Dear Baby Jane: K-10 & A-4

Block number/name: K-10 “Quandry”

Date completed: October 7, 2008

Number of pieces: 39

Notes on block: As there are so many pieces, this block took awhile to put together. I’m really pleased with it. I had to trim it down a little around the edges to get it to 5” square, but other than that, there were no problems.

So I’m a not-so-good speller. Had Anina not pointed it out, I wouldn’t have even realized that this block’s name has an unusual spelling. Hmm… editorial error, or something else? I dug out my copy of The Compact Oxford English Dictionary. (I know, I am such a geek.) The usual spelling is quandary. Though its origins are unclear, it has been in common use since 1580. It is defined as, “a state of extreme perplexity of uncertainty; a dilemma causing (great) mental agitation or distress; a ticklish plight.” (That last one is a little weird, isn’t it? But it is listed as obsolete.) Anyway, I was most curious to see some of the various spellings: quandare, quandarye, quandarie, quondary. Note that quandry is not among them. So then I Googled “quandry” to see what might come up. The top hit was for an Oregon-based band with “captivating music.” Other than that, there just seem to be lots of misspellings (I rather suspect the band misspelled their own name, even). So, what’s with the name? It is a quandary, indeed!

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Block number/name: A-4 “Courtney’s Stethoscope”

Date completed: October 7, 2008

Number of pieces: 23

Notes on block: Caught up at last!!! And two blocks in one night, even. Crazy. I must be getting much more confident, because again, this one seemed to come together very well for me. The only real issues with this one were the seams in the center. I didn’t really want them going outward behind the white, as I thought it would look cooler if the bars sort of popped out of the block above the background. And I think it does look pretty cool. The downside to this is that the center bars are only ¼” wide. So there is a lot of bulk in there. I think it is fine so long as I don’t attempt to quilt inside the bars.

Also, since I’ve finally caught up, it seems appropriate to share another progress report.