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. 💗
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.
The Messenger by Kevin Sloan – Artifact – 313 pieces
Mom and I assembled this gorgeous puzzle together, and had a great time with it! Many thanks to Penny, my email pen pal and fellow puzzle blogger who sent this in a puzzle swap. We loved that we just got a bag of pieces with no image – that meant more fun for us!
I didn’t take a picture of the whimsies beforehand, but I did turn the puzzle over to see the outline of pieces from the back. It has odd coloration on the back though, and it’s difficult to make out all the shapes.
There were a bunch of turtle shapes, a globe, an alarm clock, what looks like a person standing in front of a fire, and in the center a small tableau with 2 elephants in front of a mountain range. I love the Roman numerals around the border too – I was so proud when I figured out that they would be in order around the edge! Our favorite though was the large multipiece turtle…
The irregular edge is supposed to look like the edges of books stacked on each other. It took me a bit to realize that the edges weren’t going to be straight. I was so absorbed in looking at the pieces and colors that I didn’t see that there weren’t straight edges!
This was the second of the Victory wooden puzzles that hubby bought for me, and it seems as though the ridiculously loose fit is just how they are. I’m not a fan.
I did enjoy the image much more than the previous one, the colors were much nicer to work with. It’s just a preference thing, many people prefer photographic images but I do not.
I didn’t really think anything about it until my mom mentioned it, but I agree with her that it’s a little annoying that the whimsy pieces have nothing whatsoever to do with the image. Having automobiles, a jet, a battleship, and a tank (I think) makes absolutely no sense for a puzzle with a historical image. Hengest and Horsa were legendary brothers who are said to have led the first Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain in the 5th century. I wasn’t there, but I’m pretty certain they didn’t invade with fighter jets and Ford Fairlanes!
All of the drawbacks aside, I enjoyed assembling this puzzle much more than Swiss Market Square. The image was the main factor for me, as the quality was pretty much exactly the same. The colors are gorgeous, and it was fun to figure out the picture as you went along. The two Victory puzzles I have don’t come with an image on the box, and has an explanation why…
“NO GUIDE PICTURE is provided with this Gold Box VICTORY Jig Saw Puzzle. To do so would destroy much of its absorbing interest. The greatest pleasure is derived from not knowing beforehand the subject which the Puzzle will make and then to see the picture gradually form as the pieces are assembled.”
My husband is a sweetheart, and we just celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary. I appreciate his getting these puzzles for me, it’s so sweet! But having assembled a world class puzzle earlier in the year I feel as though I’ve been ruined for any other vintage puzzle. The amazing quality of the Municipal Building puzzle doesn’t seem to have an equal and every other puzzle has fallen far short for me. It makes everything else seem disappointing. Perhaps I just need time.
The recent Artifact puzzle that mom and I assembled wasn’t disappointing, in fact it was great fun for us. Maybe it’s just vintage puzzles I need to stay away from for a while. 😉
Mountain Cabin by Dominic Davison – Wentworth – 40 pieces
This is the first Wentworth I’ve had that was missing a piece, though to be fair it is most likely my fault and it’s around here somewhere. There are puzzle boxes everywhere, and there’s even a whole bunch of them sitting in the living room at the moment. It’s entirely possible that a box fell on the floor, or someone was looking at the pieces and they didn’t all find their way back into the box. I’m not worried, it’ll show up eventually.
These micro puzzles are a godsend; grownup images, fantastic wooden pieces, and I am able to start and finish the entire thing in one sitting. Nothing wrong with that at all!
The artwork by Dominic Davison is beautiful, but to be honest I’m not sure it would be as enjoyable as a 1000 piece puzzle – at least not for me. Gorgeous scenic vistas are lovely to look at, but not always as lovely to assemble. Of course it’s just personal preference, and there are most likely a bunch of people who would love this as a larger puzzle.
So I didn’t lie to you all yesterday, I actually started a puzzle! My fantastic friend and fellow puzzle blogger Penny swapped puzzles with me and one of them was this wooden puzzle by Artifact called The Messenger.
Mom came over in the afternoon and we got going on this beauty – it’s gorgeous so far! I received the puzzle in a plastic bag so we have no image to work off of – we’re fine with that. 😁
I remember reading Penny’s review of the puzzle several years ago, and I’ve seen it before on Artifact’s website; we could look up the image if we really needed to, but I enjoy spending time with the pieces and figuring it out. Check out the interesting edge – love it!
My Jigsaw Journal 