BOW #2 LeMoyne Star

Mary Kay likes the LeMoyne Star, and since we used my favorite block for the first BOW it's only fair to choose her block for #2.

The star, of one sort or another, is one of the favorite motifs of quilters.  Sawtooth Star, Ohio Star, Friendship Star, Lone Star, Star of Bethlehem--they all have their own characteristics and charm.

The LeMoyne is an eight-pointed star, usually made with alternating contrasting colors and a background.  You can make it with 45-degree parallelograms, as in the Block Fab app, or with half-square triangles (HSTs),  (put 2 half-square triangles together and you get a 45-degree parallelogram!), or with 45-degree diamonds.    In this post we'll mostly be talking about 45-degree parallelograms/HSTs.

The first medallion center for the BLockFab Icon Quilt was a LeMoyne Star but Mary Kay decided the Bear Paw would be more distinctive.  Below are the instructions for that original 36" inch LeMoyne Star block.  It would make a nice wall hanging on its own, or border it with other blocks or HST units or plain borders--use your colors and the borders of your choice to make it your own!  (Or, make it your own size:  Divide the desired finished size by 4 and that will tell you the finished size of each HST)

(You can make the half-square triangle units using your favorite method, perhaps one of the methods mentioned in the BOW #1 post last week.)

Cut:
(4) 9-7/8" squares Color 1
(4) 9-7/8" squares Color 2
(4) 9-7/8" squares Background
(4) 9-1/2" squares Background

On the wrong side of the Background squares and the squares of Color 1, draw a diagonal line from corner to a corner with a pencil.

With right sides together, pair the following squares:
(2) Color 1 and Color 2
(2) Color 1 and Background
(2) Color 2 and Background

Sew a scant 1/4" seam on both sides of the drawn diagonal line of each pair of squares.  Cut on the drawn line, fold back the darker of the fabric triangles and press open to make a square.

Arrange the background squares and HST units as shown:

(In a later post Mary Kay will show you one of her favorite quilt designs from the app, using the LeMoyne Star.)

This Simplicity Star from Kanesville Quilting is a large LeMoyne Star.










The Lone Star/Bethlehem Star is a sort of LeMoyne Star, but made with 45-degree diamonds.  The eight large diamonds that make up the points of the star are made from smaller diamonds.  Which could be a fractal.  Hmmm....
 
Oh, and BTW:   Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne was a French explorer who founded New Orleans.