Darn it, or not?

[polldaddy poll=7675424]

Sock knitters, please answer before proceeding. *wink*

I love hand knit socks and have at least one sock in progress at all times. They're usually a mindless project with simple ribbing or stockinette and more exciting things like lace shawls, sweaters, and shop samples take priority, so the socks aren't exactly flying off my needles.

Something interesting came up this morning at Open Knitting as I was knitting on this sock:

I mentioned that I wore through the heel of one of my socks, so now I'm knitting a new pair. As the words came out of my mouth, I began to question my thought process. Hearing it out loud made me consider my decision to spend hours knitting a new pair when it would be mere minutes to repair.

• Why would I decide to knit a new pair of socks rather than repairing?
• Am I using a worn sock as an excuse to cast on a new project?
• Did I just want new yarn?
• Why am I not using this lovely darning egg?

I do, in fact, own one of these very pretty darning eggs  - they're hand made by a gentleman in California. Yet, I don't usually darn my socks and they just go into the 'sad sock' pile because my first inclination is to just 'whip' up a new pair in my 'free' time. Really, I can pretty much repair an existing pair of socks in the time it takes to select yarn and cast on a brand new pair and I don't really have much 'free time'.

So, as I ponder this... I'm curious about what you do and if I'm alone here. I'll be back to share the results and I think it's safe to say that I will probably be darning in the very near future. Cheers!