30 years later, 'Blanket from Heaven' finally finished

NEW BRIGHTON, Minn. (FOX 9) - Little Brantley is just two weeks old, but he's already wrapped up in love and bundled in a precious gift that's been 30 years in the making.

The stiches of this special blanket began with Virginia Thell.  

Muga, as she was affectionately called by her grandchildren, shared a deep connection with her daughter, Sue Betker, and her granddaughter, Brittany Peterson. She started crocheting the blanket when Betker was in labor with Peterson 30 years ago, but never quite got around to finishing it when the baby came.

Thell passed away in 2002 and when Betker was cleaning out her parents' home years later, she discovered something.

"I found the bag and in that bag was a partial blanket, two skeins of yarn, a little tiny antique scissors, all in a Kmart bag with the instructions," said Betker. 

When Betker found out her daughter was pregnant with their first grandchild, she knew she wanted to finish what her mother had started. There was only one problem: Betker didn't know how to crochet. 

So, she took to social media and asked for help on a local neighborhood Facebook page. 

Kelly Kahn responded.

When you think of crochet, you might not think of someone in their 20s, but it has grown to be one of Kahn's favorite hobbies. Working a job in the emergency room and as an on-call firefighter, she needed something to do after work where she could just unwind.

"If I had the opportunity to get a gift from my grandma... if my grandma could send me one more thing, even a letter or something special, it would be astronomical," said Kahn. 

Betker and Kahn met up and realized they had a connection beyond crochet. Kahn lives in the same apartment building Betker did when Brittany was born.

"The more we talked, the more we realized what a small world it is," said Kahn, who quickly got to work. The blanket was finished in time for Brantley's arrival this November.

Betker surprised her daughter with what was supposed to be her baby blanket on Saturday. It was a gift from her grandmother above, all made possible by a stranger who wanted to help tie up some loose ends.

"'Muga' meant a lot to me, so now we will have a part of her forever," said Peterson.