For May's Quilt of the Month, we are sharing this lovely St. Louis Star variation from Ernest Haight. This quilt features 20 red and blue stars made through a series of eight-sided blocks. Haight was known for his complex, geometric designs that he created over the course of 50 years.

A David City, Nebraska, native, Haight began quilting in 1934. He graduated from the University of Nebraska with a degree in agricultural engineering — a program that required him to take courses in drawing and design geometry that later informed his quilts. Though he initially kept his quilting secret, he later embraced quiltmaking publicly entering many quilts in state and county fairs, and giving many away as gifts. Over this five-decade quiltmaking career he made more than 300 quilts. 

This piece was last shown as part of the 2014 exhibition "Quilts of Emotion" that explored the range of emotions found in quilts. Haight immersed himself in quiltmaking even through periods of personal turmoil. From his eldest son, Aubrey: “He’d unwind, he'd come home after chores and milking cows; that's how he'd relax. He'd sit there at the sewing machine for a while and then go to bed. He didn't do it from necessity..., but he was artistic…, and he liked to do it.” 

In 1986, Haight was inducted into the Nebraska Quilter's Hall of Fame.

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