Farmers’ Market In Progress

On January 24, 2020January 24, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlingLeave a comment

Farmers Mkt IP — Farmers’ Market – MasterPieces – 300 pieces

If I didn’t have a puzzle blog this puzzle wouldn’t even be on my board right now! But I do have this blog, and my aim is to post every day so I try to be sure to always have something to show. My pattern is to post completed puzzles for two days in a row and on the third day post whatever’s in progress and on my board. Today is in progress day, so I had to get my butt out of bed yesterday evening and get a puzzle going!

I’ve been feeling awful for the past two days and other than finishing the Aimee Stewart puzzle on my board (only had about 100 pieces left to fill in) I haven’t done a thing but lay around in bed trying to rest. Last night I realized that today was the day I post an in progress picture and I had nothing in the works; thankfully I was feeling a little better and wide awake, and was able to leave my snoring husband in bed to start work on my next project.

It was going to be a 500 piece Milton Bradley puzzle that I’d already picked out, but on seeing the pale and indistinct pieces I decided that image probably would be better suited to a day when I’m feeling 100% (or whatever percentage I’m normally working with 😉 ). Back in the box that one went, and I found this Farmers’ Market puzzle that I’d gotten at the thrift store last month. Three hundred pieces and an easy image was just what the doctor ordered for this partially healed blogger.

It didn’t take too long to get about half of the puzzle done, it was quick to sort and to assemble. I was doing well and could have spent more time at the table, but then I would have been too close to finishing. If I had gotten much more done I wouldn’t have been able to tear myself away until it was complete – and then there still wouldn’t have been a puzzle in progress to post about today!

#Fuzzy Friends

On November 7, 2019November 7, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles3 Comments

How adorable are these guys and gals? So sweet! This was a great quality puzzle by MasterPieces. The random cut was lovely, but it took me a minute or two to wrap my aging brain around the way things would go together. There’s always a period of adjustment when I start a randomly cut puzzle, I have to stare at things for a while until the gray cells warm up and comprehend how the pieces fit together. Once that’s done it’s off to the races!

Fuzzy Friends 1

This is how it looked after putting together everything I pulled from the initial sorting – not bad! Fuzzy Friends 2

This was my favorite section, I love those faces! Puppies and kittens are almost always cute and make for adorable puzzles. They’re not always easy (a lot of fur tends to be a bit of a challenge) but they’re usually entertaining.

The fit was very good and I truly enjoyed the random cut. It’s been a little while since I’ve assembled a MasterPieces puzzle, I forgot how much fun they can be. After a steady diet of grid cut puzzles, it’s lovely to change things up and do something different.

Whether you prefer random or grid cut, there’s no denying they are very cute fuzzy friends. 🐶🐱

Apple Annie’s Carnival Time

On September 20, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

Panoramic puzzles make me very happy these days, and I’ve got two more in the to do pile that I’m looking forward to. It’s great being able to reach the top of the puzzle so easily, and they fit my puzzle board very well. This was a lovely image with very good quality, and I had a great time with the assembly.

I noticed that Art Poulin is exacting with words and buildings but draws people and animals a little fuzzy and indistinct…

Apple Annie's 1

You can see the derrick, wagon, and sign are sharp and clear and the sheep next to it is quite blotchy, for lack of a better word. All the animals and people were indistinct and fuzzy and all the buildings and signs were not. I never noticed it in his artwork before. I wonder why, I’ve done quite a few of his puzzles. Perhaps I just wasn’t paying close enough attention.

Apple Annie's 2

Buffalo puzzles for sale. Hmmm. This is a MasterPieces puzzle. Very odd. It made me laugh though, I wonder if the artwork was originally done for Buffalo and then later sold to MasterPieces.

Apple Annie's 3

Also, what in the world is this? This is a panoramic puzzle that is 3 feet long, those are the measurements for a “standard” size puzzle, somebody wasn’t doing their job. I guess they think we don’t pay much attention to things – but they are wrong.

All the weirdness aside, this was a good quality puzzle that I very much enjoyed. The Americana theme is very prevalent in jigsaw puzzles and sometimes I get bored with it, but this one wasn’t boring to me at all, perhaps because of the panoramic aspect. I was completely entertained and that’s what it’s all about. 🙂

Romance Collage

On August 23, 2019August 23, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

Another puzzle my darling daughter insisted that I purchase. It was much more difficult than I thought it would be, but I think I needed something difficult at the time. It gave me a little of my confidence back, and the look of it makes me very happy.

Romance 1

This is one my of favorite vignettes in this collage, so sweet! It reminds me of when my kids were little. Sigh. I’m feeling old these days.

Romance 2

I’m not sure why, but this is another favorite. I think it would make a great puzzle all by itself.

It’s such a nice image, it’s too bad the piece shapes are so prominent. Gluing it might help with that, but otherwise it wouldn’t make a good wall hanging.

The random cut was nice, I haven’t put together a randomly cut puzzle in a while. It took a while for my brain to get back in the right space, but once it did the assembly was quite entertaining.

B & T Brewing Company

On March 25, 2019March 25, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles8 Comments

This puzzle is gorgeous, and was tons of fun because mom helped quite a bit – the posse was back together assembling something other than the Mystery Puzzle! Mom came over just as I had finished the sorting and she loved the look of the puzzle, so she stayed to start assembling it with me.

We finished it together too, when I had a medical appointment she came over early so that we could work on it for a bit before we left. We both are severely addicted to puzzles and puzzling. 😉

The quality of this MasterPieces puzzle was wonderful; excellent fit, thick pieces, great colors and a fun image. The random cut kept things interesting too. All around I really enjoy working with this brand, they’re very nice puzzles with a great catalog of images to choose from.

B & T Brewing 1

I quite enjoyed assembling this middle section (above) which shows all the steps of brewing beer; not being a beer drinker I knew none of the steps at all. And I love that the “steps” are at the top of the steps! 😄

B & T Brewing 2

Great image by Art Poulin, I’ve assembled 2 puzzles in this Inside Out series, have the third but haven’t assembled it yet, and would love to get my hands on the last one. Such fun!