Sorting…ugh!

On January 15, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling4 Comments

Sorting

Every puzzler is different, but for me sorting is the worst part. It’s a necessary part, at least for me, but it’s the part of puzzling that gives me the most anxiety and it’s just no fun at all.

Many people don’t sort, other than the edge pieces, but that’s something my OCD won’t allow me to do. Scrabbling through the box looking for pieces makes many people happy, I’m just not one of them.

My next puzzle – a 2000 piece (not the one shown above) – is being sorted at the moment, and it feels as though it’s taking forever and a day. When it’s finished I’ll be glad that I’ve spent the time sorting, because in addition to the edge pieces I’ve pulled out, there will be plenty of little sections in their separate containers ready to be dumped out and assembled. But when I’m in the middle of it – it just feels like drudgery.

For me, part of becoming familiar with the pieces starts with the sorting and laying the pieces out. It’s my first look, and I touch and look at every piece to see if it’s part of a section I’m pulling out or if it’s just going to be put on a tray; I’m getting used to the colors and patterns, and it helps me later on in the assembly.

Pulling out pieces to start working on after the edge is assembled is almost always necessary for me as well. I love being able to start right away putting something together once the edge is done. Unless the image is very difficult there are usually several sections that can be pulled out during the initial sorting, and it makes me happy to get to the puzzling right away. If it’s a collage I can zero in on a bright color or unique pattern, or I can set aside all the pieces with words or letters, or even pull out all the sky pieces; it all depends on the image. No matter what pieces I pull out, being able to start assembling something immediately after I put the edge together makes me happy.

I know all these things, and sorting is necessary for me and the way I puzzle – but I still hate the sorting. 🤷‍♀️

Heroes & Heroines

On January 14, 2020January 13, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

This was my last puzzle of 2019, I’m glad I made it a good one – it’s an Aimee Stewart. I don’t have a lot to say about it other than it was a beautiful image and an excellent quality Ravensburger with exceptional fit and great hand feel.

It wasn’t an easy assembly, but that’s part of what made it fun – the challenge is both engrossing and entertaining.

These were my favorite couples to assemble, Marguerite and Armand (from the 19th century novel La Dame aux Camelias by Alexandre Dumas), and Christine and Erik (from Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux). I haven’t read either of them, but they were fun to put together.

After reading the insert, I must admit that I didn’t know who some of the heroes & heroines were; I haven’t read many love stories and not a lot of the usual literary works either. And yes, that means I haven’t read Wuthering Heights, The Great Gatsby and many other works of literature that most people have read. Oh well, I have no inclination to read them now either – I’d rather spend my time with my family or a jigsaw puzzle to be honest.

Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood

On January 13, 2020January 13, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles3 Comments

Mr Rogers — Mister Rogers Neighborhood – Aquarius – 500 pieces

The top half of this puzzle was much easier than the bottom; I knew it might be a little challenging, but I had no idea how much. Fortunately I did enjoy it as much as I’d hoped, and the background colors were my favorite part – obviously. 🙂

It’s fun when you receive puzzles as gifts, they may not always be what you might have chosen yourself, but most of the time they end up being more fun than you thought. I almost always give them a try; someone cared enough to pick out a puzzle just for me, it would be thoughtless of me to dismiss it just because I didn’t pick it out myself.

Most of the difficulty in this puzzle lies with the picture they’ve used; in the background Mister Rogers is in sharp focus, while in the foreground The Neighborhood of Make Believe is out of focus and quite blurry.

You can see the difference when the pictures are side by side, it’s quite striking actually. Still, I don’t believe the fault lies with the reproduction, it’s the picture itself.

This image brought back memories, I recall watching the show when I was young, mostly the opening scene where he would come in singing and changing his sweater and shoes. I also recall the Neighborhood of Make Believe with King Friday who bellowed and didn’t always think first before speaking, and Daniel Tiger who was very shy and sweet. (Daniel was my favorite 🐯)

I’ve watched the documentary about Fred Rogers, and I’m looking forward to the movie starring Tom Hanks. Mister Rogers was a kind, loving man who cared deeply about children and spent his life educating, uplifting, and championing them. I don’t know if many outside the US are aware of him or his show, but I certainly watched and loved it as a child. 💗

My Free Puzzle

On January 12, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling10 Comments

BOX.indd

This is the update of the 12 Nightmare Christmas Puzzles advent calendar set – I got my free puzzle, and it’s shown above. To say I am underwhelmed doesn’t cover it, I’m a little disgusted too.

First of all, I don’t care for the image; it’s a little dark (the actual box image seems darker) and it’s just not my cup of tea. Secondly, the set was 1200 pieces, and I get a 300 piece puzzle to make up for the horrible experience I had? I realize that I returned the puzzle to the store for a refund, and therefore don’t really need a 1200 piece puzzle as recompense, but seriously? An ugly 300 piece puzzle is supposed to smooth everything over?

I am done with Ceaco. I will no longer purchase any of their puzzles, no matter how beautiful or interesting the image is – not even if they end up with exclusive rights to all future Aimee Stewart images. (Please Aimee, don’t do that to me. You’re my favorite puzzle artist!)

One person no longer buying their puzzles is just a drop in the ocean, and I’m sure it won’t even be a blip on their bottom line. But it doesn’t matter, not to me. There are plenty of puzzle companies with excellent customer service who I’d much rather spend my hard earned money on.

You’ll still see Ceaco puzzles here on My Jigsaw Journal for a while, I’ve received some as gifts and there are still boxes and boxes of puzzles at mom’s house to go through. She was constantly at the thrift stores finding puzzles for us and I’m certain there are quite a few Ceacos there to be assembled too.

I may relent at some point, but right now I seriously doubt it. I’m still pretty pissed about the whole thing.

Review: Circles Strokes

On January 11, 2020January 11, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews8 Comments

I do so love blocks of color. 💖 This puzzle was a lovely respite from holiday images (it was finished on December 22), and even though it was a bit difficult I enjoyed the unique image and the gold foil accents. It’s such different and interesting artwork, and you know how much I love things that aren’t the norm.

As I do many times, after purchasing this puzzle I opened the box to look at the pieces; then, as I do, put it away because it looked like it would be pretty difficult. Several times the box came out when it was time to choose the next puzzle, and it went back in the pile every time. Luckily, this time I jumped at the chance to do a puzzle without snow or Santa, and started sorting before giving myself a chance to question how challenging it would be.

This is a special Gold edition Milton Bradley puzzle, and I found the quality to be quite good. Nice, thick chipboard with a good fit, wonderful colors, and beautiful gold foil accents. I wish pictures could capture the gold foil, it’s really quite beautiful.

Some of the colors were easy to pick out, and once I started getting things assembled the pieces became more familiar and it was easier to notice the subtle differences in color. It’s like most images, the more you do the more you become familiar with it; the more familiar the pieces become, the easier it is to see what you’re looking for. It provided a good challenge though, and kept me intensely focused only on what piece was next and which color goes where.

If you’re looking for something out of the ordinary and this image is one that strikes your fancy, I can definitely recommend this puzzle. I found it to be very good quality, with an image that made for a challenging and engrossing assembly. 👍

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