Swatching for laundry

I've been wondering about my wool socks. They're so comfortable, so warm, and they wear so well. I gladly wash them by hand, and for now, now in winter, when most of the time the wood-stove is burning in what we call the stove-room, they're fairly easy to dry: I just spread a towel on the back of the couch and lay wet socks on the towel. In a couple hours they're dry.

In warmer weather it won't be so easy. So I'm wondering about dry-ability. Having already felted a pair of wool socks --fair isle, yet! I'll never forgive myself-- I'm not even considering tossing more wool socks into the washing machine, but ...can I dry them in the dryer?

I thought, "okay, I'll knit a swatch, measure it, wash it by hand, dry it in the dryer, see what happens." Actually I didn't think it out in quite so linear a fashion, but you get the picture.

Here's the picture. Before washing:







The dryer is still running, so that's all I have for you so far.

What I expect is I'll make a mate for this (whatever it is), then turn them into something else. Like wristers, gloves, mittens, fingerless gloves... or maybe it'll just be a can cozy. We'll see what the dryer decides.