Mr. Aitch and I visited with our son and his family while on our vacation. 
This was the first time that we met our daughter-in-law in person. She is a delight, very down to earth, generous, super nice and a knitter.
She and I were both pleasantly surprised to learn that we were both knitters.
When my grandmother taught me to knit, it was (what I’ve since discovered) in the “cottage” style of knitting where the knitter would prop the right needle against their hip/waist/underarm for support and move the left needle. Circular needles don’t offer that type of support. Dpns don’t really allow for that either as they are usually 5-8 inches long. Plus they are pretty thin (US 0-2) and very pointy. Sometimes I stick one end of the dpn into a wine cork so I can still support the sharp point against my body and not poke holes through my clothes (or skin). I just need to remember to move it as I knit from one needle to the next.
My daughter-in-law has mastered the two-at-a-time socks on circular needles. I am a double point needle (dpn) sock knitter, however, I want to learn this technique. During our visit, she gave me two sock knitting books:
The Sock à la Carte (c) 2008 by Jonelle Raffino, Katherine Cade and the SWTC Staff is so unique. 
The book has 17 cuff patterns, 20 body patterns and 18 heel and toe patterns that one can mix and match to create hundreds of different socks.
Part of the book contains flip pages to design your own unique combinations for the cuff, body, heel and toe that refer back to the directions for each section.
The other book 2-at-a-Time Socks (c) 2007 by Melissa Morgan-Oates explains the technique so well that I am going to give it a go. 
With 17 sock patterns included (and the patterns in the other book), I will have many to choose from for my first pair…just as soon as I finish more on my To-Do list.
Are you a sock knitter? Do you use double point needles, circular needles, 2-at-a-time, or knit flat socks and seam?
Knitting In Flashes 
I’m so glad the leaning thing is a real thing. I thought I was just a lazy (or inept) knitter.
I still have a couple other projects to do before I can try crochet socks again.
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Learning the knit and purl stitches are the basics of knitting. It’s learning what to do with the needles (straight, double-pointed, and circular) along with the ordering of those two types of stitches, adding shaping, additional colors, yarn-overs and a myriad of other things that makes it such a challenge. I feel inept sometimes, too.
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Learning a new technique is so much fun!
I knit my socks on dpns. I can do magic loop but prefer the dpns. My socks are always knit cuff down. I’ve tried toe up but it feels wrong:)
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I agree with the toe-up knitting. Never did that but it does seem wrong. Sorry all you toe-up sock knitters. Maybe I’ll be a convert one day.
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I am not a sock knitter, however I am a professional sock tester. I do not accept any payment nor do I give any recommendations. If interested in a non biased review please let me know.
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I’ll keep you in mind when I finish the first pair. =)
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I knit my first pair of socks on a mix of dpns and short mini circulars. I ordered the books you mentioned as I want to try the 2-at-a-time 🙂
Thanks for sharing !
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What a wonderful surprise to have knitter in the family!
I always knit my socks one at a time, toe up, on tiny circular needles. For the very start, I use two circular needles. I knit too loosely to use DPNs, they are always falling out on me. I don’t like Kitchener, so toe up solves that. So I am pretty set in my ways, though I have done socks more traditionally, cuff down, on DPNs, I don’t do that any more. You would be amazed at the patterns that can actually be done upside down. 🙂
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And just like all knitters (and other crafty people), she is very generous!
Other than adjusting a colorwork pattern, are there other differences between toe-up and top-down construction/knitting? Kitchener stitch is my friend. I use it on shoulder seams, too, as it’s less bulky than a three-needle bind off.
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You come at the heel from a different angle, but it isn’t difficult. The heels are the thing I pay the most attention to when I look at patterns. I like a short row heel, so they are pretty much the same up and down. 😉
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I use 9 inch circulars with dpns for the tiny bits
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