Category Archives: Puzzle Themes

Hobbies: Quilting

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Looking to pick up a new hobby? Quilting might be the one for you! It’s fun, creative, and relatively easy for beginners, and there’s a huge bonus: it’s a wonderful item to pass down in your family! Also, you can make quilts out of anything. I have a friend who has a quilt made out of a bunch of his souvenir old T-shirts from whatever places he traveled from when he was a little kid. He loves it!

Quilting’s history began in a time when there was a shortage of fabric and when electricity wasn’t around to keep people warm. Worn out items were recycled into quilts and made by women when they were taking a break from their heavier chores. Nowadays people quilt more as a way to express themselves than financial reasons, but what can beat recycling and turning something into a keepsake? Or what can beat a trip to the fabric store and picking and choosing what to match!

Now the hobby translates to much more than just blankets: placemats, wall hangings, cushion covers, diaper totes, cases for your eyeglasses–even make up bags! They can all be quilted. There’s quilting patterns for nearly everything.

Just like a puzzle, you’ll find yourself piecing together items, fitting them snugly together, and creating something new from scratch!

quilting puzzles, quilts, sewing

The Quilting Table by SunsOut. 500 pieces.

 

hobby puzzles, hobbies

Spools by SunsOut. 1000 pieces.

cat puzzles

Cat on a Quilt by SunsOut. 1000 pieces.

beach puzzles, travel puzzles

Beach Retreat by SunsOut. 500 pieces.

farm jigsaw puzzle

Autumn Farm by Willow Creek Press. 1000 pieces.

Autumn Quiltscape by SunsOut. 500 pieces.

Quilting the Land by SunsOut. 1000 pieces.

Patchwork Match by SunsOut. 500 pieces.

 

 

 

Challenge Yourself: Scheming with Color

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Finding yourself itching for a challenge, but not quite ready to jump up to the impossible puzzles or the other uniquely challenging puzzles with a twist?

Or maybe you just prefer the traditional puzzle look and feel. You might like the routine of starting with your edge pieces or working with familiar piece shapes. Whatever the case, don’t think you still can’t challenge your brain. The bright side is, you don’t have to up your piece count either. Work with the size and style you already love. Just switch up your color scheme!

Finding puzzles that are largely of one or two color schemes can make you have to work a little harder, be a little more creative, and definitely test your patience as you wonder how you should start organizing the pieces!

If you have a favorite puzzle that you’ve completed before that was challenging because of the color scheme, share it with us in the comments. We’d love to hear about it!

zebra puzzles, safari puzzles, black and white puzzles

Explosion by SunsOut. 550 pieces. Finished size: 15” x 24.”

waterfall puzzles, boats puzzles

Crash Course by Thomas Barbey Puzzles. 1000 pieces. Finished size: 23” x 29”.

greece puzzles, white jigsaw puzzle

Greece by Clementoni. 1000 pieces. Finished size: 26.5” x 18.25”.

 

rose puzzles, flower puzzles

Red Rose by Ravensburger. 500 pieces. Finished size: 19.75” x 19.75”.

kitten puzzles, cats

Kittens in Pots. 1000 pieces. Finished size: 19.25” x 26.5”.

feathers puzzles, red puzzles

Feathers by Piatnik. 1000 pieces. Finished size: 26.5” x 17.25”.

 

ocean puzzles, surfing puzzles

Big Wave by Heye. 1000 pieces. Finished size: 22” x 22”.

 

Beautiful Swan by Ravensburger. 500 pieces. Finished size: 19.5″ x 14.25″.

Autumn Reflection by Springbok. 1500 pieces. Finished size: 28.75″ x 36″.

 

 

Home Sweet Home

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I’ve spent the last several day packing up all my things into boxes and moving across town into a new house with new roommates. It’s sort of exciting rearranging your furniture in a new room and calling a new house “home.”

So what is the difference between a new house and a new home? Well, as my favorite writer Lemony Snicket puts it: “The difference between a house and a home is like the difference between a man and a woman—it might be embarrassing to explain, but it would be very unusual to get them confused.”

Our homes are our spaces to relax, to spend time with our families and friends, to do our hobbies (how many of you have a puzzle spread out on your coffee table right now?) Snicket has another great thing to say about homes, which rings true for many of us: “There is something marvelous about returning home at the end of a long day, even if there is tuna fish for dinner.”

Coziness and comfort are what makes a house a home for me, but then there are some homes that are so beautiful and elegant, prim and proper—but these are no less homes to the people inside them. Here’s some of our best houses and homes in puzzle form, some that emanate warmth and tranquility, some that are modern and sleek.

autumn puzzles, orange, fall, pumpkins

Autumn’s Golden Moments by SunsOut. 1000 pieces.

black and white puzzles, river, bridges, netherlands jigsaws

Bridge by Lion Rampant Imports. 1000 pieces.

beach puzzles, ocean, seaside

Ocean Avenue by White Mountain. 1000 pieces.
san francisco puzzles, bay puzzles, transportation

Evening Journey by Educa. 1000 pieces.

italy puzzles, ocean puzzles, mediterranean puzzles

Cinque Terre, Italy by Ravensburger. 2000 pieces.

san francisco

Painted Ladies by Ravensburger. 1000 pieces.

Dowdle – House of Seven Gables by Dowdle Folk Art. 1000 pieces.

Mediterranean Waterfront by Springbok. 2000 pieces.

 

Country Cottage by Ravensburger. 1500 pieces.

Down by the Sea by Ravensburger. 300 pieces.

Village Hideaway by Educa. 2000 pieces.

 

 

 

 

Our Hearts are with Boston

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All of our hearts at Puzzle Warehouse are with those in Boston today.

Boston, Massachusetts panoramic skyline.

After yesterday’s bombing at the Boston Marathon, it is important that we come together, spread kindness, cheer, and get in touch with our empathy skills.

Mr. Rogers said it best in 1986 when he said, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of ‘disaster,’ I remember my mother’s words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers—so many caring people in this world.”

As people mourn, worry, and wonder what happened in this tragedy all over America, there is a surprising amount of people focused on the good: there are articles about the helpers, the heroes.

The Daily Beast reports that NBC Sports Tweeted “that many marathon runners crossed 26 miles to the finish line and continued running to Massachusetts General Hospital, where they donated blood to victims.”

Find out the ways that you can help from near or far during these stressful times.

Boston is a beautiful city with wonderful people that are coming together to help one each other out right now. We could all use Bostonians as an example now. Their kindness is inspiring.

Boston by artist Eric Dowdle.

Shh… It’s a Secret!

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If you haven’t heard of Postsecret, you’ve been missing out. It’s a blog updated weekly that started when a man named Frank Warren asked people to start sending him their anonymous secrets. Now, every single Sunday, the blog updates with 20 random insights into someone else’s mind—their thoughts, fears, loves, hatreds, and sometimes even their funny quirks.

There was a good this week for all you puzzle people: 

Looks like someone likes the glory of the finishing touch, and will do what they have to get it!

So, do any of you have any puzzle secrets or tips to share with the community? We promise we won’t judge!