10 Reasons I like to knit socks

1. Knitting-in-the-round. The continuity of motion along with ease of reading patterns in the round provides me with endless enjoyment.
2. No piecing, sewing or blocking required. I prefer knitting to these activities anyway. And no, Kitchener stitch isn't sewing; it's grafting! :-) And some may call me masochistic, but I actually enjoy it.
3. Approach the same project from two angles. I like the contrast between figuring out the pattern and being creative on sock #1, then timing myself and setting deadlines for sock #2. I also like to take away lessons learned from doing sock #1 so that I have a second chance to fix it.
4. Doing the math to tailor the pattern to fit. I guess this goes for most garment projects, but I feel really comfortable altering stitch counts with socks.
5. Brevity. Knitting a pair of socks, even on small needles, is not a huge time commitment. I would say I've been averaging a pair every 3-4 weeks or so.
6. Subtlety. I can wear them and make a statement, but I'm making more of a subtle statement than if I knit a sweater. (This also means that my mistakes are more subtle, too!)
7. Most patterns are easy to memorize. I'm not a huge fan of really complicated, 72-row pattern repeats that I have no hope of memorizing. Socks lend themselves very well to short, repetitious patterns which I can easily remember and therefore knit anywhere (and probably carry on a perfectly good conversation).
8. Plug-N-Play components. I can mix and match just about every part of a sock with a different one. If I don't like heel stitch, I can change it to something else, or shape the heel to something different on a whim. Same with the toe, the leg instep, the gusset, the ribbing, and the cast on.
9. Self-striping yarns. I can get an amazing amount of color with no effort at all. Yes, you can knit other things with self-striping yarns, but for the striping to be a decent-sized stripe, it pretty much has to be the width of an average sock.
10. No slippers needed in the winter. I used to be a slipper person, but ever since I discovered the joy of hand-knit socks, I don't need them at all!