Red Dirt Diaries: Woman Reunited With Family Quilt

A local woman got a little help in learning the true power of reconciliation.

Nancy Sandman's relationship with her mom was never the stuff on Hallmark cards. “I sent off for my birth certificate because I thought I was adopted,” said Sandman.

So when her mother died, she didn't go through all of her belongings before donating them, include a plastic bag to the Nicoma Park Thrift Store.

“The distance between us … I didn't need anything.”

That's where Annette Chisolm realized a big mistake had been made. “Anything that looks like quilting, they bring to me,” Chisolm said. “I almost felt like I was trespassing. They seemed so personal.”

Inside the bag was a number of hand-sewn quilt squares. “They had obviously been part of real family memorabilia … I couldn't believe they had been donated,” she said.

Chisolm couldn't bear to see the squares separated any longer.

The volunteers at the thrift store didn't miss Nancy when she came back with more donations and received an unexpected gift.

“I sobbed and sobbed,” said Sandman.

As it turned out, each square represents a member of Nancy's family.

“My grandmother is on here and I've never seen the picture before in my life.”

But the real surprise came with quilt's first square, the pink one. It was Nancy's mother's square. “Totally God's work,” she said.

For this daughter, it was more than a coincidence.

“It was like God was telling me that I'm showing you that your mother really did care for you or love you. You just didn't know it.”

It was proof that it's never too late for some relationships to be patched up.

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