Busia Ascot

Three things came into the development of this scarf:

ONE: I love yarn! That should not come as a surprise to anyone reading this. I have a habit of buying one skein of a yarn I really like, perhaps in several colors or colorways. This has led to a stash with many single stray balls of yarn that I love but don't know what to do with.

TWO: I also love knitting the bowknot type little scarf that has a slot for tucking one end into the other. You know the classic grandmotherly type pattern that has been around in many variations for years.

THREE: Vickie Howell (Knitty Gritty) and her statement that she intends to try to bring the ascot back into style.

This still doesn't explain the name, does it?

I've been having a bout with migraines again and when I do, I like to take someone along with me when I go out shopping, etc. DS2 volunteered (okay - was coorced) to go with me to WalMart last weekend. I found a yarn I hadn't previously played with - Rag Doll from Red Heart. I wasn't sure at the time what drew me to it but I bought 1 ball of each of 5 colorways. I have since figured it out. When I knit up the first ball of it into my ascot scarf adaptation I realized it reminded me of the rag rugs my Busia (my dad's mother) used to make.

Thus the name - The Busia Ascot. She made the rugs from rags and old nylons with white crochet thread crocheted around them. I'll try to find a picture of one.

One of the things I love about blogging is how it makes me think and what I learn from my thoughts and the research I end up doing afterwards. For the life of me I could not remember how to spell Busia. Oviously I have since figured it out!!!!! I Googled Polish grandmother and came up with Babcia. I knew that wasn't what we called my grandma - it was pronounced "BOO-shah". I finally found a few web sites on Polish geneology and figured it out. Busia is not a Polish word but a Polish American dirivative common in the Chicago area. Well that makes sence because my dad grew up in Racine WI, not far from Chicagoland.

The odd thing is, I was never really close to my Busia. She immigrated to the US as a teenaged girl. She spoke very little English and because my dad was the youngest of eleven, I came aound with a batch of great grandchildren and for her grandchildren were pretty much old hat. Even though I didn't know her very well, she had a huge influence on my life. As far as I know, out of all her grandchildren I inherited her talent for working with fiber. She made the most beautiful crocheted items with thread; table runners, doilies, pillowcase edgings and even tablecloths. She made patchwork quilts from old dresses, etc. Beautiful things fom the most basic of materials.

Back to the Ascot. I am almost finished with it and with tweaking the pattern. It will be posted in the next post as soon as I finish and there will be a picture of the finished item.