It's a Smaller World After All

My Aunt Maureen loves to create jewelry, and has in fact, done some beautiful work for me in the past.  She also spends a great amount of time at her local Senior Center hanging out with her friends, usually working on jewelry together that they will eventually sell so they can afford new supplies to make more jewelry.   ((Hmmm, sounds a lot like what crocheters do!)

During one of our phone conversations this week she told me this story:
"I was at the Senior Center a few weeks back.  The girls and I were working on some jewelry when the topic of crochet came up.  Now, I know how to crochet.  I did some of it back in the days when I lived in New York City.  My mother taught me, and together we'd make doilies and blankets. Stuff like that," she said.

"Go on," I urged, very much interested.

"Well, the girls brought up the topic of crocheting and I just sat there listening because even though it's been over 30 years since I picked up a hook, you never know.  Now I'm not very computer literate," she continued, "but I do want to learn more, so when they started talking about crochet AND computers, that really perked up my ears.  One of the gals said she went on the computer and stumbled upon this website that listed a bunch of different crochet techniques -- and that she thinks the girl who owns the website is a 'local.'"

As I digested what my Aunt was telling me, I wondered if there was another crocheter with a website that was local to us that I didn't know about.  How cool would that be to discover another person with the same fiber art passion in your own backyard?  I listened as she went on with her story.

"'Yeah,' the gal said, 'she goes by the name Dee Stazio, Stanzino, Staziko...'" My Aunt began to laugh heartedly as she told me this part of her story.  "Oh, I jumped right up, nearly spilling all my bead and jewelry supplies!  I proudly yelled out, 'Dee Stanziano!"  The girls all turned to look at me.  'Yes, that's her,' the gal said, 'Dee Stanziano. But you don't crochet, so how would you know her name?'"

There was a brief pause as she took a moment to catch her breath, and then she chuckled deeply again prior to telling me the punch-line to her story. "I declared, 'Because she's my niece!!'" 

I laughed with her.  I had no idea that my website was an interest to the town's local Senior Center.  I thanked her for her great story and in return she invited me to stop in to meet the girls sometime  -- I just might do that!  :)