Jake and Kelly Levine were both excited and nervous when they took their five-month-old daughter Romey on her first flight to Mexico for a new year's vacation.
Kelly shared with Good Morning America, "It was Romey's first flight and obviously, we were a little bit nervous."
On their way back from Mexico to New Jersey, the Levine family met a stranger on the flight who turned out to be a delightful surprise, a story that Kelly later shared in a popular TikTok video.
Kelly described how Romey became fascinated with the woman sitting next to them who was crocheting.
"Her hands were moving a million miles an hour and Romey was just obsessed with it," she said, adding that Romey is "observant" and "very curious."
This woman, Meegan Rubin, also noticed the Levines and Romey.
She said to GMA: "I was sitting in the aisle and the baby was in the aisle so she was gazing at me the entire flight. I was working on a sweater."
Rubin shared how Romey seemed mesmerized by her crocheting.
Seeing Romey's fascination, Rubin decided to crochet a beanie for her.
"If I [don't] run out of this yarn and there's time, I'll do it," Rubin recalled thinking, noting the yarn matched Romey's outfit.
"I couldn't help it. I was like, this baby is getting something because she's too cute."
But Rubin was under a time crunch, having only an hour left of their nearly five-hour flight to finish the hat.
Against the odds, she completed the beanie in time and gave it to the Levines as a surprise.
Kelly was amazed, saying, "She ended up gifting us this beautiful beanie that she decided to make for [Romey] mid-flight."
"Never seen someone work so fast in my life. I had no idea it was for us."
"We thought, 'What a cool way to just do something nice for a stranger,' and in turn, light up everyone else's mood. It was such a selfless act," said Jake Levine.
As the flight came to an end, Rubin happily announced she had finished the hat, excited to see if it fit Romey. It turned out to be "a perfect fit."
Jake was impressed, commenting, "It's wild. So talented."
Rubin, who learned to crochet during the pandemic, enjoyed spreading cheer with her craft.
She encouraged others to crochet, finding it "really easy and very satisfying."
She described crocheting as a zen activity that took her mind off everything, saying, "Creating something out of a string is so rewarding."
"It's like holding the entire universe inside your hands."
Rubin was glad to have met the Levines and is looking forward to making a baby dress for Romey next.
"I'm happy to make that connection and make new friends. They're such lovely people," she said.