HALF MOON is Similar to MOON AND STARS (see Jinny Beyer's QUILTER'S ALBUM, #336-1), except that here the center four-point star touches the moons, rather than pointing in between them. The block was illustrated twice by Nancy Cabot in the Chicago Tribune on November 3, 1934 as HALF MOON PATCH and again on October 12, 1937 as MOON BLOCK. The change in name might account for only a half-moon evident in the single block, whilst the full moon manifests in the over-all pattern.

There is a decidedly mystical quality to this design, both in name and structure, see especially the celestial configurations in the tiling, including the spinning of orbs, compass points, the endless flow of space/time, and looking closely, some gorgeous squares with rounded corners. For more mysticism imagined in quilt designs at this site, see:

MYSTIC MAZE
AURORA STARS
POLARIS STAR
ENIGMA STAR
TWO IN ONE
DOVES IN THE WINDOW
GOTHIC WINDOWS
(with music by Hildegard of Bingen)
THE CASTLE WALL
and MYSTIC STAR
(with St. Teresa of Avila)
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«« Japanese design source left: (free download from CD-Rom: "Pattern Sourcebook, Japanese Style 2"). In Japan and other Asian countries, the visible markings on the Moon, as seen from Earth, are interpreted as a rabbit.