WoolWeenies Club

[emily_in_nc]

Cute pic, Lisa! Love the outfit, and your cute bedroom too, especially the floor! Very charming!

Emily

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Well Dianyla, why don't you you post a pic of you hiking in some exotic place in your woolies?

Elk- I am pleased with the brown shaks (halfzip and full zip). The brown is a soft mocha color that is pretty pleasant...between that and the skyline it will provide an alternative to the ninja look. I like to wear the half zip shak in medium with a Large full zip over it like they used to wear "sweater sets" in the old days. They'd have a pullover sweater with a matching cardigan over it.
God knows I go out in below freezing often enough to justify it. Chance of snow all day tomorrow (will likely just be cold rain though) and I plan to do my 3.6 mile walk in the morning in the 30's. Definitely will be layering wool.

I still wish they had picked more yummy women's colors this year in Ibex. But the black and brown will work, -especially if I wear colorful socks or vest or neck gaitor or a hat in an interesting color. My switchback vest in persimmon will go very nicely over the brown shak.
Dianyla- I do the same thing as you with putting the Smartwool ski socks on over my leggings and pulled up to my knees, then my hiking boots. They have some great wacky colors and patterns in those ski socks!

Wool diary confessions:
With the success of the skyline top for me and the arrival of the brown shaks today, I feel like a frustrating weight has been lifted off.
I had gotten enough thin merino base layers last year to last me a good while. I also had good outer vest, jacket, socks.... But i was kind of lacking in the mid layer torso dept- something warmer and thicker to wear over my base layer but under a vest or jacket. Or just by itself indoors, over a base layer. I had given two midweight SW wool zip tops I had to my daughters.
I knew the Switchback line from Ibex, and have a vest and jacket, but switchbacks were now eliminated by Ibex. Hence the search for mid layer tops like the shaks and the skyline this Fall.

But i had trouble finding colors I liked. The black was a no-brainer, and I loved the black shak I got- have been wearing it every day, and was getting sad when it was in the laundry. But a second color choice to alleviate the all-black-all-the-time look proved more difficult.

I tried the loose tights in grey- Had no idea what size I'd take so I ordered M, L & XL. The Large fit me, but they just did not look good on my type of figure.
I found a shak hoody in red- it was too snug when worn over things, and no larger size was available. Back it went.
I tried the skyline in the new "warm green"....didn't like that shade of green.
With all these new unfamiliar items, I'd be unsure of the sizing so I'd order 2 different sizes to be sure and then send stuff back.
Because of all this trying things out, packages were arriving from Ibex at an alarming rate. I had to try to send back the returns as quickly as possible, to stay ahead of my credit card billing cycle as much as I could. Most of the stuff was arriving and then getting returned. I consolidated stuff together if I could. I was able to narrow down my choices slowly.
This morning was truly the last Ibex box to arrive (of how many?.. 5 or 6 maybe?), and I pretty much knew I could be happy with the brown shaks, and from having the black shak I knew just what sizes I needed for the brown ones.
DH brought this last package in from the porch this morning and hollered up the stairs in an amused manner: "Oh Sweetie!- Your daily Ibex delivery has arrived!" (he's just too good really)
Now I am finally set with the mid layer thing (whew). The shaks in both black and brown, and the skyline top in black/chalk. I don't foresee any more Ibex deliveries this winter. It's been rather frustrating but I think I made some good decisions and I'm feeling well prepared for lots of outdoor activities and exercise this winter.

Ok I've babbled on long enough.

P.S. Thanks for the kind words! And Emily- that's our little attic guest room- but it has a good mirror for trying to photo yourself. The floor is the cheap pine subfloor that was underneath the ragged 1950's linoleum which was glued on with black asphalt(!!). It looked sweet in a humble way so we just had the guy sand the black tar off it and then I sealed it.

[elk]

you bike in yr boots?

my fave shoes to bike in are my Keens...

Let's see. I now have a switchback persimmon zip up.
A yummy brown shak zip up
A black crew neck LS under layer.
Waiting to get: (all of it was onsale!!)
pair of icebreaker capri leggings black
ibex capris black
ibex norgie crew brown and berry
icebreaker tank. lilac

NOt as cold here as it is in the northeast.....but wetter...

[madscot13]

You know, I love reading this thread because it is like a blog for wool loving. It makes me want to buy more and more wool. But then as I put more and more items in my internet shopping basket, I pause and think about it, and then I realize one of things about wool is it is sooo versatile and durable, I don't need a million pieces.

I don't need a million pieces unlike synthetics because
1. I don't wash them all of the time (take that as you will).
2. They are color fast, unlike any other cotton shirt.
3. Layering with them is easy because they are so thin for their warmth, and
I swear layering is the way to go! This way I can wear a crew shirt
different ways and enhance its use.
5. and they can take a lot of unintentional abuse.

[sandra]

Ducking in in my Dufold midweight to say

Lisa, I love the picture. You look great! What pants are those you are wearing? Love the top and the pants really look nice!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Ducking in in my Dufold midweight to say

Lisa, I love the picture. You look great! What pants are those you are wearing? Love the top and the pants really look nice!

Hi Sandra! Yes, I think the Duofold qualifies you membership in the Wool Weenies society.
The pants in the picture are Ibex merino wool tights (footless) that I got last year on sale. They are nice and thick and stretchy. They now make the "Energy Tight" instead, with zippers at the ankle. But the ones I have I just love.
At home I wear them alone, but going out in the real freezing cold I might put another tight under or over them. I wear them to sleep in too, but that might be too hot where you live.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

you bike in yr boots?

my fave shoes to bike in are my Keens...

Let's see. I now have a switchback persimmon zip up.
A yummy brown shak zip up
A black crew neck LS under layer.
Waiting to get: (all of it was onsale!!)
pair of icebreaker capri leggings black
ibex capris black
ibex norgie crew brown and berry
icebreaker tank. lilac

NOt as cold here as it is in the northeast.....but wetter...

Hi Elk, I have biked in my Keens too, but it's way too cold now for that here.
Yes, I bike in my heavy hiking boots, or whatever hiking shoes I want. I use PowerGrip straps on my pedals, which are adjustable and just go diagonally over whatever shoes I wear. I would freeze my poor toes off if I had to wear those wimpy clipless special shoes in the winter! I like being able to wear whatever the hell shoes I like when I bike. And I can wear two or even three pairs of wool socks with my thinsulate hiking boots too if i want!
Believe me, after 3 hours biking in the 30's in wind....you want all the wool socks and insulation you can manage.
That list of your stuff sounds very well thought out! Hey are you wearing your brown shal zip today?- I am!! I'm liking that soft cocoa brown color more every hour. I have a nice brown Vermont wool hat with ear flaps that looks wonderful with my brown shaks. This morning I went for a 3.6 mile walk and it was 37 and VERY windy! I had my brown shak halfzip on with the brown shak full zip over it, and I needed nothing else besides my warm tights, hat, socks, and gloves. It was refreshing- the wind kept the air circulating through the wool, yet I never got overheated or sweaty.
That Norgie crew was sure tempting on sale! I went with the skyline instead cause I liked the black/chalk combo.

Pictures, we want pictures!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

You know, I love reading this thread because it is like a blog for wool loving. It makes me want to buy more and more wool. But then as I put more and more items in my internet shopping basket, I pause and think about it, and then I realize one of things about wool is it is sooo versatile and durable, I don't need a million pieces.

I don't need a million pieces unlike synthetics because
1. I don't wash them all of the time (take that as you will).
2. They are color fast, unlike any other cotton shirt.
3. Layering with them is easy because they are so thin for their warmth, and
I swear layering is the way to go! This way I can wear a crew shirt
different ways and enhance its use.
5. and they can take a lot of unintentional abuse.

You are so right about all this. Wool will last a long time if cared for properly (it doesn't ask for much, just a little common sense). And I wear my wool items quite a few times before they need washing- even my socks. Wool just doesn't get stinky easily.
But I do layer several pieces over each other on any given winter day, plus I love to layer colors in interesting ways sometimes. So to accomplish this I do need a modest variety of pieces to work with and combine. I feel I mostly have what I "need" now.
I have two big bags of "useless" older winter clothes in the basement. All from a time only a couple of short years ago when I cluelessly thought bulky acrylic sweaters, cheesy waffle-cotton longjohns, puffy jackets, and cotton turtlenecks would keep me warm. I plan to sort through all that soon and Salvation Army most of it after my daughters pick out anything they might want.
It's all really DH's fault. He turned me on to real wool a few years ago. I grew up in hand me downs and just never really knew anything about good quality natural fiber clothes until recently. He has worn real wool for decades already. But I still notice a recent change in his wool buying habits- he now buys more thin merino layers and layers them rather than just wearing a thick heavy wool shirt and heavy wool vest. He's realizing how great it is to be able to move in soft multiple stretchy layers as opposed to stiff heavy wool.

(can you tell I love to talk about wool?)
But I can stop talking about wool any time I want to.

[madscot13]

I can't. I once told my best friends that I wanted to be reincarnted into wool

[Andrea]

Based on the ravings in this thread, I went to Ibex's site & ordered the long sleeve crew (from the "clearance" page). You guys have me all excited to try it out!

[elk]

Ok...I'm IN LOVE with my new Jamis and my 2 layers of ibex merino ...but I'm wondering what kind of vest to put over the layers...Want wind and rain protection...another wool layer? or a shell kind of vest...?

i've been looking at vests and most of them seem pretty form fitting...i mean, how are they going to go over 2 layers?

[Dianyla]

Ok...I'm IN LOVE with my new Jamis and my 2 layers of ibex merino ...but I'm wondering what kind of vest to put over the layers...Want wind and rain protection...another wool layer? or a shell kind of vest...?

I'm really fond of wearing the PI Whisper Vest in screaming yellow over my woolies. Gives you visibility and some windproofness. Not much water protection, though.

[KnottedYet]

ditto the PI Whisper vest.

If you are afraid it won't fit over your layers, measure yourself while wearing the layers! Choose the size that fits over the layers.

I have a wool vest from Woolrich that I'm quite fond of, but I'm more likely to put on a sweater for the bike ride rather than my wooly vest. (I like the sleeves, and the PI vest does most of the core warming I might need.)

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I'm a Brooks Nightlife screaming yellow fan myself. You can get them from Terry. I've tried the Whisper vest and jacket and they just don't fit my body shape as well as the Nightlife stuff does. Same purpose, though- some wind and light rain protection and high traffic visibility.
I do like vests for biking- the arm ventilation keeps me from getting overheated, but my core/torso stays warmer. Also they are smaller than sleeved jackets if you have to stow them in your saddlebag.
In heavy rain all bets are off and you really need a true bike rain jacket of some sort. Maybe Gore? I have a Craft screaming yellow rain jacket from TE that I like. But keep in mind that when something is truly rainproof then it often does not breathe well, and it tends to get hot and stuffy in it if you're working hard.
Wool does have the advantage in light rain of keeping you warm and ventilated even if it gets damp. So sometimes in drizzle I'll wear my dense wool Ibex vest over my other wool items.

[elk]

well i ordered the PI whisper late last night...we'll see. I tried to order the Brooks vest at Terry that night of the 50% off and just got so frustrated!

JUST got a box from Ibex...

BUt one of my fave pieces is the Icebreaker tank I got from Sierra TP...it's SO soft and fits so well. I ordered 2 of the same by mistake....but I think I'll keep 'em both!

I SO wanted to take a long ride today but it's RAINING..grrrrr
In Portland rain means RAIN...not drizzle or mist...