Harvest of Gold by Charles Freitag – Sunsout – 500 pieces
This image reminds me of my youth; I grew up in farm country. Tractors and fields remind me of home and a simpler time.
The colors of these machines jumped right out at me; dad always had a John Deere, as did most of the other people in our area. I don’t ever recall seeing a blue tractor! As a puzzler, the bright blue and yellow made for an easy place to start assembly, once they’re done there are plenty of places to work from and holes to fill in. I thought the corn field itself would be a pain, but it wasn’t bad at all. I suppose it’s more about the artwork than I thought!
This was the first panoramic Sunsout puzzle that I’ve assembled, the fit was very nice (not too tight) and it was grid cut rather than random. It doesn’t seem like it from the picture, but this puzzle is 3 feet long. It’s nice every once in a while to have a longer, shorter puzzle; there’s less leaning forward to place pieces and it’s easier on your back and neck. At least that’s how it is for little old lady me. 👵
Heart of the Garden by Nancy Wernersbach – Sunsout – 200 pieces
Heart of the Garden is a beautiful shaped puzzle that was just the right amount of challenging – I enjoyed the assembly very much.
Shaped puzzles are quite fun in my opinion; I enjoy the added difficulty of not having straight edges, but it’s still a jigsaw puzzle and I know how to do those! I can’t seem to break myself from trying to find and assemble the edges first even though it’s not the quickest way to work a shaped puzzle. It doesn’t really matter though, as long as I’m having fun I’m doing it right. Have you tried a shaped puzzle? There are so many interesting shapes and images to choose from. You can start small with less than 100 pieces, or go big with 1000 – it’s all up to you. Click to check out all the shaped puzzles currently available at Puzzle Warehouse.
Sunsout puzzles are very good quality, and they have the largest catalog of shaped puzzles that I’ve found. The pieces are a good thickness with a nice variety of shapes, and they fit together very well. Sometimes the fit of their puzzles is very tight but I found the fit of this puzzle to be just about perfect. I found a piece or two that was slightly bent, but these things happen with shipping and storage; it took no effort to put them right and the image looks perfect to me. Click the link above to see all of their puzzles in stock now at Puzzle Warehouse, both shaped and straight-edged.
The beautiful colors in this image are what drew me in, it’s really quite striking and made for an interesting and entertaining assembly. As usual I tried to start with the edges, because I’m stubborn as a mule and that’s how I have to do things. It’s more difficult with a shaped puzzle – not only because the edges are shaped, but because the actual shape can be moved and manipulated and you never get it just right until the interior pieces are put in. It keeps my brain cells working and keeps me completely absorbed in the assembly till the last piece – puzzle meditation. It’s a gorgeous image and the assembly was great, I definitely recommend this puzzle!
Details:
Title: Heart of the Garden
Artist: Nancy Wernersbach
Brand: Sunsout
Piece count: 200 pieces
Size: Approx. 11 x 18 in. (28 x 46 cm)
Purchased: N/A, sent for review
Quality:
Board: Good
Cutting: Good
Image: Very good
Box: Average, quite large for a 200 piece puzzle
Fit: Very good
Puzzle Dust: Moderate amount
Piece cut: Random cut
Piece shapes: Very good variety
Finish: Slightly shiny finish, lays flat
Overall Rating: Very good, recommended
I received this product at no cost in order to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.
Mountain Vigil by Rebecca Barker – Sunsout – 1000 pieces
My black belt thrift store shopper knows what I like, and bought this puzzle just for me, because for some odd reason I love puzzles with quilts. I don’t know why I like them so much, that’s just how it is. This was such an interesting quilt puzzle, I had the best time assembling it! Unfortunately it was missing 2 pieces, bummer. 😐
This puzzle was mostly the normal Sunsout quality – good thickness, variety of piece shapes, nice image reproduction. But it was also interesting in that it was grid cut instead of random, and the fit was much less tight than normal – I enjoyed both of these things. Normally I find the fit of the “regular” rectangular Sunsout puzzles a bit too tight but the fit of this puzzle was just about perfect. Also, most Sunsout puzzles I’ve done have been randomly cut but this was grid (ribbon) cut; I don’t know if I’ve ever done a grid cut Sunsout puzzle. I like both random or grid cut puzzles – I swing both ways. 😉
The artist, Rebecca Barker, likes quilts too as all of her puzzles are “quiltscapes”; with a quilt at the forefront and a secondary scene it blends into in the background. They’re so interesting and colorful, I love them and hope to find more. This one was a joy to assemble and even easier than I thought it would be, especially the background scene of the proud stag and his family. Just beautiful!
This puzzle is out of print, but if you find one I definitely recommend it. It was fun and interesting from beginning to end. 👍
As soon as I saw this puzzle, I knew it was the one I wanted to review first. It’s visually stunning, and just makes me smile. Homage is a beautiful reminder that Christmas isn’t only about getting presents and acquiring things to make us happy.
Sunsout puzzles are of good quality in my opinion. They have thick, sturdy pieces that feel good in your hands and usually fit together well. The fit on this puzzle would make Goldilocks proud, I think it was just right! Their catalog is varied and interesting, and there are always plenty of Sunsout puzzles I would love to assemble (I especially love their Nene Thomas and Lori Schory collections). Click the link above to see all the Sunsout puzzles currently available at Puzzle Warehouse.
This puzzle went together quite fast for me, it was hard to walk away! The pieces fit together quite well, and the more I assembled the more fun it became. The trees in the upper left corner were the most challenging, but with the semi-random cut it was pretty easy to pick out the shapes I was looking for. A truly enjoyable puzzling experience that had me wishing for more pieces – it was over almost too quickly!
I absolutely recommend this puzzle; Christmas puzzles aren’t usually my thing but I really enjoyed this one. This is the time of year when people start buying puzzles for the family to work on together during holiday visits, or as gifts. If this puzzle isn’t quite your taste, click the link above to see the other Christmas puzzles currently in stock at Puzzle Warehouse. There are definitely plenty to choose from! 🙂
Details:
Title: Homage
Artist: Danny Hahlbohm
Brand: Sunsout
Piece count: 500 pieces
Size: Approx. 18 x 24 in. (46 x 61 cm)
Purchased: n/a
Quality:
Board: Excellent
Cutting: Very good
Image: Very good
Box: Average
Fit: Very good
Puzzle Dust: Small amount
Piece cut: Semi-random cut
Piece shapes: Good variety
Finish: Slightly shiny finish, lays flat
Overall Rating: Very good, recommended
I received this product at no cost to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.
My Sister’s Closet by Tricia Reilly-Matthews – Sunsout – 300 pieces
I liked the quality and the image of this puzzle very much. Sunsout is hit or miss for me sometimes. We all have different things that are important to us in a puzzle, and sometimes the fit of Sunsout is too tight and (for me) it takes away from the enjoyment of puzzling. This 300 piece puzzle though, was a great fit and such a sweet image. 🙂
I don’t believe I’ve worked a puzzle by this artist before, she seems to capture the essence of children. I don’t know another way to explain it, you can tell looking at the little girls in this picture that the artist knows and loves children. Once I looked her up it all made sense, Tricia Reilly-Matthews teaches art to children from kindergarten to 5th grade – of course she paints children so well!
It’s amazing how tastes seem different depending on how much you have to spend on something. This image is very cute, but I don’t think I’d purchase it if I had to pay full price. It’s just not the type of image I’m most drawn to. But ask me to only pay 69 cents for it, and I’m there! Absolutely I’d love to do this puzzle! I wonder if that speaks more to my puzzle addiction, or to my tendency to be a tightwad/cheapskate?
Whichever is the answer, I’m glad mom found this puzzle to do, I enjoyed it very much!
My Jigsaw Journal 