Bicentennial Star of Bethlehem

This magnificent 1970s Star of Bethlehem with satellite stars came from Mark French of French 72 Antique Quilts. Mark sells a lot on eBay, and it works well with eye-catching quilts such as this one.

It may be hard to believe, but I have never had a Star of Bethlehem with satellite stars in my collection. I've had other quilts with these elements, but never one with the large, eight-pointed star and all the satellites. How fun that I found one from the 70s.

The quilt is 86" x 86" and is hand pieced and hand quilted. It was made with cottons, possibly some cotton/poly blends, and the polyester batting has good loft. Paired with hand quilting in the ditch, the thicker batting gives the quilt a 3-dimensional quality, almost like a biscuit quilt.

I love how the details reveal traits of quilts made in the 1970s. In addition to the presence of polyester, the piecing is a little wonky, the quilting has a similar made-by-hand look, and the binding is a little on the chunky side. Undated, but likely made to commemorate the Bicentennial, it would've been be a big effort to create this type of quilt in the 1970s. Even today it would be a big effort to make a Bethlehem Star quilt by hand.