DESPERATELY IN SEARCH OF “Making Friends” Blanket (pictured)
My daughter had a favorite "Mimi" ... (what she called her blanket).
It was from Gymboree, and I've found the pattern name - MAKING FRIENDS.
Here is a link to a picture
It was torn and tattered and held together with safety pins, but it was her very special 'Mimi' ...
We had a house fire, and her blanket was covered in thick, black soot. I paid a cleaner to restore it and was able to return it to her. She was ecstatic! Our handyman, who was like a part of our family, was trying to help his sister, and he hired her to work with him. We'd known our handyman for years, and so we welcomed his sister into our family without question.
I had outpatient surgery, and my handyman's sister picked me up afterward since I wasn't allowed to drive. I had worn my rings to the surgery center, and the nurse placed them in a small ziplock bag for me to take home. When I arrived home, I laid the bag on a table in the living room. A day or two later, I looked at the bag, and one of the rings was missing. They were my mom's diamond rings; she'd passed away about a year earlier. Truthfully, they didn't have a high monetary value. BUT THE SENTIMENTAL VALUE was immeasurable.
I was battling severe depression/PTSD and going through hell during this time, and I can't really remember the sequence of events, but I'm sure I told my handyman about the missing ring. I knew - for sure - it was not left at the surgery center. I arrived home with both rings. No one could figure out what happened to the ring.
Our handyman's wife was a hairdresser. She was doing my hair soon after the ring went missing and she said she wanted to show me something. She pulled out a cheap, costume jewelry bracelet (with a stone missing) and asked me if it looked familiar. It seemed vaguely familiar, and I said something like, "I think my mom had one similar to this."
She went on to say that my handyman's sister had given the bracelet to her mom as a Christmas gift. She made a big production out of it like it was some valuable heirloom and said to her mom, "I just want you to have this."
My handyman's wife said she put it all together when my ring went missing.
She knew her sister-in-law didn't have extra money to buy random gifts for people. She told me she thought her sister-in-law had stolen my mom's ring.
When I got home, I called the police and told the detective the story. He drove over to the sister/sister-in-law's house and confronted her about the missing ring. It was somewhat unique - five marquise diamonds set in a straight band.
The ring was ON HER FINGER.
The detective asked her about the ring. She said her ex had given it to her. He commented that it looked "an awful lot" like the one I'd described as being stolen.
Her response?
"Well, it's NOT hers, but SHE CAN HAVE IT!"
With that, she gave the ring to the cop. He brought it back to me.
I was crushed. I could not imagine that someone I'd welcomed into my home would steal from me. Then I started remembering other items that had come up missing around the house.
Weird things. A harvest gold rotary dial phone. (From my parents' house, of course. It was the phone I grew up with.) A handmade candle that a friend had given me for Christmas. (not a big deal ... but where was it?) And ... my daughter and son's baby blankets - both worn, tattered and worth ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to anyone ... except for my kids! My son's blanket was a handmade blanket from my grandmother, so it can never be replaced, but my daughter's blanket was a Gymboree blanket from the "Making Friends" line. The one pictured.
For the life of me, I’ve tried to figure out why in the heck she would take my kids’ blankets. I have no idea.
I've searched for years for this blanket.
I would be so grateful to buy this blanket if anyone finds or has it.
You would make a US Army drill sergeant's wife (my daughter ... she's all grown up now) unbelievably happy.
I'm desperate to find this for her and appreciate anyone who's read this far. <3
Laura
