Socktoberfest questionnaire

When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?
I just started the weekend of Sept 15. After petting tapmouse’s Socks That Rock (STR) WIP’s and reading a few threads on the knitty.board, I bought a copy of Sensational Knitted Socks by Nancy Bush and followed her “class sock” instructions.

What was your first pair? How have they "held up" over time?
My first pair which I just finished earlier this week is made from Knitpicks (KP) Simple Stripes that I bought from their clearance sale. It’s too early to tell how they’ll hold up yet.

What would you have done differently?
Too soon for me to say yet ‘cept maybe ignore the self-striping color and stick to only a 1-1.5” cuff. 2” is a little too long for my taste. But in essence, I probably should’ve used a non-self striping yarn, despite my beginner’s luck of the stripes matching on both socks.

What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?
Well, from my little swatches so far, I love Cherry Tree Hill (CTH) Supersock, Fleece Artist, Koigu, and the STR samples/left-overs tapmouse gave me. Is it me or are the solid colored sock yarns a hair thicker than the variegated, specifically for CTH and Fleece Artist?

Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?
So far, I’ve knit them on DPN’s. But I’ll try 2 circs as soon I put in and receive my next KP order. I suppose I will at some point try the Magic Loop method but that would require adding longer circs to my KP order. (Yeah, like that's going to be a hard decision.) And despite knowing how to crochet since I was young, I currently have no desire to crochet a pair. Am not fond of having to do a lot of single crochet.

Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?)
Too early to tell yet. So far I’ve only done a flap heel, but I’m looking forward to trying the short row since a couple patterns I like have that feature.

How many pairs have you made?
Including the class sock pair (which can be considered toddler socks), so far I’m at 2.

I have another toddler sock on the needles in CTH Supersport, but it needs to be frogged. It's too tight for monkey1 and way too big for monkey2. As for adult sized socks, I think I'll start w/Hedera in Fleece Artist Lily Pond and maybe Jaywalkers in Koigu.

eta: Well, actually I've started my Jaywalkers in Koigu and may do Hedera in a different solid colored yarn.