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The Star’s 2014 Quilt Project, Block 1: For those who served
For those Who Served Block 1.jpg
January 17
The Kansas City Star
It’s a new year and a new Kansas City Star quilt.
The Star’s 2014 Quilt Project, Block 1: For those who served
First installment of our 2014 block-of-the-month project, “Where Poppies Grow … Remembering Almo,” honoring those who served in World War I.
The Great War started in July 1914, a century ago. Kansas City, as home to the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial, has a unique connection to that global conflict. The memorial opened in 1926.
This year’s quilt was designed by Denniele O’Kell Bohannon of Louanna Mary Quilt Design, Harrisonville, and Janice Britz of Bee Merry Farms, Peculiar, as a tribute to Bohannon’s great-grandfather Almo Ebenezer O’Kell. Angela Walters of Quilting Is My Therapy in Kearney did the free-motion quilting.
Almo O’Kell, 30, died Jan. 12, 1919, while serving his country in Koblenz, Germany.
O’Kell’s correspondence and photos have been preserved by his family and provide a rich history of Almo’s duty as a medic with Field Hospital No. 3 and the First Division under Gen. John J. Pershing, a Missouri native.
Each month, along with a new quilt block, we’ll share a piece of Almo’s story. Look for an installment on the third Sunday of each month in the H+H section.
Today, Block 1: “Father’s Choice.”
Almo O’Kell married Pearl Townsend in 1907. Their son, given his mother’s maiden name, was born in 1909 in Quincy, Ill., Almo’s hometown. Pearl and baby Townsend often traveled to her mother’s home in Hamilton, Mo., visits long enough to merit Almo writing to his infant son there:
Dear Son, This is your first card, with love from your papa.
Almo often was unhappy about his wife’s absence, as one of his letters attests:
Now Pearl I think you had better hurry up and come home as I can’t stand it any longer. I tell you it is fierce to keep away that long. Kiss the dear baby for me.
Before he sailed for military duty in France, Almo was sent to Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., a war induction and processing center. In November 1917, he wrote to 8-year-old Townsend:
Papa wants you to be a good boy and mind your mama. She will tell you all about me some day. Now baby, Papa thinks of you all the time and when this war is over, over there, (I) will come and see you.
Almo understood that many men would die in the war, and he might be among the casualties:
But Baby, remember your father lost his life in the fight for freedom for you because it would mean (America would) come under the rule of Germany. Of course it can’t last long but (there) will be lots of us that won’t come back. But if I do, I want to come and see you.
So you be a good boy and Papa will be happy for you. Now Townsend go to school every day and study hard while papa is over in Germany fighting. I am sending you the last picture I had taken so you can keep it and remember daddy as long as you live.
SUPPLY LIST FOR THE QUILT
Quilt size: 72 inches by 83 inches
Fabric requirements
2/3 yard assorted reds
2/3 yard assorted blues
1/2 yard brown*
7 inches by 9 inches gold
3/4 yard green
3 1/2 yards background fabric
For the borders
2 1/4 yards red
2 1/2 yards background fabric
10 1/2 inches by 22 inches blue
20 inches fusible web
Other supplies
1 yard fusible web
*From the brown fabric, using your favorite method, make 372 inches of 1/4-inch finished bias tape. Cut into 31-inch increments. Set aside.
BLOCK 1, “FATHER’S CHOICE”
Block size: 14 inches finished
Supply list
7 1/2 inches by 10 inches red
8 inches by 11 inches blue
16 inches by 22 inches background fabric
10 inches by 8 inches green
12 inches by 8 inches fusible web
31 inches of 1/4-inch finished bias tape in brown
2 inches square gold
Black embroidery thread (optional)
Cutting directions
From the red fabric, cut:
4 (3-inch) squares (B)
1 (2 1/2-inch) square (D)
From the blue fabric, cut:
4 (2 1/4-inch) squares (A)
4 (2 1/2-inch by 2 1/4-inch) rectangles (C)
1 (2 1/2-inch) square. Apply fusible to the square and cut 1 circle using Template 2.
From the background fabric, cut:
4 (2 1/4-inch) squares (A)
4 (3-inch) squares (B)
4 (2 1/2-inch by 2 1/4-inch) rectangles (C)
2 (3 1/2-inch by 9 1/2-inch) rectangles
2 (3 1/2-inch by 15 1/2-inch) rectangles
From the green fabric, apply fusible and cut 34 leaves using Template 3.
From the gold fabric, apply fusible and cut 1 star using Template 1.
Construction directions
Sew a blue A square to either side of a background C rectangle as shown. Make two rows like this. See Fig. 1.
Make another row by sewing a background C rectangle to either side of the red D square. Make one row. See Fig. 2.
Sew the three rows together to make a 9-patch block. See Fig. 3.
Draw a diagonal line from corner to corner on the reverse side of 4 background B squares. Place a background B square atop a red B square with right sides facing; stitch 1/4 inch on both sides of the drawn line. Cut apart on the line. Press toward the red. Trim down to a 2 1/4-inch square. Make eight half-square triangle units. See Fig. 4, Fig. 5 and Fig. 6.
Sew a half-square triangle unit to either side of a blue C rectangle. Make four. See Fig. 7.
Stitch a row to either side of the center 9-patch as shown. See Fig. 8.
Add a background A square to either end of the 2 remaining rows and stitch one to the top and one to the bottom of the block. See Fig. 9 and Fig. 10.
Sew a 3 1/2-inch by 9 1/2-inch background rectangle to the top and bottom of the center block. See Fig. 11.
Add a 3 1/2-inch by 15 1/2-inch background rectangle to the left and right sides. The block will be trimmed to 14 1/2 inches after the appliqué is complete. See Fig. 12.
APPLIQUÉ ON EACH BLOCK
This appliqué will be used on every block, so be sure to save these instructions and templates.
Refer to the placement guide and mark the position of the bias stem. Stitch the stem in place. Center the blue circle on the stem, fuse and stitch in place. Place the gold star on the blue circle so the two arms lay just above the stem and the top arm is centered on the circle. Fuse and stitch in place. Refer to the placement guide and position the leaves on the stem as you please, fuse and stitch in place. Backstitch “U.S.” on the gold star, if desired. Trim the block to 14 1/2 inches.
DOWNLOADING THIS BLOCK ONLINE
This block will be available as a free download for one week at the online home of Kansas City Star Quilts (PickleDish.com). After that, the pattern will be available as a download for $3.95 at Kansas City Star Quilts Store (PickleDishstore.com).
Read more here: The Star’s 2014 Quilt Project, Block 1: For those who served - KansasCity.com
The Star’s 2014 Quilt Project, Block 1: For those who served
For those Who Served Block 1.jpg
January 17
The Kansas City Star
It’s a new year and a new Kansas City Star quilt.
The Star’s 2014 Quilt Project, Block 1: For those who served
First installment of our 2014 block-of-the-month project, “Where Poppies Grow … Remembering Almo,” honoring those who served in World War I.
The Great War started in July 1914, a century ago. Kansas City, as home to the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial, has a unique connection to that global conflict. The memorial opened in 1926.
This year’s quilt was designed by Denniele O’Kell Bohannon of Louanna Mary Quilt Design, Harrisonville, and Janice Britz of Bee Merry Farms, Peculiar, as a tribute to Bohannon’s great-grandfather Almo Ebenezer O’Kell. Angela Walters of Quilting Is My Therapy in Kearney did the free-motion quilting.
Almo O’Kell, 30, died Jan. 12, 1919, while serving his country in Koblenz, Germany.
O’Kell’s correspondence and photos have been preserved by his family and provide a rich history of Almo’s duty as a medic with Field Hospital No. 3 and the First Division under Gen. John J. Pershing, a Missouri native.
Each month, along with a new quilt block, we’ll share a piece of Almo’s story. Look for an installment on the third Sunday of each month in the H+H section.
Today, Block 1: “Father’s Choice.”
Almo O’Kell married Pearl Townsend in 1907. Their son, given his mother’s maiden name, was born in 1909 in Quincy, Ill., Almo’s hometown. Pearl and baby Townsend often traveled to her mother’s home in Hamilton, Mo., visits long enough to merit Almo writing to his infant son there:
Dear Son, This is your first card, with love from your papa.
Almo often was unhappy about his wife’s absence, as one of his letters attests:
Now Pearl I think you had better hurry up and come home as I can’t stand it any longer. I tell you it is fierce to keep away that long. Kiss the dear baby for me.
Before he sailed for military duty in France, Almo was sent to Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., a war induction and processing center. In November 1917, he wrote to 8-year-old Townsend:
Papa wants you to be a good boy and mind your mama. She will tell you all about me some day. Now baby, Papa thinks of you all the time and when this war is over, over there, (I) will come and see you.
Almo understood that many men would die in the war, and he might be among the casualties:
But Baby, remember your father lost his life in the fight for freedom for you because it would mean (America would) come under the rule of Germany. Of course it can’t last long but (there) will be lots of us that won’t come back. But if I do, I want to come and see you.
So you be a good boy and Papa will be happy for you. Now Townsend go to school every day and study hard while papa is over in Germany fighting. I am sending you the last picture I had taken so you can keep it and remember daddy as long as you live.
SUPPLY LIST FOR THE QUILT
Quilt size: 72 inches by 83 inches
Fabric requirements
2/3 yard assorted reds
2/3 yard assorted blues
1/2 yard brown*
7 inches by 9 inches gold
3/4 yard green
3 1/2 yards background fabric
For the borders
2 1/4 yards red
2 1/2 yards background fabric
10 1/2 inches by 22 inches blue
20 inches fusible web
Other supplies
1 yard fusible web
*From the brown fabric, using your favorite method, make 372 inches of 1/4-inch finished bias tape. Cut into 31-inch increments. Set aside.
BLOCK 1, “FATHER’S CHOICE”
Block size: 14 inches finished
Supply list
7 1/2 inches by 10 inches red
8 inches by 11 inches blue
16 inches by 22 inches background fabric
10 inches by 8 inches green
12 inches by 8 inches fusible web
31 inches of 1/4-inch finished bias tape in brown
2 inches square gold
Black embroidery thread (optional)
Cutting directions
From the red fabric, cut:
4 (3-inch) squares (B)
1 (2 1/2-inch) square (D)
From the blue fabric, cut:
4 (2 1/4-inch) squares (A)
4 (2 1/2-inch by 2 1/4-inch) rectangles (C)
1 (2 1/2-inch) square. Apply fusible to the square and cut 1 circle using Template 2.
From the background fabric, cut:
4 (2 1/4-inch) squares (A)
4 (3-inch) squares (B)
4 (2 1/2-inch by 2 1/4-inch) rectangles (C)
2 (3 1/2-inch by 9 1/2-inch) rectangles
2 (3 1/2-inch by 15 1/2-inch) rectangles
From the green fabric, apply fusible and cut 34 leaves using Template 3.
From the gold fabric, apply fusible and cut 1 star using Template 1.
Construction directions
Sew a blue A square to either side of a background C rectangle as shown. Make two rows like this. See Fig. 1.
Make another row by sewing a background C rectangle to either side of the red D square. Make one row. See Fig. 2.
Sew the three rows together to make a 9-patch block. See Fig. 3.
Draw a diagonal line from corner to corner on the reverse side of 4 background B squares. Place a background B square atop a red B square with right sides facing; stitch 1/4 inch on both sides of the drawn line. Cut apart on the line. Press toward the red. Trim down to a 2 1/4-inch square. Make eight half-square triangle units. See Fig. 4, Fig. 5 and Fig. 6.
Sew a half-square triangle unit to either side of a blue C rectangle. Make four. See Fig. 7.
Stitch a row to either side of the center 9-patch as shown. See Fig. 8.
Add a background A square to either end of the 2 remaining rows and stitch one to the top and one to the bottom of the block. See Fig. 9 and Fig. 10.
Sew a 3 1/2-inch by 9 1/2-inch background rectangle to the top and bottom of the center block. See Fig. 11.
Add a 3 1/2-inch by 15 1/2-inch background rectangle to the left and right sides. The block will be trimmed to 14 1/2 inches after the appliqué is complete. See Fig. 12.
APPLIQUÉ ON EACH BLOCK
This appliqué will be used on every block, so be sure to save these instructions and templates.
Refer to the placement guide and mark the position of the bias stem. Stitch the stem in place. Center the blue circle on the stem, fuse and stitch in place. Place the gold star on the blue circle so the two arms lay just above the stem and the top arm is centered on the circle. Fuse and stitch in place. Refer to the placement guide and position the leaves on the stem as you please, fuse and stitch in place. Backstitch “U.S.” on the gold star, if desired. Trim the block to 14 1/2 inches.
DOWNLOADING THIS BLOCK ONLINE
This block will be available as a free download for one week at the online home of Kansas City Star Quilts (PickleDish.com). After that, the pattern will be available as a download for $3.95 at Kansas City Star Quilts Store (PickleDishstore.com).
Read more here: The Star’s 2014 Quilt Project, Block 1: For those who served - KansasCity.com
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