I have been delaying the start of this puzzle in all honesty as the picture looked rather dull. When it came to it however I really enjoyed it. I collected all the shades of reds and oranges to begin with and once they were all placed a large % of the puzzle was done. Blues followed that and the sky was actually one of the last sections to be done - which is unusual for me. The cut was nice and the subject matter will surely appeal to some.
Time taken: 4 hours
There could only be one post to cover February - The BCD House Party! For anyone new to the blog, just imagine a jigsaw retreat where a group of obsessive 'jiggers' come together at a hotel and puzzle for 3 days straight and you get the idea. It was heaven. There were a wide range of jigsaws, talks, presentations and time spent just enjoying our shared hobby. I decided to take along a puzzle too big to do at home - 3000 pieces. This took quite some time, and turned out to be a real team effort - and an incredibly enjoyable one. We gave ourselves two days to complete it and at 11.30pm on the 2nd day a jubilant cheer went up. Day 3 consisted of a lovely scenic cardboard scene followed by being called to 'help' finished a fiendishly difficult wooden one. Bliss.
Each year I take a look at the latest Christmas puzzle from both Gibsons and Ravensburger, choose the one I like the best and buy it for my dad, knowing full well I will be completing it after him. This year Gibsons was the winning puzzle and what a great choice. A beautiful picture and a beautiful puzzle. I began with the sky and then placed all the buildings. Trees followed with people, cars and the road last. What a great way to spend an evening...and for those wondering....I was quicker than my dad!
Time taken: Evening
A friend and I both received Christmas jigsaws which both seemed to have a lot of white in them...the only reasonable thing to do was to swap and compare. After the London Underground I puzzle I really enjoyed this one. I decided to complete it without the picture to see how it would build. I put all the wording and numbers together first before starting on the body of the plane - which also had numbers to help with points of reference. Once I was left with only white I utilised my tried and trusted technique of lining pieces up and putting them in methodically until one fit. Not a wonderful way to end the puzzle, but necessary.
Time taken: 13 hours
I received this puzzle on Christmas day so will be honest and own up to not completing it quite as the name would suggest, but over a series of a couple of days. What a lovely idea for Gibsons to have come up with - I had been secretly watching other puzzlers with envy before Christmas so was delighted to receive my own version
Considering each of the puzzles has very small pieces, the cut and fit are excellent and each little puzzles forms a whole street. The pictures were beautiful and although the colour merging could have been a little more precise I really enjoyed the whole experience. It is already packed away ready for next year, when I plan to do it in the build up to Christmas.
Time taken: 2 short sessions over a couple of days
What's not to like? Bright colours, funny little details and a glimpse of the main man after he's delivered all those presents. I popped the sky and pirate ship in first, and then moved onto areas of red. I finished with all the added splashes of colour and then there was only ocean left.
Time taken: Evening
Completed over the festive period I was treated to two very nice Wasgij puzzles, a fun Christmas cracker, a picture of Father Christmas by the fire and then a London Underground puzzle which was brilliant....until...I was left with all the white pieces at the end which slowed things down somewhat. I always love Wasgij and these two were a matching pair with the solution and the problem in the same box. The Wentworth Cracker was a cute treat to find at the dinner table and didn't take long and the Father Christmas was completed Christmas Day morning to get me ready for the day.
Time taken: plenty of Christmas cheer.
I have been delaying the start of this puzzle in all honesty as the picture looked rather dull. When it came to it however I really enjoyed it. I collected all the shades of reds and oranges to begin with and once they were all placed a large % of the puzzle was done. Blues followed that and the sky was actually one of the last sections to be done - which is unusual for me. The cut was nice and the subject matter will surely appeal to some. 
A friend and I both received Christmas jigsaws which both seemed to have a lot of white in them...the only reasonable thing to do was to swap and compare. After the London Underground I puzzle I really enjoyed this one. I decided to complete it without the picture to see how it would build. I put all the wording and numbers together first before starting on the body of the plane - which also had numbers to help with points of reference. Once I was left with only white I utilised my tried and trusted technique of lining pieces up and putting them in methodically until one fit. Not a wonderful way to end the puzzle, but necessary. 
I received this puzzle on Christmas day so will be honest and own up to not completing it quite as the name would suggest, but over a series of a couple of days. What a lovely idea for Gibsons to have come up with - I had been secretly watching other puzzlers with envy before Christmas so was delighted to receive my own version
What's not to like? Bright colours, funny little details and a glimpse of the main man after he's delivered all those presents. I popped the sky and pirate ship in first, and then moved onto areas of red. I finished with all the added splashes of colour and then there was only ocean left. 
