Mother's Shawl: It's a Small World - by Niki Gliptis (niki1 in Ravelry)

When my family and I moved to Pennsylvania in 1970, we had a neighbor who opened the yarn shop on Chocolate Avenue some of us might remember.  She taught me how to knit.  In 1971, when I was still at home with our children, Evan and Cathy, I knit quite a bit.  That year I knitted a shawl and gave it to my mother for Christmas.  It was one of my very first “big” projects in knitting.  I remember my mother using the shawl when she would sit on the front porch on cool afternoons.

Twenty-six years later, Mother passed away in 1997.  When my sisters and I were ready to sell her home in 1999, my two sisters, Maria and Terry, cleaned out some of her things and took a majority of her personal clothing to either Goodwill or the Salvation Army.

Last summer, our son Evan who lives in Cary, North Carolina, called me and asked me if I ever knitted a shawl.  He said there was someone “out there” looking for me.  I Googled my name and found there was a woman, the Knitting Nurse, looking for me by way of her blog.  The Knitting Nurse even posted a photo of my shawl, which she had bought at a resale shop.  She knew I had knitted it because I had stitched a label with my name on the shawl when I gave it to my mother so many years ago.  See photo of shawl  Note: must scroll down on page to see the shawl.

I immediately emailed the Knitting Nurse and told her I was Niki Gliptis, and I had knitted the shawl for my mother.  I asked where she bought the shawl, and she said in Charlottesville, Virginia, while visiting her niece.  My mother lived in Charlottesville for 60 years, and that is where my sisters and I grew up.

The Knitting Nurse offered to give the shawl back to me.  I told her I would like to have it back, and I offered to pay her for it along with postage.  Then, I asked her where she lives – and she said Michigan.

Well, my sister Terry lives in Michigan.  And, my husband and I were going to be in Michigan in a few months for the baptism of Terry’s grandson.  I asked if she lives anywhere near Rochester, Michigan, close to where my sister lives.  The Knitting Nurse lives 20 miles from there!  Well, I told her I wanted to meet her and thank her in person.  She agreed to have lunch with me and my friend, Barbara Habicht.  Well, we met, had lunch, exchanged possession of the shawl and had a great time.   See photo

This is truly an it’s-a-small-world story and a wonderful ending to a project that I had completed and given to my mother with love almost 40 years ago.

Niki Gliptis (niki1 in Ravelry)