What do you call these two stars?
 

I was checking Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns - and not having much success -

I was introduced to the bottom one as "LeMoyne Star" - it is a bit cumbersome referring it to as "a star made of eight rhomboids with 45-135-45-135 degree angles.

It is also a bit cumbersome referring to the top one as "an eight-pointed star made of parallelograms with 45-135-45-135 angles drawn on a 4x4 grid"

They are similar - but definitely not identical.

I too know that second one by the name LeMoyne Star.

The top one I don't have a name for it. The top one is commonly made using HST units to form the parallelograms and I have seen it used the most when making the Carpenter's star.

As with all things quilting there are many names for the same pattern.

I've seen it referred to on many websites (including McCall's and Fons & Porter) and a "LeMoyne Star with no set-in seams"

There are different ways of making this star. Many years ago a dear lady made me my first quilt which today I still have and marvel at the piecing of this star. Not sure if she hand pieced it together.
I on the other hand use the method is Bethany Reynolds stack and whack which ends up having seems in the corners. Still looks good to me.

The top one is a sawtooth star variation. Normally it would have a solid center square

In EQ, the top one is called and 8 pointed star and the second is a LeMoyne star. There can me numerous name for the same block.

"Rhomboids"?? You know they have medication for that....


Sorry... couldn't resist.... :D

LeMoyne Star
 

The top one you can find on Eleanor Burns videos, and the bottom one you can find on you tube Missouri Quilts, big star quilts.
Sylvia

It depends on where you look -- I found each of them labeled "LeMoyne Star" in at least one 21st century book!
I, personally, call the first one "8 pointed star" and the second "Lemoyne Star".

Thanks for the information on these blocks.

Encyclopedia...that's the reason for the detailed precise description.......? How are other blocks described? Does a square become a four sided , 90 degree something or other? Don't have that book, so don't know ......

I call first one easy, second one y-seams, diamonds.....stars..

I must need new glasses as they look like the same pattern to me. One just appears to be cut a little bigger than the other one.

Why do they do this to us? Don't they realize we have important matters to attend to? The second one I have always thought of as the LeMoyne Star, but boy is it similar to the top one. Rhomboids? I'm still working with hexagons and parallelograms, enough already. How about a nice HST?

The reason for asking the question is because I want to do a monolog ( tutorial?) On the similarities and differences between the two blocks and I wanted to call the blocks something more or less familiar to people.

If you want to get technical (accurate) about it, the top star is composed of rhomboids (adjacent sides are unequal lengths) and the bottom one is composed of rhombuses (all sides are equal length). It's like the difference between a rectangle and a square, but with non-right angles. :o
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhomboid

I learned the top one as Eight Pointed Star and the bottom one as LeMoyne Star (aka Lemon Star). The proportions are different between the two no matter how they are constructed (inset seams, HST's, etc). The top one is a 4-patch block and the bottom one is a 9-patch block.

I did not know the difference between rhomboid and rhombus.

And now you can check off the "learn something new" line on today's 'To Do' list. *wink*

I wonder how many people actually know - or care - about things like that?

Sometimes I do get "the great eye-roll" on things like this - but I've found being specific - with the correct terminology (when I know it) - to be useful.

Interesting observation - I think of the top one as a 16 patch drawn on a 4x4 grid - but it could also be thought of as an uneven 9-patch block - Just found one in the Brackman book with the same size and shape of pieces - but different "coloring" - "Sarah's Choice, #215, page 266.

I've never thought of the LeMoyne star as an uneven 9-patch block.

I think one of the most fascinating things about the LeMoyne star is that all the interior lines are the same length (assuming one makes diamonds for the star and uses unpieced setting pieces on the sides) (and assuming finished size block). (the exception is the outside edge of the setting triangle - that is approximately 1.416 times the length of the other lines).

I can draft fairly accurate LeMoyne type star things if I set up a grid of with 10, 7, 7, 10 squares on each side (or multiples of those numbers).

I can also draft any size LeMoyne type star by using a square of paper and then play connect the points.

ha ha ha ha ha

I call the top an 8 pointed star and the bottom a Le Moyne star. Plain and simple.

What I find interesting about this , imho is that most of us are using geometry and don't even know it and probably said "What will I ever use this for?", when we were in school. Am I right?
peace