Quiltmaker Continues Legacy of Giving

The first time Karen Krause was diagnosed with breast cancer, it was the fall of 1990 - just a few months after she and a partner opened Kanesville Quilting on Highway 92.

“Chemo was pretty harsh back then,” she said. “I didn’t want anything to do with support groups, but a friend of mine kind of tricked me into going to a meeting at Wings of Hope, which was then known as Make Today Count. I found what I needed.”

Karen kept going to meetings. The supportive environment allowed her to say the things she didn’t want to say in front of family and friends because she didn’t want them to feel worse than they already did. “Cancer does some terrifically horrible things to your mind,” she said. “The support group was a way to get these thoughts out of my system, and that was very important to me.”

A few years later, Karen made and donated her first quilt to Wings of Hope, which was raffled off to raise money for the organization. It became an annual habit for the Council Bluffs quilter. Since that time, this annual quilt raffle has raised just under $65,000 for Wings of Hope.

“Karen’s story is exactly why Wings of Hope exists – to provide emotional support and guidance for people, family members and health professionals as they journey through their cancer experiences,” said Wings of Hope Executive Director Carolyn Ettinger. “Her willingness to continue to give back each year is a powerful example of how one person can make a difference.”

When Karen’s cancer returned 19 years later, Wings was there to provide the emotional support she once again needed. “The night before surgery was scheduled to put my port in, I almost called the doctor and cancelled,” Karen said. She was 68 years old and scared of going through chemo again. “Once I started treatment, I couldn’t believe how different it was from the first time I went through it,” she added.

One of the tips Karen took away from a guest speaker at a Wings support group meeting was the idea of journaling about her cancer experience. “It’s helped me a great deal,” she said.

So has helping others via her quilting talents, which are considerable. In addition to running Kanesville Quilting for more than 20 years, Karen developed her own pattern line, which was sold across the country.

Her creation for the 2022 raffle is a hand-dyed batique quilt, which she favors because of the richness and vibrancy of the colors. “It’s ‘scrappy’ and has a lot of color so no one has the excuse that it won’t ‘go’ with their décor,” she said.

Tickets for the 26th Annual Quilt Raffle are $3 per ticket, $5 for two, $10 for 4, $15 for 6, $20 for 8 and $25 for 10. The drawing will be held Feb. 11 in conjunction with Wings of Hope’s Champions of Hope 2022 fundraiser, which will be held virtually.

If your business or group is interested in purchasing tickets or selling them to benefit Wings of Hope, contact Teresa Gleason at teresa@wingsofhope.org.