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Washington quilters make breast cancer awareness quilt

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Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter

As part of Ford’s Warriors in Pink program, the Martha Washington Quilter’s Guild presented a Breast Cancer Awareness quilt to be displayed at the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center on Johnson Road in North Strabane Township.

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Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter

On the left, a group of quilters with the Martha Washington Quilter’s Guild present a Breast Cancer Awareness quilt to medical oncologist Dr. Nitin Kapoor and Ford Motor Company representative Danielle Carman at the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center on Johnson Road in North Strabane Township. The quilt was part of Ford’s Warriors in Pink program.

3 / 4

Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter

As part of Ford’s Warriors in Pink program, the Martha Washington Quilter’s Guild presented a Breast Cancer Awareness quilt to be displayed at the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center on Johnson Road in North Strabane Township.

4 / 4

Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter

As part of Ford’s Warriors in Pink program, the Martha Washington Quilter’s Guild presented a Breast Cancer Awareness quilt to be displayed at the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center on Johnson Road in North Strabane Township.

The UPMC Hillman Cancer Center has a new piece of artwork to hang on the wall, thanks to the Martha Washington Quilters Guild.

In observance of breast cancer awareness month, about 10 members of the guild worked on a quilt with the pink ribbon symbols to donate to the center, through the Ford Motor Company’s Warriors in Pink program. They presented the quilt to medical oncologist Dr. Nitin Kapoor Friday afternoon.

“I think it’s amazing,” Kapoor said. “A lot of hard work went into this.”

He said he knows the patients he sees will appreciate it too.

“That’s the No. 1 cancer we see here, so it’s very impactful,” he said.

Ford’s Warriors in Pink program invites people, survivors and family members, to make and submit quilt patches.

“The amount of support that’s put towards this program is amazing,” said Danielle Carman, a Ford representative.

Those patches are then handed over to the quilters guild, who incorporated them into the final piece.

“To me, it was really nice to see all the different patches and how much time they put into it,” said Terry Crawford, a guild member from Washington.

They do a similar quilt every year for the Warriors in Pink program. Canonsburg and Washington hospitals each have one, and sometimes, they’re given to cancer patients.

Sue James, a member of the guild from Nottingham Township, said they worked in “sessions,” but put in “many hours” to complete the quilt. She said one of the quilters, Melanie Scott of Avella, used a long-arm machine to finish the quilt.

“She is a breast cancer survivor,” James said of Scott.

The quilters said many of the 72 members in the guild have been affected by breast cancer, whether they are survivors, or a family member has gone through it.

“For me, it’s a real privilege to have worked on this quilt because so many of my friends have been affected by breast cancer,” said Mary Anne Halulko, a quilter from Washington. “I’m fortunate – they’re all survivors and they’re so strong. Those people who have suffered – they’re go-getters.”

Next year, the guild will celebrate its 40th anniversary. On Nov. 8 and 9, they will show off “Log Cabin” quilts with its bi-annual show from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Church of the Covenant, 267 E. Beau St., Washington.

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