Jack In The Box

About this block

This is a 5×5 uneven nine-patch built from squares, rectangles, half-square triangles, and flying geese units, with a strong pinwheel motion created at the center as the geese units rotate around the middle. One quilt-history blogger who researched the name found a small visual clue explaining it: each corner of the block hides the letter "J" formed by the piecing, though the connection to the actual toy remains speculative.