Our host is a fan of jigsaws.
There are currently three on boards in various stages of completion throughout the property and we have been encouraged to add a piece here and there, if not finish them.
When completed, they are covered in clingfilm and put on display for sale with the box, so that potential buyers can see how big they are when finished.
When sold, they are broken up and put back in the box, with all proceeds going to charity.
I found a piece on the floor in the dining room, but it does not appear to belong to any of those in progress, so I’ve put it on the window cill for the time being.
I’ve always enjoyed puzzles. I find them relaxing and soothing to my nerves, and feel a sense of achievement fitting that final piece.
It started as a child with animals, then progressed to jigmaps and scenic views.
I had a 300 piece one of a horse race which I could complete in less than two hours as it was one of my favourites.
The largest one I’ve done was 1500 pieces, which kept me occupied together with an endless supply of gingernut biscuits when I was off sick from work with suspected glandular fever in 1975.
It was a river scene with a rock wall humped back bridge, reeds and reflection of the sky in the water. An absolute swine, but after five weeks, I finished it. The boyfriend of the time and I split up shortly afterwards, so I dismantled it, put it back in the box, and gave it away.In 1976, one of the hottest summers in the UK and when Kiki Dee and Elton John were top of the harts with Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, The Ex-to-be and I went on a caravan holiday for a (dirty) fortnight. I suffered from toothache for the first week and got the puzzle craze for the second.
Hubby likes doing them too, and one year his parents gave us a 1000 piece puzzle of a country cottage, complete with white picket fence and rose bushes as they couldn’t do it.
We did, framed it, and gave it back to them the following year.
My sister has a warped sense of humour sometimes and decided to test our skill with a 1000 piece WASGIJ puzzle.
Oh my, we had so much fun doing it, as the picture on the box is not the end result.
They are very popular now and there are a lot to choose from.
This is the one she gave us (box image and true picture)
and this is the one we bought for ourselves
We framed them both, one of which was in our dining room and the other in the small bedroom in the cottage.
We also had a mountain castle overlooking a fjord hung in the guest room. That one had been a bitch to complete due to the reflection in the water, and I had 3 pieces left that didn’t fit the gap……… all because I had put one piece of said reflection in the wrong place.
My Mum gave us this beauty of Snow Leopards, a ‘shaped puzzle’ so no flat edged pieces and it was fabulous when we’d finished it. We put it under the bed on a board in the spare room in the bungalow with the intention of framing it.
Unfortunately we had visitors whose dog got under the bed and nested in it, so we gathered up all the pieces and put them in a bag, but never got round to doing it again.
I’ve had a go at the puzzle here in the conservatory, and it got me thinking as to how differently people do them.
Hubby and I are simple in our approach, all the outside edges first, then the sky or the biggest distinguished area before filling in the rest.
I’ve known some people start in a corner, or from the middle, but it seems the method here is to sort by colour and work from there.
There are plastic sorting trays holding blues, greens, and browns, but I’ve been trying to get all the edge pieces together and think there are still some in the box.
Upstairs, the pieces are on the table and window ledges as well as trays. I may have a go at that one tomorrow as it is further along in completion and looks a little easier. It depicts chocolate and sweets from yesteryear, and I’m feeling my age when I can recognise the wrappers of my childhood favourites!
Note:
All images herein are from google
Jigsaws are great fun, funny, as you say, that different people have different ways of doing them. 🙂
For years, doing jigsaw puzzles was my way of unwinding in the evening. Once completed, I would simply take them apart and store them for the next time. I have a whole bedroom closet full of boxes of puzzles.
But then I discovered blogging, and my time became devoted to that. At least with blogging, I don’t have to keep a folding table set up permanently in my bedroom or living room, and I get feedback from the readers. That’s not to say, however, that I don’t periodically get an urge to do the jigsaws – and, of course, they are absolutely wonderful to do by candlelight when the power goes off during those horrendous winter storms.
I am so on the same page as you! I have a feeling though it was the artificial light that made me put that wrong piece in.
As we don’t have room for a table on the boat, I am also hoping to have a blitz on card making as my handmade reserves are rather low!