Essential Differences
I made Liam a bunch of socks from KnitPicks Essential a few years ago, and at the time I wasn't nuts about it. But the woman I sent the extra Autumn Rose yarn to sent me a package in return1, and it had two skeins of Essential in, and Liam's been needing some new socks as a few pairs have developed thin spots and/or died noble deaths (none of the Essential pairs, I note; only pairs in other, less robust yarns).
So despite having about fourteen things on the needles at the moment, I've also started working on a pair of socks. And I don't know what changed, but this stuff is so vastly different I suspect it of being from another timeline entirely. It's much, much softer--it feels almost like the late lamented Sock Garden, which was 100% merino--despite being crayon-purple (dark colors tend to be harsher), and lacks any plastic feel whatsoever although the label still says it's 25% nylon. No clue yet whether it's a good or bad thing for long-term durability.
1: At least, I hope in return; she hasn't yet told me she got the AR yarn, and I sent it almost two weeks ago.