Lady of the Lake

About this block

This block is built from two sizes of half-square triangles, usually in just two contrasting colors, arranged so the block reads as a bold pinwheel-like design against its neighbors when set together. It takes its name from Sir Walter Scott's narrative poem of the same title, published in 1810 and an immediate bestseller in both Britain and America. The earliest documented quilted example of the block dates to around 1820, and by most accounts it's kept this same name consistently ever since, without picking up the tangle of regional alternate names so many other blocks collect.