“H” Variation (Quiltmaker’s Name: “Milky Way”) – Nettie Young, 1971

This quilt is showcases many geometric shapes and patterns. When I initially looked at it I had not even noticed that the shapes form the letter “H” because I was so enthralled in the shapes. The quilt uses a limited number of colors and they contrast each other very much, the main ones being black white and red. The quilt uses almost technological and reminds me of some sort of control board with the circles being the buttons. The shapes are very rigid and the fabrics and colors do not really blend together. I’m left wondering what the letter “H” means to whoever made this quilt.  I notice there is tiling on the top and bottom of both sides of the “H”. It is the same pattern on all four ends but it is oriented differently on each side with varying colors. There is also repetition in the middle horizontal part of the “H” where the same tile is repeated twice. There is also tiling right on top of this part where they repeat the same tile once horizontally across the “H”, only they changed the colors of the circles. You can actually find 6 different tiled patterns that run horizontally across the “H” with varying colors and orientations of the tiles. The inspiration must have been tied to the letter “H” and I think it could be the first letter of someone’s name.