The Summer Thatchers

Summer Thatchers
The Summer Thatchers by Steve Crisp – Wentworth – 40 pieces

The Summer Thatchers is an unbelievably beautiful image that was perfect for a 40 piece micro puzzle. There was no enhancing of the photo needed, it’s truly that bright and gorgeous.  I’m certain it would be quite difficult as a larger piece count, but my goodness it would be lovely!

If it’s been a while since assembling a wooden puzzle I seem to forget how much I enjoy the tactile experience; the thickness of the pieces, the feel of the image adhered to the wood, the way the pieces fall into place. There’s nothing like it!

Summer Thatchers 1

Pretty whimsies, especially the flowers, and the surrounding pieces make for an easier assembly – they’re oddly shaped and easy to find. You couldn’t make whimsies like this out of cardboard, the edges would bend and break way too easily.

Wentworth’s micro puzzles are a joy to assemble, and they allow me to work many images that I wouldn’t otherwise in a larger piece count. Starry Night definitely wouldn’t have been assembled other than in this format, that’s for sure. There are still quite a few I have here to assemble, including several winter/Christmas themed images – look for them when the holiday season is upon us, it’ll be here sooner than you think!

Whitby Harbour, North Yorkshire

Whitby
Whitby Harbour, North Yorkshire by Richard Harpum – Wentworth – 40 pieces

My youngest son picked out this puzzle for me to assemble, he seems very happy when I let him help me decide what to do next. I told him I needed a small piece count to do after assembling a 2000 piece puzzle, so he choose this one for me. It isn’t something I would normally choose to puzzle, but at 40 pieces I can tolerate pretty much any puzzle.

It’s an interesting image; it looks like a photograph, but it’s actually artwork. I enjoyed putting it together – but to be honest I constantly enjoy Wentworth puzzles no matter the image. Working with wooden puzzles is always a pleasure; it’s a tactile, visual, and even auditory experience that I absolutely love. I adore the whimsy pieces as well, looking at the fantastically intricate shapes and seeing the detail they can cut – they’re gorgeous!

Whitby whimsies

Honestly, it took me a minute to figure out what the ship was, I turned it every which was before it hit me that it was a ship. I have no excuse other than that I am getting older every day, and that includes my brain cells.

Working with wooden puzzles hasn’t stymied my love for cardboard puzzles though, I still do more of those than anything. In general I love working with all kinds of puzzles, I’m a little bit obsessed if you haven’t already noticed. 😉

Atagoshita and Yabu Lane

Atagoshita and Yabu Lane
Atagoshita and Yabu Lane by Utagawa Hiroshige – Wentworth – 40 pieces

It’s hard to see the picture behind all the piece shapes on this one, but it was still a fun little puzzle to put together. I enjoy Asian images, and it’s a pity you can really see the beauty of the artwork.

I love having these micro puzzles around for when I want to do a quick puzzle and don’t have a lot of time to sit at the table, or for when I’m not feeling up to sitting there at all. These are the perfect size to work on in bed; I have trays lined with paper and can assemble a micro puzzle on them while still in bed, and even when I’m lying down.

Atagoshita whimsies

I love the whimsies for this one, the snowflake and flower are so pretty and the Asian themed ones are gorgeous.

Roses Around the Door

Roses Around the Door
Roses Around the Door by Stephen Darbishire – Wentworth – 40 pieces

More flowers! This is definitely an image that I would not want to assemble in a larger piece count – it seems indistinct and like it would be more frustrating than entertaining. Just my opinion.

I still have many micro puzzles here that I haven’t assembled, including several Christmas themed ones. I usually do Christmas in July on the blog and have a few Christmas puzzles every week, but that didn’t happen this year. I guess they’ll have to wait until the actual holiday rolls around again, or until I feel like assembling them.

Roses Around the Door whimsies

Glenny’s Garden Shop

Glenny's Garden Shop
Glenny’s Garden Shop by Steve Read – Wentworth – 40 pieces

It’s been so long since I assembled this (more than 10 weeks) that I honestly don’t remember putting it together! The mind is one of the first things to go, or so I hear. 😏

Having put together many, many Wentworth jigsaw puzzles I can tell you that the quality is excellent. If you’re not used to laser-cut wooden puzzles you might be put off by the loose fit, but it’s been my experience that almost all of them are like that, no matter the brand. The feel of the pieces is wonderful in your hands, and the satisfying “plunk” as they fall into place puts a smile on my face.

I’m not sure that this is an image I would choose to assemble if it were larger. Big areas of flowers I find to be difficult, and sometimes more frustrating than pleasant. Otherwise I love the detail and homey feel of Steve Read’s artwork, it’s just beautiful. 💗

Glenny's Garden Shop whimsies

The garden whimsies I’ve seen before; but to be fair Wentworth does have a lot of countryside and garden images, so I don’t fault them for using these on more than a few puzzles.