I still haven't finished the dirndl, but did take up a new hobby that:
1) Fits into my work-travel schedule,
2) Is portable, and
3) I can actually finish in a reasonable time!
KNITTING!!
It kind of started as a joke, with me asking Herr J if he wanted a scarf. He said he would wear one but didn't have one. I joked, "I'll make you one," and he replied, "I'd definitely wear it!"
And so off to the wool store I go and find some lovely wool dyed in different shades of blue, grey, brown. And some needles.
And then I consult Google and figure out how to knit. I found a pretty simple pattern for a manly scarf that was ribbed and only had knit and purl stitches - nothing too fancy.
There were some speed bumps along the way and something I did was wrong (perhaps winding the yarn the wrong direction?), but i actually liked the way it turned out. And then halfway through it started to be ribbed again. I had to figure out what I had done wrong, rip out the "right" rows, and go back to the wrong way. But, it worked and Herr J now has a warm scarf.
And of course having no experience, I bought twice as much as I should have. But I love this yarn and am making myself a girly scarf (long, ribbed, narrow, and with fringe).
The key to this is that I've been knitting on the train between Munich and Frankfurt. I'm sure it's a funny sight - the 1st class car is mostly German businessmen in suits...and one businesswoman in a suit, knitting. But it helps to pass the time and I feel great accomplishing something.
