Saturday, January 30, 2010

Name That Pattern

So, darling daughter that she is,  asks me if I can make a "tunic."  Of course I can make a tunic.  Crochet, knit or sewn - I can make a tunic.

"What kind of tunic?" quoth I, the mother.

"Saw it at the studio"  said she who teaches dance to support her grad school habit.

"Long or mid-thigh?"

"Kinda long - not too long.  Y'know.  Like a tunic"

"OK.  Was it knit or crochet or fabric?"

"Knit!  I'm sure it is knit 'cuz it doesn't look like crochet and you can see through it.  It had a boat neck.  Isn't that right?  (now, given I never saw said garment, how would I know if it is a boat neck?  But she is only in grad school - not logic school.  Allowances must be made.)  Yeah, I'm sure it is a boat neck line because it goes straight across and has kinda sleeves like those bat-wing things.  Just not big bat wing sleeves.  Y'know?"

Please know how extremely proud this mother is feeling at this point in the conversation.  Daughter actually knows words like boat-neck, knit, crochet, tunic and can refer to sleeves as bat wing.  Clearly, I have extreme mothering skills and have imparted vital life skills to daughter.

"What color do you have in mind?"
"The one I saw is not really a color.  Just plain, like you wear in a ballet studio"

"Oh!  Now I get it.  A loose flowing tunic that is above the knees and done in a blush or taupe.  Something suitable for teaching.  But not a ballet skirt."  At this point, I started feeling smug as though our minds were now tethered in the mystical mother/daughter bond.  I was already mentally sorting through the stash and thinking gauge.  

"Well, not exactly."

Oops.  My creative train had already left the station and was half way to Destination Ballet Tunic.  Not exactly?  What part of the conversation did I miss?  Tunic.  Knit.  Boat-neck.  Bat wing sleeves.  See through - aka gauzy.  Muted lack of color for a ballet teacher.

"Let's rethink this.  Yes, I can knit you a tunic.  If you see this teacher again, perhaps you could ask her about her tunic."

"MOM!  It's a tunic.  I see it several times a week when I go teach.  It's on a mannequin."

"Well, then Missy. (It is possible that my mother snippy mode began to show just a tad)  Why don't you use that fancy handy dandy all in one miracle of an iPhone and take a picture of what you want?!!!  

Pause.  No comment.  That got her.

"Guess that works."
Now, I ask you - is this a tunic?  Are those bat wing sleeves?  Do you see color?  Geez Louise!  What kind of daughter did I raise?    At least it is knit.

2 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh...that was hilarious! I laughed so hard my eyes are watering! Thanks for sharing! :-)

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  2. I'm so glad you thought to ask for a photo, 'cause the conversation was way down the road to comic and you weren't anywhere near a thousand words.

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