Yay, another pretty block from LC!
Sock knitting sometimes takes me 30 hours to make a pair. But it isn't about the time, it's the mindless pleasure of having something nice to work on that is portable and can easily be picked up and put down. Well, maybe not the heel, which takes a little more attention, but the rest of it is basically a straight tube. I might work on the same pair for a year! If I knit every night watching TV, it goes much faster. I use tiny sock yarn and size 0 or 1 needles to make a nice dense fabric that won't wear out for a long time. When I get a rhythm going, I knit about an inch an hour. I have made so many pairs!
Of course you can knit bigger gauge socks with DK or sport weight yarn and size 2 needles. Those go much faster, and make nice thicker socks.
Janice, if you want to learn, there are tons of teaching videos online. Lots of people are learning sock knitting online nowadays. I have a pattern at Etsy that teaches you a special heel technique that makes the entire heel of the sock (not just the back) double thick. I hate it when handmade sock heels wear out.
So... fun! Several of us have this in common, yay!