Puzzles & Games

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This is a record-breaking quilt, Mosaic #3, was pieced by Albert Small and quilted by his wife Eva and daughter-in-law, Marian.  It was created during the war years, 1941-1944, when fabric was hard to find.

Albert worked on Mosaic for four years, sewing four hours a day, six days a week.  He told one reporter that it took about 6000 hours. The quilt contains a total of 123,200 hexagons, each 1/4 inch in diameter. There are 15.08 hexagons in each square inch of the quilt. Six of these hexagons are smaller than a dime.

Because he was a large man who worked with explosives by day and a needle by night, he received quite a bit of attention.  He established correspondence with a number of "famous" quilters of the time including Florence Peto and Grace Synder, who asked for a copy of his hexagon template.

To read more about Albert Hall and see some of his earlier quilts, click here.  The quilt is in the collection of the Illinois State Museum.

We've put up a much easier puzzle this week for anyone who hasn't tried a puzzle before. They are great fun, give it a whirl.

Mosaic1 - 35 pieces, non-rotating

For those of you who have been doing this for a while, here you go!

Mosaic2 - 90 pieces, non-rotating

Mosaic3 - 90 pieces, rotating

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It took quite a bit to get this quilt together, but probably not the way you think.  Sharon Pederson began this quilt in 2009 and with the help of her friends from all around the world, she organized and ran the Rose of Sharon Block Challenge.  You'll want to read the whole story at Sharon's website.  Here are the names of the designers of the blocks, including one from Sharon.

Starting at the upper left corner and going across the top, they are:

Simonetta Marini of Bologna, Italy, Judy Best from Ontario, Canada, Dianne Gronfors also from Ontario, Canada, my block, Leslie Collins from California, USA, Jo Moury of Virginia, USA, Rebekah Reinheimer from Jerusalem, Israel, Suzy Pricket of Florida, USA, Barb Vlack from Illinois, USA, Candace Door of Nebraska, USA, Pat Daniels, from Manitoba, Canada, Claudia Change of Taipei, Taiwan, and Kari Bauer from Illinois, USA.

BTW, our own Alex and Ricky judged the final blocks!

Rose of Sharon 1 - 120 pieces, non-rotating

Rose of Sharon 2 - 100 pieces, rotating

Visit Sharon's website. 

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This week's puzzle is by our guest this week, Cheryl Lynch.  It is a small quilt, barely the size of a piece of writing paper, titled, Joyous Gates.  Cheryl created this quilt after experiencing "The Gates" created by Jeanne-Claude and Christo in 2005.  They were curtains of tangerine fabric hanging from metal arches in Central Park.  To get the whole story of how and why Cheryl created this quilt, head on over to her blog by clicking here.

Joyous Gates - 108 pieces - non-rotating

Joyous Gates 2 - 99 pieces - rotating

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This week's puzzle was created by Ida W. Beck between 1952 and 1954.  Ida Beck was a shut-in and did needlework and monogramming, which was her speciality.  She spent several years planning and making the Rainbow Monogram and Initial quilt.

In the center of the quilt is a fully entwined alphabet monogram which is 14" x 24".  There are 9 other alphabets in different scripts and fonts included on the quilt.  Each of the scalloped border sections is a month of the year along with its gemstone,  holiday, and flower.  There are approximately 400 letters, 50 flowers and a dazzling array of birds and butterflies which are worked in embroidery or button-hole stitch applique.  It is handquilted with feathers, diamonds, and diagonal lines.  The quilt measures 94" x 90" and is in the collection of the Shelburne Museum.

Rainbow1 - 100 pieces non-rotating

Rainbow2 - 100 pieces rotating

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For the puzzle this week, we choose one of Sue Spargo's quilts, Silk Road.  This quilt was inspired by a colorful flower garden.  She used hand dyed eggplant wool of different textures for the background.  The appliqued flowers are a combination of wools, cottons, taffeta silks, and hand dyed velvet.  The pattern can be found in Sue's book, Contemporary Folk, published by Quiltmania magazine in France.  For more information, go to Sue's Website.

Silk Road 1 - 100 pieces non-rotating.

Silk Road 2 - 100 pieces rotating.

To watch Sue's show, Episode 811, Folk Art in Fabric, Inspirations and Techniques, click here.