I-9 Chase a Myth

I do wonder sometimes how these blocks got their names. This one is an interesting one! I put off doing this one for quite some time. I had cut out all the foundations and all the pieces of fabric and it made it look so daunting. The only thing that made me finally do the darned thing is that I couldn't stand having all those little pieces of paper and fabric falling off my table and generally just getting in the way of other projects. So this little guy as you might have gathered by now, was paper and regular pieced. It has 41 pieces, which I believe is one of the higher count blocks. If you aren't working on your own Baby Jane quilt (and even if you are), think about that for just a minute: 41 pieces in a 4.5 inch block. It really is crazy, don't you think?

I normally don't do this, but I have been looking at another person's site who shows front and back of her blocks and I think it's interesting. So here's the back of this one.

 

Perhaps it was working on this block that caused me to once again think about Jane Stickle as she designed and sewed each of her blocks back during the Civil War. She had no rotary cutter, mat or ELECTRICITY. She may or may not have used a machine (I don't know, but if she did it was a crank machine), or freezer paper and obviously she had no computer. To me it just seems so apparent that she was so distressed by the current events of her day that she designed the most outlandish (ooh, good word!) blocks that would distract her from the terror that was going on in this country. Come to think of it, I like it for the same reason! Well, maybe terror would be an extreme word for today, but the state of our country and world is certainly unsettling if you let yourself think about it for more than a few seconds.

You may be able to tell I'm working on Row I. I'm trying to get the hardest blocks done first. Next is I-10 with set-in seams and while I'm at it I'm also working on RS-6 which is the tumbling blocks one and also is full of set-in seams. It will feel really good to have these guys done!

I'll be back as soon as I have more to show you. Hopefully real soon! Until then, I hope you're finding time for a thread.

Melanie