Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Two things accomplished on the flight from BOS to DFW

One of my proud accomplishments on the cramped plane ride home was to solidify my understanding of continental-style knitting: both k and p. If you aren't a knitter, you probably can't understand how doing the same thing, but differently, can be such a big deal. Changing from English to Continental isn't even as much of a change as switching from a stick shift to an automatic transmission. It does feel a bit like learning to write with the non-dominant hand. Or perhaps speaking in a second language: not quite easy or natural, but serviceable and successful.




The second proud accomplishment was finishing the 800+ page novel Pillars of the Earth. People I've talked to who read it all say it was one of their all-time favorite books. I enjoyed it. I appreciated the characters, character development, dialogue and interweaving of more knowledge than most people would want to know about the construction of a twelfth century stone cathedral or the invention of a mill-run machine that would turn wool into felt.
Lest you think I didn't like it, I am quite keen on getting the recently published sequel,World Without End. The social, economic and political history of Ken Follett's fictional Kingsbridge is illuminating and interesting. So many characters got killed off in Pillars of the Earth, though, that I wonder how much continuity there will be!

4 comments:

Mary said...

Thanks for the video--I'm an inefficient contintental knitter and am trying to improve. This video breaks it down slowly for (uncoordinated) me.

Nancy said...

Oh... THANK you for the video... I can NOT figure out even the illustrated written instructions. I have to see it being done to really understand it. I'm going to be haunting your blog for a bit while I watch the video for a bit...so don't get too alarmed.

Satia said...

Followed you over from EDM. I was not aware that World Without End is a sequel to The Pillars of the Earth. I'd read Pillars nearly ten years ago. I enjoyed it very much but I won't say it is one of my favorites. I don't think I'll pick up the sequel. It's been so long since I read the one book I'd have to reread it to catch up, if you will. But I'll hopefully come back to see what you have to say about it. Perhaps your thoughts will sway me or reinforce my resolve.

Margaret McCarthy Hunt said...

I have to say it was my all time fav too...actually read it twice...once when it first came out and once last year...i have world without end waiting on the shelf till this summe when i will have time to savor it...love his work