Quilt offers hope for cancer victims, survivors
"Star of Hope" is the theme Marie Kessler of Lehigh has used for the past two years in designing and making quilts for Relay for Life of Marion County. The quilts are used as fund-raisers for the event.
This year's quilt is made from T-shirts from the past seven relays.
"We approached Marie last year and asked her to make a quilt," said Elaine Jantzen of Hillsboro, a member of the Relay for Life committee, and a cancer survivor since 1989.
Kessler graciously accepted.
"I like to support causes that are worth supporting," said Kessler, and this is one of them.
Kessler, an accomplished quilter, works full-time at Agco at Hesston and makes quilts in her spare time.
Working as she had time, Kessler completed the purple and pink quilt within a month.
The full-size quilt has colorful stars with the T-shirts from the relays as focal points.
"Cancer survivors are the stars," said Kessler. "This is a good way to turn art into hope."
Relay for Life of Marion County will be July 21-22 at Warrior Stadium, Marion. For more information about teams and the event, contact event chairman Peggy Blackman at (620) 382-2541.
