Treat your feet to the luxury of a hand-knit pair of socks or machine knit Alpaca Socks

Our feet are the silent heroes keeping us moving and achieving our goals.

By some estimates, the average person walks more than 10,000 steps every day, which translates to several tons of accumulated force on our feet, every day. Women have about four times as many foot problems as men. Some of it we bring on ourselves with high-heeled, narrow shoes that look great but do not properly support our body.

I worked as a nurse for many years and even with good shoes, I would often come home with sore, swollen feet. As a caregiver I saw the effects age and disease had on my patient's ability to move, yet getting out of bed and moving was what they needed most to get well. Even a small problem with the your feet can make walking difficult and painful, so taking care of your feet pays off in a big way.

This week I have a few ideas to help you give some special attention to your feet. Circulatory problems such as diabetes and neuropathy often cause decreased circulation in your feet and can make living in cold weather like we have here in North Idaho a little more challenging.

You can help ease the discomfort by warming up your feet with a good pair of our Alpaca socks that also wick away moisture. This is key to remember: If your feet are wet and cold, you will be cold. Our socks have patented wicking zones to move the moisture from your feet up and out of your shoe. The same holds true for our boot and ski socks.

Last week a customer who loves to hunt came in and raved about our new Alpacor socks. He said when he was out hunting his feet were warm and toasty while his buddies had two pairs of socks stuffed into their boots, and they still were freezing. I was thrilled that we helped make his weekend outing a little more enjoyable.

If you or someone you know has poor circulation, we have warm and comfortable gradient compression socks to help enhance circulation by exerting the greatest pressure at your ankles, which then decreases gradually up the leg. They comfortably support your legs and help reduce leg fatigue, aching feet, swollen ankles and the discomfort caused by varicose veins. Many compression socks are made of nylon and lycra and do a good job with compression but do a poor job with keeping your feet warm. Our Dahlgren compression socks do both - they keep your feet warm with Alpaca and provide great compression to help with circulation. If you know someone who travels a lot on planes, these socks are a great way to help make the flight easier on their feet and health.

The knitters who support our store have been having a great time this month with our recent sock KAL (Knit-A-Long). This project taught our knitters how to create two at a time toe up socks with circular needles and the 'Magic Loop' technique. I made some beautiful self-striped ankle socks with this technique and was able to knit them to the perfect fit, a rarity for my size 5 foot.

Knitting socks is both fun and challenging and we have a whole group of women working on their socks at our store in Hayden. Some had been knitting for years but never took up the challenge of socks and now are experiencing the achievement of conquering a new skill. We have over 100 colors of sock yarns available in a variety of brands and fibers including Merino, Alpaca, Cotton and many natural blends. My socks were made of superwash wool and infused with aloe vera and jojoba oils. They are truly a joy to wear.

Learning the art of knitting and helping others to enjoy it is a wonderful opportunity we get to experience every day at our shop in Hayden. Transforming a ball of yarn into a personal sock creation you can share with a loved one is a great way to let them know they are special and so are their feet.

In case you have not heard about us, Alpaca Direct is a direct merchant of high-quality yarn, apparel, gifts and socks. We stock a full line of fiber art accessories, including hundreds of needles and thousands of yarns. Our unique selection of products also includes Peruvian alpaca sweaters, hand-loomed lace scarves, performance alpaca socks, cuddly alpaca teddy bears and unique international jewelry.

Our building is handicap accessible, with ample parking and is easy to find. We are located on Hayden Avenue, just two blocks west of Highway 95 at 1016 W. Hayden Ave. in Hayden.

Our Alpaca fiber experts are on call 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Saturday. Visit us at 1016 W. Hayden Ave. or online at www.AlpacaDirect.com - your local destination for luxury yarn, apparel and gifts. "Like" us on Facebook and Yelp for exclusive coupons, product spotlights and news!