King is not the best of qualities in my humble opinion, with the thickness of the pieces not great. However, the picture was engaging and as a recognisable scene it was fun spotting key items, building all the hotels and other features of the famous strip. The night time sky went in first and then some of the more prominent buildings. A nice was to spend the afternoon.
Time taken: 3.5 hours
...I’m honestly curious about this. I have recently been given a collection of puzzles to check from an unknown source and in every single box the previous owner has sorted the edge pieces into a separate bag. Why? Surely part of the puzzling experience is sorting these pieces out from the general pieces? It really irritates me as well, as it takes the choice away from me. Fine if you want to keep the puzzle for yourself I suppose, but if you pass it on....
However, I could be alone in this feeling?
I had put these theme forward and was delighted when it was chosen. It was a fantastic weekend and the puzzles chosen by members were a real spectacle. I can honestly say there wasn’t one I didn’t like. I had chosen 3 puzzles to keep me busy, was a WASGIJ to a new brand all the way from America. The Magic Puzzle Company came together in an unusual way and the company had also added an extra bag of pieces which gave a surprise once you had finished. I’d certainly consider doing another from this brand. My final for the weekend was slightly larger at 1500 pieces, but was a nice bright way to finish the weekend.
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| The Unusual Suspects |
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| Zodiac Star Signs |
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| The Happy Isles |
Time taken: 3.5 hours.
Usually I puzzle on a Sunday. However, a half term holiday anything goes. Because we were still in the depths of lockdown I had nowhere to be, no one to see and therefore no guilt at indulging in a range of puzzles over the week. All the puzzles completed were good fun, but special mention must go to the Marmite one. I did not use it as a training run, but towards the end it became apparent I might just be on for setting a PB. I did my best to maintain some pace and was delighted to know 3 minutes of my previous PB for 1000 taking my time down to 2 hours, 9 minutes. That might not seem like a lot, but believe, it is and means I’m edging closer to the magic 2 hour mark I’m aiming for to enter the British again and be competitive.
Time taken: between 1 hour and 3 hours for each puzzle
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| The Queen’s Speech - Gibson’s |
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| Christmas Santa Express Locomotive - Clementoni |
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| Catching Wedding Fever - WASGIJ - Jumbo |
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| Pollyanna - Bits and Pieces |
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| Vintage Marmite - Gibson’s |
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| Little Princess and Unicorn - Corner Piece |
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| Radio Times |
There are two things which mildly irritate me when people pass on puzzles - those people who put all the edge pieces in a separate bag (I’ll find them myself thank you) and those who do not break a puzzle up properly before putting it in the bag. However, for once I was glad the latter had happened! I had a feeling this one was going to be dull and it was so having a head start helped. I think it’s the lack of clean lines you get with paintings which I don’t like, the picture itself was nice enough. I’m sure it appeals to lots of people though so onwards it will go into the sale pile.
Time taken: 4 hours
I love Percy Pig sweets - love, love, love and so for my birthday was delighted to receive a whole jar of them...and then less delighted...for a joke - this puzzle. Except it was no joke. I knew what would await me having done my fair share of baked beans and sprouts before. I organised my pieces in a way I knew would be needed and the slog began - a simply process of elimination for some segments. I normally take just over an hour to complete a 500 piece puzzle, so by the end of this marathon, was more irritated than pleased - but I can never say no. Let's just say I'm happy it's now in the charity bag and won't be speaking to my mother (who gifted it) for a full 5 minutes!
Time taken: 15 hours.
