FO and FO?

I finished something in the last few days, finally. It wasn't knitting, but I've been working at it for about least a month. Maybe longer - I wasn't keeping track.



I bought this copy at a second-hand book sale a few years ago. It's an edition from the 40s with a nifty map comparing Napoleon's invasion of Russia to Hitler's invasion. I guess there was something on everyone's mind in the 40s. Understandably.



This seems to be on everyone's list of "Books I should read but will never get around to." Really, when I picked it up at the sale on a whim I didn't have a strong conviction I'd ever read it either. But then, why read it "eventually" when I could read it now? Or something. If only I was that motivated about some other things in my life. Right.

But it's not so scary: it's almost entirely comprehensible, unlike much of the reading I did this year. (Okay, I'll stop bitching about 4th year. Maybe.) As my boyfriend says, it's like Jane Austen but with battles. I'm not sure the comparison is perfect, but it's certainly apt in some respects. In any case, despite it's potentially intimidating length I liked it a lot. It's a very satisfying book, and now I know what the fuss is all about. I read Anna Karenina a few years ago, but I think I enjoyed War and Peace more.

OH AND. A knitting FO, too!


Excuse the horrible backlighting and the awkward position. Here are Alison's Ankle Socks. I've mused about the shortrow heel difficulty before. They do look pretty rough, but not bad for my second pair of socks ever. If I make them again I'll add more rows of stockinette between the ribbing and the heel; I used 6, but I suspect they will slip down in my shoes. I have more than half a skein of this yarn left, which is unexpected. I constantly misjudge these things - I figured I wouldn't have enough for a regular length pair of socks, but now I have enough left to add some fun stripes to something some day. Hmmm perhaps I'll learn jogless stripes one of these days.