't provide? Never mind doing this strange activity at all, but with hand-spun yarns too. I may just have found grounds for my certification, but nonetheless I am pleased to give my friend a gift of warm fitted socks to take on her roamings, and hopefully they will bring more than warm toes to mind when she wears them this winter.