Place Stanislas - Jumbo Puzzles (1000 pieces)

The curse of the missing piece - and such a shame - such a nice puzzle. Although the colours could be muted in places it was nice to place the people and the buildings, trees and sky gave a basic frame. Even so, nothing can quite replace the disappointment of getting to the end and finding that you aren't complete. 

Time taken: day

National Trust Minatures

Over the Easter holidays I managed to squeeze in some National Trust properties and got back to collecting their mini puzzles. Always lovely as they are Wentworth, but don't take long to do. 

Time taken: 10 minutes 

Toy Stamps - Wentworth (1000 pieces)

My birthday falls in January which means family members are able to take advantage of the Wentworth Wooden Jigsaw winter sale. This year I was really treated with this 1000 piece beauty. It was great fun to do. Once the edge was in place I simple built up stamps based around a central colour. Orange stamps first, then pink and finishing with blue. I thought it would take a while as pieces and whimsies add an extra layer of difficulty, but the picture was so nice that I became completely absorbed. 

Time taken: Morning 

Antique World Map - Waddingtons (1250 pieces)

I do like a good world map and this one proved a lovely little number. Once the frame was in place I focused on the yellow lines which created the outlines of the centre maps. After that I focused on countries and oceans. Finally I filled in the scenes.

Time taken: afternoon and evening 

The Old Bridge - Silver Arrow Puzzles (1500 pieces)

I have slowly been making my way through the last few puzzles I had been given to check and unfortunately this now means some of the larger sizes. It's not that I mind 1000+ pieces - I employ the same techniques and logic when completing. It is the organisation of pieces which causes issue as my dining table is not really big enough to spread pieces out as much as I'd like. That aside, it was a nice puzzle with clear areas to work on. 

Time taken: 1 day

BCD Meeting

 It barely felt as if any time had passed from the last meeting, but it was great to see all my jigging friends once more for another day of bliss. The theme was spring and I was treated to some lovely jigsaws. I took part in the assembly of 3 puzzles, but sadly time beat us on the last and it had to be taken away by a member for home completion. One of the puzzles pictured it also in need of some repairs. Thoughts on the day were that it was probable that only one piece was actually missing but during the process of making a replacement the pieces around it were taken for shape. It appears none of the pieces ever made their way back. Ah well. 

The Fantastic Balloon Race - Great American Puzzle Company (1000 pieces)

I was given this by a fellow BCD member as I expressed an interest in it during the house party weekend, but ran out of time. I'm so glad I took it as it was a wonderful puzzle. The shape meant that pieces were irregular in size and shape and the edge wasn't completely clear. I began with the basket and yellow bands, popped in ribbons and more patterned balloons in and finished with the large expanses of blue. A lovely afternoon on a lovely big balloon. 

Time taken: 5 hours