The Mouth of the River - Wasgij (1000 pieces)

This Christmas I ended up with 3 different Wasgij puzzles and this was the first I decided to try. Putting the sky and water in place first it soon became apparent that I had a lot of grey pieces and as I started to play around with them the hippo began to emerge. I had guessed a waterfall, so it was fun to discover I was wrong. The boat was next to take shape and the trees last. 

Time taken: evening

BCD Meeting

November saw us gathering once again to complete a range of beautiful puzzles. The theme was 'Poppies 1914-1918', but had been extended out to include wild flowers. Well, what a fantastic day I had - the joy of these meetings is other members often catch me and tempt me with selected puzzles and because I can never say no to a beautiful puzzle I really am treated to some of the best....

Time taken: not enough before it was all over!

I-pod clear out

I have recently downloaded a load of photos from my I-pod and couldn't believe how many puzzle photos were on there. Not sure when I completed them, or where, but I obviously couldn't find my normal camera - so here they are. I enjoyed almost all of them, and they varied in size and shape. Many were old brands, but the cuts were fun. Who knows what I will find next...

Time taken: varied across each one

Crazy Casino - WHSmith Puzzles (1500 pieces)

One of the advantages of moving home is that the dining table can now be fully extended at all times - this means I can start to complete some of the large puzzles I have been given. This one was a great one to start with, but sadly the previous owner had not bothered to break all the pieces apart properly so I had a bit of a job to do before I started. That aside, the puzzle was really good - lots of details to keep you going and the similar pieces/tables/lights meant it wasn't too easy. 

Time taken: 6 hours

BCD Meeting - Birmingham

Living in the countryside has spoilt me in some ways when it comes to driving and the jaunt to Birmingham felt a little like a white knuckle ride! However, once there the puzzling was great - the theme being theatre, tv and film. Lots of lovely puzzles and people are starting to bring more cardboard ones along as well so I am kept rather busy. I completed 3 jigsaws on the day, but one was put away before I could photograph it - ah well...

Time taken: a day of chatting and puzzling

Sitting Pretty - WHSmiths (500 pieces)

What a lovely little puzzle - one of the last I had been asked to check. I popped the cat in place first started with the white sections and face. After that it was simply a case of slotting everything else in place. 

Time taken: 2 hours 

Check, check and check again...

August is the month of fetes and fundraisers and as I've mentioned before one of my jobs is the check puzzles so that groups can sell them on to raise a bit of cash. This summer has been like no other and I have been steadily ploughing my way through a never ending pile of puzzles! I enjoy the challenge and always end up doing things I perhaps wouldn't normally. This summer I have mainly done 500 piece puzzles which means on a free day I can get 3 or more done. The selection has been interesting and I have been subjected to a lot of different makes and cuts. A rather lovely way to spend a summer. I have posted photos of all the completed ones below. I have had a number with pieces missing, which my local Panto group try to sell for 20p - I always make sure I mark exactly where the missing pieces are - and some people are happy for 20p, others don't want them. I'm not sure whether I would...

Time taken: varies per puzzle