Quilt Notes: In music, a NOCTURNE is a short composition suggestive of night. The same term applies to any artwork focusing on a night scene. Here the white semi-circular form (created by overlaying a circle with the same diameter as the width of the block) seems to represent the moon as crescent, and thereby augments the minimalist quality of the evening darkness. The design dates back (in print) to the summer of 1936, by Nancy Cabot (Chicago Tribune).

For more nocturnes, or nighttime quilt themes at this site, see NEW MOON, MIDSUMMER NIGHT, STARRY NIGHT, and a Halloween block with an incredibly lovable title, CAPS FOR WITCHES AND DUNCES.