Meet Sylvia, aka Aunt Sylvia of Aunt Sylvia and Uncle Seymour fame. Aunt Sylvia and Uncle Seymour and their daughter Nancy along with (Grandma) Lil and her grown kids & grandkids have been going out to dinner on Friday nights for many, many, many, many years. Being the niece of one of Lil's daughters and the best friend of another, I often tag along. The week before Thanksgiving as we were getting up to leave, I notice Aunt Sylvia's lovely yellow scarf. Aunt Sylvia has wonderful taste and always looks great. But I particularly liked the yellow polka-dot scarf and realize that it would even fit me. So, in a firm, right now sort of voice, I say to Sylvia, "Gimme that scarf." Sylvia says, "What?" So I repeated myself. Naturally, she takes off the scarf and hands it over. You know, sometimes people don't mind giving you stuff if you want it. In fact I know people (Grandma Lil) who will give you things just because you admire the things. Nancy, Sylvia's daughter, says, "You took my Mumma's scarf,"
in an incredulous and sad voice. My argument is that she gave it to me. She is a grown woman who doesn't have to give anybody anything she doesn't want to give. In the mean time, I will knit her a nice soft scarf of some sort that she can tuck into her coat. When I saw Nancy again on Thanksgiving weekend she told me her mother's heart was broken over the scarf. I hope that's not true, but it finally did occur to me that Aunt Sylvia may have thought I was teasing or playing when I told her to give me the scarf and that she expected it back. I can totally believe that. I am a kind of joker. So tonight at dinner I will give her a wrapped package which will contain her original yellow scarf, plus this blue mohair branching out scarf
. 
The facts of the Matter:
Patttern: Branching Out by by Susan Pierce Lawrence from Knitty.com
Yarn: Katia Ingenua. One Ball
Needles: US 9
20 pattern repeats, 10 rows each. A wonderful pattern.
6 comments:
That polka dot scarf is lovely, but it doesn't hold a candle to the Branching Out you've made. That color is going to look wonderful on her. I think Aunt Silvia's getting a great deal.
:-)
Great story. My hat is off to you doing BO in that fuzzy yarn. (I tried mohair and substituted something else.)
You'll have to give us a pic w/your Aunt Sylvia wearing it!
Poor Aunt Sylvia, too polite to refuse!
In some cultures, if you admire an item, the owner is obligated to give it to you. That means it's considered rude to compliment people on their stuff, because they interpret it as a hint that you'd like it. You can imagine the confusion when cultures collide!
Your Branching Out is beautiful.
I'm a bull in the China Shop of my own culture.
Oh yes, that did turn out nice.
I bet Aunt Sylvia tells you to keep the polka dot scarf!
Great picture of Aunt Sylvia1
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