This extraordinary Rising Star Variation quilt, recently gifted to the museum by a descendant of the quilt maker, was discovered during the museum's New York Quilt Project, an ambitious statewide quilt documentation effort initiated in 1985. Over a period of twenty-one months, more than six thousand quilts were examined and recorded in counties around the state.

Stars, in all their variety, were among the most prevalent patterns seen. The field of spinning compass stars on this example alternates with Lemoyne Stars, and is surrounded by a border of appliquéd trees. Such border motifs have a strong association with New York State textiles, particularly the blue-and-white fancy jacquard-woven coverlets from the 1820s and 1830s that feature borders of weeping willows and other trees. The quiltmaker, Elsey Halstead, meticulously cross-stitched her name, the location, and the date on the quilt.

Stacy C. Hollander, "Rising Star Variation Quilt," exhibition label for Recent Gifts. Stacy C. Hollander, curator. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2013.