Yeah, it's definitely plenty of yarn. 

I think if you wanted to make knee highs you'd need more than one skein, but socks of the 'usual' length are definitely doable.

My sister can't wear wool so I've had to search for alternatives to make her socks.

I'd have to say that the best non-wool yarn I've found so far is Greenwood Fiberworks cotton/lyrca sock yarn.  It's thinner than Cascade Fixation.

For me it knits up at a gauge of 9spi.  It's totally soft and lovely. 

You can find it here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=19807
There are usually many more colorways (lots of pretty variegateds as well as solids) to choose from.  I'd say if you don't see any that appeal to you now, check back in a couple of days.

I have some pictures of a sock I started using it and some more info about my impressions of the yarn on my blog.

Also, one of my favorite bloggers did a very very informative post about her experimentation with a huge variety of different non wool sock yarns.  You can find her post about it here:

http://www.grumperina.com/knitblog/nonwoolysockyarn.htm

I was not able to find anyone manufacturing 14" circulars.

I heartily second the recommendation for knitting small diameter items in the round using two circs. It has been my experience that it is much easier to teach a beginner the two circ method than DPNs or the magic loop method. 

(And Knitpicks circs are not only inexpensive, they're fantastic, too.)

Another thing you may be doing is knitting 'twisted.'

If your stitches are not aligned on your needle the right way, it's really difficult to get the needle into the next stitch, even if you are trying to knit more loosely than what seems natural for you.  When I first learned to knit I was having this exact problem with the stitches seeming to be too tight until it was pointed out to me.

There's a really good article here that will show you with pictures what I'm talking about in reference to twisted stitches:

http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter02/FEATtheresa.html

For me, the worst things about knitting are:

1) Seeing projects through to completion.  I have various projects for one reason or another I've subconsciously decided I'm never going to complete.  It's difficult for me to convince myself consciously that the project is ok to frog so I can use the yarn for something else instead.

2)  Hand pain.  My hands pretty much always hurt.

3)  My expensive tastes.  Recently I've been trying to enforce limits on the cost of yarn for pieces I plan to give away.  For instance, if I'm making a pair of socks for a gift and which may sit in a drawer somewhere for all I know, I've convinced myself it's a better idea to use a Knitpicks yarn than Socks That Rock.  It took me a long time to realize it's ok to save the luxury stuff for myself.

Conversely, I think the best thing about knitting is what other people seem to be reporting is their worst--and that's the obsessiveness factor.  I actually value having something to obsess about because it's an escape from my mundane worries and problems.  When I'm knitting or thinking about knitting, I'm in a happy world and I think that's a major benefit.

Speaking of those little cloth labels, there's an excellent tutorial for making them yourself right here:

http://www.grumperina.com/labelcontent.htm

I'm making socks for people for Christmas presents and I'm a little worried too about the recipients not wearing them after all the work I've put into them.  It's heartbreaking to put all kinds of work into a project and then have it sit in a drawer somewhere but I figure that's the risk you take when you choose to devote time into making a gift instead of spending 5 minutes purchasing something in a store.
I'm going to bring my digital camera along to any gift giving festivities and ask the sock recipients to put them on for a minute so I can get a photo of the socks with feet in them for my blog.  (That way, at least I know they have put them on at least once and maybe they'll realize then just how comfortable hand knit socks really are and wear them again sometime.   )

I've made up some sock sleeves that include the care instructions and fiber content that I'll wrap around the socks and I've got some perfectly sized velvet draw string bags that I plan to put them into.
Check them out here if you want.

I just want to thank everyone again for participating and I'm thrilled that it all worked out so well and we didn't have any flakes!  Don't forget to share the mix you received in the swap gallery here:

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=35291.0

As far as I know, this is the current state of affairs here:

Sent:

flrtingwdisaster
RaeAmazon
DragonMaid
EmilyFlew
justlease
jadey_mcshadey
Craft_t_chic
worthwhilegirl
DeniseM
coccyx
BklynGal
maculkv
vanishing_star
tucanchild
LiquidScissors
magick8ball
mattbot
karmapolice
pink_vinyl
EnchantedSushi
Daria
boygirlparty
quarkiegirl
Elizasmom
msrockchick
goldfinch
psyche
the*girl*next*door 
taped_on_wings
JaneGtar
Hetobeto
Messily
knittinggodess



Not Sent:

grrlfriday  (sending late)
darkhairedgirl (partner had to bail out, assigned new partner)

If you've sent your CD and your name is on the Not Sent list, please let me know so I can update the records. 

[Thanks again to everyone who's participated in this swap. It's been so much fun.]

I'm really excited to see all these tracklists!  I think I'm going to be duplicating a whole bunch of them for my summertime amusement!

Thanks again to everyone who's participated in this swap.  It's been so much fun.

I sure hope y'all be interested in participating in the next one I set up, which I'll post about later on today.  Also, I'll be updating the sent list, too.  (Just not enough hours in the day.)

Craft-t-chic....definitely post it if she hasn't.