I popped in to see Janice today. There's aways so much color in her gardens!
Someone once said that
if you want to change the quality of your life...clean out a closet. Almost a year ago today my friend Becky was visiting and we she helped me clean out and organize the hall closet. I needed to do the same thing in the laundry closet on the other side of the hall....and a year later I finally tackled it. The quality of our lives will most certainly be improved!
The closet is tidy, but still not very photogenic....so I thought it was time for a puzzle post. You know I always have one on my table...and this one is a doozie! And I mean that in a good way.
It was a gift from Linda D. who said it was too difficult for her. It featurs a Fabulous Floral hexagon quilt using Kaffe Fassett fabrics.
The boarder was going together pretty well and at first I thought I would start at the top and work my way down pushing it up on the table as I usually do. That lasted about 10 minutes. Way too many pieces to sort though....I needed a new strategy.
I started assembling the very middle of the motifs The fabrics all seemed different so it seemed like the best way forward. I did the ones that were bright and easy like the blues....and that lasted several days. I had a mess on the table and I wasn't making progress. Again....I needed a new strategy.
I cleaned up the table and finally found a strategy that has been working well.
I'm sorting out all the pieces that have the same small flower border around each motif....starting with the little blue flowers.
Just today I pulled out the pieces with the little white daisies.
I've gotten far enough along where I could join motifs and I actually have a path from the top to the bottom. And I just noticed as I uploaded this photo that there's a path from side to side too. And you know how much I love that! Hallelujah! My new strategy is working!
The whole time....my puzzle gang has been cheering me on. Change your strategy as often as you need to! That improves the quality of your life too!
I'm loving this challenging and colorful puzzle....thank you Linda!
I'm delighted that the laundry closet re-org didn't strike you as being photogenic enough to post today—my delight comes from the fact that that happenstance led you to feature your current jigsaw puzzle-in-progress. LOVED the discussion and photo trail of the process that cued a succession of strategies. Fascinating! And I can see where your current strategy might take you a long way. Hats off to you! And three cheers to your puzzle gang for cheering you along!
ReplyDeleteHa ha...yes, the puzzle photos and story are way more fun than the closet. The journey that a puzzle takes me on is what I like best. At first I thought I might abandon this one....but it became a personal mission to figure it out the right strategy. And I have. Thank you for celebrating that with me.
DeleteYour closet cleaning is a definite Ta-Da! , MaryAnn!! A cleanout like that always feels so good! As for your puzzle - I admire your strategizing and re-strategizing as you do this. When my husband starts a new puzzle, I love to help him turn over and sort the pieces, but usually leave the assembly to him, other than fitting in a few pieces now and then. Right now he is working on a new "book nook" 3-D puzzle of a library/museum with a dinosaur in the middle of it which he had to assemble!! He is a sci-fi fan and tinkerer and he loves these 3-D puzzles, but does a flat puzzle now and then for a change of pace. As for me, I love this quilt puzzle you're working on. Good luck with it!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the thoughtful comment Judy! My father-in-law used to do 3-D puzzles....he was an engineer. I'd love so see a photos of the library/museum puzzle when he's done. It sounds amazing but daunting!
DeleteOh , how fun to get a strategy that works and gives you a side to side as well as up and down connections!
ReplyDeleteYup!
DeleteI'm so glad you are enjoying the puzzle! I tried various strategies, too, but my staying power was clearly not as strong as yours. :)
ReplyDeleteLinda S.
If I package it up in small chunks when I'm done would you like to give it back? It took a while to get my groove. It's still slow...but I'm completely engaged. Thank you!
Delete