There are many geometric quilt names derived from everyday couplets and polarities, naturally evoked by the light and dark, or the give and take, of form and emptiness in the designs themselves. And since geometric quilts are dependent on an interplay of fabrics scraps, saving odds and ends is an integral part of that process. Nancy Cabot's illustration dates to May 19, 1935, with a note on the block's scrap-bag diversity:

"ODDS AND ENDS is a pattern of unusual charm, despite its rather commonplace name. When it was first created in Connecticut 150 years ago no two pieced squares were made alike. Today it may be made in solid colors, prints, or a combination of both. The scrap bag also may be called upon to furnish pieces."

Maggie Malone's 5,500 QUILT BLOCK DESIGNS (#117) has an ODDS AND ENDS version, illustrated right, that crops out one end of the design and transforms it into a whole new block, at least until it is tiled.

The design in Yvonne M. Khin's COLLECTOR'S DICTIONARY also has a slight variation, which might simply be a mistake, but just as likely a playful gloss on the odds and ends theme — one dark square on the upper left end of the block is added to the design, where there ought to be a light (see schematic left). And even if unintended, Khin's variation fits beautifully with the "accidental" sense of how odds and ends accrue haphazardly in everyday life. A similar "error," but located here on the inner bar, was added — find the extra blue square in the block illustrated top right and in the tiling pattern, see also the animation with the change, as an afterthought, appended at the end of the sequence. Compare with LOCKED SQUARES.