Blazing Star quilt block

The bold Blazing Star pattern is a popular block throughout Appalachia. Blazing Star forms the core of the star blocks on this pieced quilt in the Loudoun Museum Collection, below. This example is unique because it features blocks on both sides of the quilt. Both hand and machine quilted, it dates from the early 19th century.

Blazing Star quilt in the Loudoun Museum

This pattern is another published by Ruby Short McKim in One Hundred and One Patchwork patterns and also in the Denver Post series in the early 1930s. McKim states, “There are ever so many quilt patterns but none are more charming than this shaded eight-point one often called the Blazing Star.”

Ruby Short McKim's Blazing Star pattern

Blazing Star quilt in the Loudoun MuseumRuby Short McKim's Blazing Star pattern