When budgets are tight, budgets are tight. And those nice, wool hose are pricey while the 20 dollar ones are cheesy. What's a Scot to do?

And besides, those of us in the South would die if we had to wear a lot of tight fitting on the legs wool in the summer.

So . . . , why not go for a good quality boot sock or a thinner knee sock? I got some thin knee socks (for uniform wear in Britain or some such place) ade of wool that work well, and I found some great boot socks at a sporting goods store made from acryllic. The boot socks look thick like wool, but the acryllic wicks moisture away and is much cooler.

And here's another shot I haven't tried: check out the ladies' knee socks in Lane Bryant. Those big girls wear knee socks, too, and the larger sizes may accomodate even big guys like me. I wear a 14 shoe, and I'm 6' - 3" tall, so you can imagine that size really does matter for me. (A little joke there.)

If you find some at Lane Bryant, they probably won't be wool.

And, BTW, you can find grosgrain ribbon, elastic,and velcro at any sewing center to make cheap flashes. All that shows is the ribbon, so even ugly stitching doesn't matter.