Finding Treasures

On September 30, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling4 Comments

My daughter and I spent the morning yesterday going through just a small fraction of my mom’s things, and I came across a few puzzle treasures that I brought home. Of course they’re only treasures to me, but that’s alright, I will definitely enjoy putting them together.

The coolest one that I found was a 577 piece Ceaco Holiday Silhouette called Christmas Spirit by Susan Winget that has velvet-backed pieces; it has an irregular border and whimsy pieces too. It still looks in great condition, and I’ll be assembling it closer to the holidays.

There was also a 504 piece quiz jigsaw puzzle called “Who Said That?”. There are images of 240 people that you have to match with 240 famous quotes. Every quote fits every image, so you have to be sure of yourself when you match them. This is the kind of puzzle my mom and I liked to assemble together. We had the best time with others in the same vein, it was such fun to figure things out and talk over whether or not we had things matched up properly. It will be sad to do this one alone, but it will also remind me of how awesome it was that we had such a good relationship and had such fun together assembling puzzles.

In the same box of puzzles was a 1000 piece 3 foot long shaped puzzle by Spilsbury Puzzle Company called Caribbean Jewel – it’s a very bright, colorful fish-shaped puzzle. It still looks in excellent condition and I’m hoping all the pieces are there because it looks like great fun!

The one I’ll be assembling first is on octagonal Springbok called Button, Button…, I think it may have been my grama’s puzzle at one point, and I think I may have helped her put it together. It looks very familiar, and I can’t get over the feeling that I assisted either mom or gram assembling it. This time it’ll be just me though, I hope it isn’t too difficult to do by myself. 😉

Cake Bake

On September 29, 2019September 29, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

My first 2000 piece puzzle in almost two years. Yay me! The image was so fun that I had to put aside all the anxiety-inducing thoughts and buy this one – and then I got the gumption up to start assembling it – I’m super proud of myself!

The sorting was the worst part for me; not only because there were so many pieces to go through, but also because seeing some of the pieces I really just wanted to get to the assembly. But the sorting does help tremendously when you finally do get to the assembly, and I’m not someone who can just scrabble through the box to find pieces, my OCD won’t allow it! 😏 I need all the pieces laid out or separated in some way, I just can’t help it.

I’ve never done a Big Ben puzzle with such a large piece count, and I was a little disappointed when I started sorting. The pieces are on the thin side, and small. But then again I had just finished a 300 piece Buffalo with very large pieces, so the comparison wasn’t very fair. Once I started working with it, the pieces didn’t seem so bad after all. The fit was good, if a little loose, and the pieces weren’t that small – it is a large 2000 piece puzzle after all – they can’t be huge or the finished puzzle wouldn’t fit on my board!

I loved this small section in the lower left corner, handwriting like this reminds me of my grandmother’s writing. When they used to teach penmanship in schools back in the day all the handwriting seemed similar, and my grandma’s writing looked like this. It makes me smile…

Cake Bake 1

It was a little difficult to assemble as you can’t read the words very well, but I still enjoyed putting it together. I really do love assembling words. 🙂

I was talking with a puzzle friend recently about how when you initially sort a puzzle the pieces all seem so indistinct because you aren’t as familiar with them; but once you start working the puzzle you become more comfortable with them and start recognizing what certain colors are and then you feel more confident in sorting them into sections. That was certainly the case with this puzzle. There were a LOT of pieces that I had no idea where they would go – they seemed so dark and blotchy and I had no idea where they’d fit in. Once I got going and putting together the easier sections I got used to the puzzle and was able to sort it even more carefully. And I had a great time!

Cake Bake 2

This section was one of the first that I put together. The colors are beautiful and it was very easy to sort these pieces out; plus it was quite entertaining. Believe it or not, the chocolate treats on the tray looked almost blue while I was sorting. It’s interesting how when you break a picture down into very small pieces how the colors seem so different than you’d think. It’s fun to figure out what everything is and where it belongs – that’s what we puzzlers love!

Wasgij In Progress

On September 28, 2019September 28, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling2 Comments

In Progress

I’m currently working on a Wasgij puzzle, it’s going a little slowly but I’m still having a good time. You won’t get to see the finished image here on my blog (I don’t like spoilers), but you can see Momma Cabbage and her babies running around – aren’t they cute? I’m not sure yet if they’re chasing the mouse or if he’s leading the way, but I will get it figured out eventually.

I have a stack of about 20 Wasgij puzzles in my closet over four feet high, and I need to work on whittling it down (some of them have 2 puzzles in the box, one of the actual box image and the other is the Wasgij that has to be figured out). Because they’re in my closet I sometimes forget about them, but they were calling to me yesterday and I got this one going.

As usual I’m loving it, it’s so satisfying when I figure out where a section belongs and fit it into place. Every now and then I challenge myself by putting away the box and assembling a puzzle without the aid of an image, with a Wasgij I don’t need to add the extra challenge – it’s built right in.

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For this image you have to puzzle what the lady with the polka dot bow is seeing. All I know for sure is what the gentleman in the middle is wearing, so you’d think I would have started with his shirt – for some reason I haven’t even pulled those pieces yet. It may be the next section to be assembled though, we’ll have to wait and see. 🙂

Prairie Wind Flowers

On September 27, 2019September 27, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles3 Comments

I was pleasantly surprised by this puzzle, it was a thrift store buy from mom’s house, and the box indicated that there was a missing piece. Normally that annoys me, but I decided to assemble it anyway – and there were no missing pieces. Awesome!

It went together very quickly, and the wonderfully thick pieces were a joy. The fit was exceptional and all in all it was a lovely puzzle. I’m not sure how much I would have enjoyed it as a 1000 piece puzzle, but I’ve learned that you never can tell about those things; at least I can’t.

Prairie Wind 1

This was my favorite part, I love the dog sitting in the basket waiting for a ride. Hey guys, doesn’t anybody want to take me anywhere? I promise I’ll be good!

I started sorting my next puzzle, a 2000 piece Big Ben right after I completed this, and the pieces were tiny in comparison – both in size and thickness. Perhaps it wouldn’t seem so bad if I hadn’t just finished this one. 😉

The Sewing Shed

On September 26, 2019September 26, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

This puzzle had my mom all over it, every piece and every section reminded me of her. It was a sweet, somewhat sad assembly, but in the end it makes me smile. It’s a beautiful image, a great quality puzzle, and brings up many lovely memories for me. 💗

Usually Ravensburger puzzles don’t have such prominent piece shapes in the finished image, but otherwise I can’t fault the quality. The pieces have that fantastic hand feel, and the fit was wonderful. As I’m going along with the assembly, and especially once I’m finished there is a lot of running my hands over the puzzle – no other puzzle feels like a Ravensburger! And for this one I found myself doing even more of that than usual. It feels so nice I can’t seem to stop myself.

One of the first things I noticed when sorting pieces was this little heart…

The Sewing Shed 2

I didn’t call her “mum”, but she certainly was my bestie! How sweet is that? I love it!

This assembly was so nice that I kept telling myself to slow down because I didn’t want it to be over too quickly. I couldn’t help it for the most part though, I have almost no self control. 😉

The Sewing Shed 1

This sewing box looks almost exactly like one my mom set up for me when she taught me cross-stitch. I loved cross-stitching, and carried my sewing box everywhere until the handle broke off! I’ve traded my needle and floss for jigsaw puzzles (they’re much easier on my poor aging eyes), but I have wonderful memories of crafting with mom.

Great puzzle, beautiful image, entertaining assembly, and mom – what a fantastic combination!