This quilt really grew on me as I worked on it. This kind of patchwork scrap quilt is what lots of people think of when they hear the term "American quilt."
The pattern is Spider Web, a close variant of several that appear in Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns. I estimate is was made in the 1950s, from a pretty deep scrap bag with quite a few fabrics dating back to earlier decades. It's got lots and lots of strong colors, i.e. not many pastels, a good sign that it was made after the 1930s and 40s love affair with pastels and before the neons of the late 60s and 70s. There are very few solids, and quite a lot of ginghams, plaids, and stripes.
