Any suggestions on what software to use to create icons?

Just about any graphics editor will create icons in 16px, 32px, 48px, etc.
Then just convert them to an ico format.

There are various assortments of apps specifically designed to create icons.
Try out Greenfish Icon Editor Pro. It's free.

Irfanview converts to icon, lol. I did not even notice.

I use fireworks 8 for making my icons and graphics

I have Fireworks 8, but mine does not convert to .ico. I just purchased it though, is there a plug-in that I missed? I always have used Jasc's Paint Shop Pro, but thought I might ought to start tinkering around with the Adobe software.