Boston Waterfront - Mount Washington Puzzles (1000 pieces)

The last in the collection of my American Christmas presents and it didn't disappoint. Fireworks and lettering were quickly put in place, followed by the water and a lot of seagulls. I wondered whether the actual buildings and roads would be tricky, but once some of the main buildings were in place the rest of the puzzle quickly took shape. For added interest there were little signs all over the place. A lovely puzzle and I'm sad it was the last one from this brand...for now...

Time taken: afternoon/evening

National Trust Minatures

Not a lot to say about these little beauties, except that they both seem to have the same cut....something to monitor, because if this continues I will have lots of puzzles which are all exactly the same other than the picture on them! 

Robert Opie Jigsaw Exhibit

I'd been told my members of the BCD that there was a jigsaw exhibit at the Museum of Brands in London. Dutifully, and with some excitement, I arranged a visit to London with my mum and amongst other things persuaded her to indulge my hobby and we make a visit to the museum. At first glance I wondered whether I had dragged her there for no reason. There were some very old dissected maps when you first entered the exhibit and then the puzzle seemed to dwindle away. However, on further inspection the puzzles were simply part of the larger exhibit which is organised in chronological order. What this meant is that you were able to see how the humble jigsaw has changed over time. It was lovely to see some of the brands that BCD members are keen to collect and at some points I almost sounded like I knew what I was talking about. No photos inside the exhibit, but of me on the outside! 

A new collection

Having received National Trust life membership for my birthday I chanced upon the opportunity for a new collecting hobby. At all of the large NT properties you can often find a range of Wentworth puzzles, including small 40 piece ones. I have decided to start collecting these little pieces of fun and am already looking forward to visiting my next property to extend my collection.

Time taken: 10 minutes per puzzle

BCD weekend

Having only just really recovered from the house party weekend, it felt like we had picked up where we left off with the March BCD meeting. The hall was well lit, with plenty of space, and the puzzles were challenging. The first I tackled had pieces missing so I didn't photograph that one. However this one was a lovely puzzle which didn't take long. We then attempted another which we did not complete, but we will attempt it again at our meeting in June. 

Time taken: 3 hours

BCD House Party Weekend - Bournemouth February 2017

What's better than a day of jigsaws? 3 days of jigsaws! Yes, you heard it! The BCD have a Jigsaw weekend once every 2 years and this was the first I could attend. The weekend comprises of a mixture of talks, displays, and puzzling time and is amazing. Because jigsaws can be left out overnight you can tackle larger ones than a normal BCD meeting and members enjoying flitting from table to table helping our other puzzling teams. I had a great time and have added photos of all the puzzles I was a part of. 

 

Pencil Collage - White Mountain Jigsaws (1000 pieces)

A tricky one, but enjoyable. Still getting used to the new cut of the brand it proved to be an interesting 6 hours, but I didn't give up. I went for different colours to try and build it up in some sort of order, but did rely quite heavily on the box for placement, otherwise it would have taken much longer. I loved spotting the little details on the pencils and seeing different brands and advertisements from the US.

Time taken: 6 hours