just a little knitting

Just a little knitting in the Tiergarten.  Monday was a holiday and after a busy/ stressful/ tiring couple of weeks, I took the day off.  It was lovely: a leisurely breakfast, plenty of warm weather, a nice rambley walk to a different part of town.  Then I sat down, enjoyed my picnic, rested my feet, and did a bit of knitting in the sunshine.

As you can see, progress has been limited.  These stripes now seem never ending, they just go on and on and one more turn … then maybe you get to the end.  Maybe.  But I’m enjoying the relaxed pace and the constant stripey companionship.

I did not, however, take stripes unlimited to meet the my amazing adviser in her equally amazing apartment (books! everywhere!).  Instead, we discussed the archives and ate some ice cream.  She has the capacity to make me feel like I’m doing good work and anything is possible, even a dissertation.  I want to be like her when I grow up.

To that end, today the Never-Ending Stripe and I, we’re off to the Kunstbibliothek to look through some more old issues issues of bonkers lace-and-embroidery magazines.  Absolutely bonkers.  Articles on the “Psychology of Lace and Embroidery”, weirdo devotion to pillow cushions and tablecloths, crazy fold-out patterns of flowers and art-deco foliage that I’m going to try to copy … it’s really pretty delightful.

Also, there was a terrifying piece of lace featuring an evil clown.  It won 4th place (or possibly better, I don’t remember …) in some kind of contest.  Terrifying.

So, in the spirit of project spectrum I’ll end not with evil clowns, but with more green: a peaceful corner of the Tiergarten on Pfingstmontag.  Why did it take me this long to visit Berlin again?