Ah, but it is because of Second Sock Syndrome that I began to knit two socks in tandem. It is too much fun to make one, but not at all fun to make the other. I've already tried out that new idea, or pattern, and have satisfied my curiosity. So doing the same thing all over again and having to remember what I did in the first place, is tedious. The same goes with gloves and anything else that comes in pairs.
I had just finished a glove of my latest pair and while I was talking to my Mum I wondered if I should start the other one right away or something else. She said: "You know that if you don't start it now, you never will."
So, I did cast on the second one and finished it, because she was right. This pair was inspired by cold hands and the pair I knit for my SiL for Christmas:
Froot Loop Gloves, from a free pattern on Ravelry. It is very well written and clever, a joy to knit.
Apart from the Alhambra sock (from the last post) having no mate, here are a couple of others I found while I was logging all my stash on Ravelry.
Crenellated Socks. Begun in 2005, this pair will most likely never get finished. I'll probably reuse the crenellation in some other pair, because I quite like how it turned out.
Tiled Socks. Begun late 1990s, will be ripped and the yarn reused. I'll probably reuse the tiled pattern too, but in much finer yarn.
This is probably the most extreme example of losing interest. I was only a thumb away from finishing this pair. Languishing since 2004, and will be ripped as soon as I get around to it.
Knitting two at a time, or having some external motivation are the safest bets that I'll get two of anything off the needles.