When I Am Not Reading ….
When I am not busy volunteering, reading, knitting, crocheting or blogging, I occasionally take time out to indulge in one of my other hobbies …. Jigsaw Puzzles.
As you may have gathered, many of my hobbies are quiet and solitary and I find that jigsaws can be very therapeutic and relaxing, unless of course I cannot find the right piece, then look out!!!
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I don’t start a jigsaw puzzle very often, as I tend to become totally addicted and what starts out as just adding a couple of pieces, or working on it for five minutes, ends up in a marathon session as I lose all track of time.
I am not a fan of the roll-up jigsaw mats and instead have a very sturdy board, with two front flaps that open, funnily enough, like a book! The board is designed to take a 1500 piece jigsaw, but I generally stick to a more modest 1000 pieces.
When in use, the board will sit quite comfortably on one third of our dining table, but when not in service, or when we have visitors and need to use the table, it JUST slides rather conveniently under the bed out of sight.
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Mr.G professes that he is not interested in this particular hobby, as to his way of thinking, making something up to then destroy it and return it to it’s box, is something of a waste of time. However, he has been caught on occasion, with the board open and jigsaw piece in hand, so he is not quite as phobic about it as he would have me believe.
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I used to enjoy making, and don’t get me wrong, still do on occasion, the traditional ‘chocolate box’ image of the country cottage. Lately however, I have become more drawn towards the ‘nostalgia’ jigsaws, predominantly distributed by Ravensburger or Gibsons. There is much more going on in the picture, with more ‘action’content, diverse pictorial images, accompanied very often by text and generally more variance in colouration.
As with my books, I am generally a skinflint and purchase my jigsaw puzzles from one of my local charity shops. However they become available rarely and of course, if they are not still newly packaged, it is unknown if they are complete. That does not seem to worry everyone, but to me having a piece missing, is akin to having a book with a page removed! although I am usually willing to accept that risk and so far, I have been very lucky!
One of the last jigsaws I completed is from Ravensburger, titled ‘Childhood Memories’ and is part of their Nostalgic Britain series. It is made up of a selection of covers from ‘John Bull’ magazine, which was published in the UK from the late 1940s until the early 1960s.
It may be some time before I feel the urge to start another jigsaw, but as with my books, I have a ‘To Be Done’ pile, all ready and waiting!!
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My Thoughts About This Jigsaw Puzzle
The images which make up this jigsaw puzzle, are all reproductions of the front covers from the ‘John Bull’ magazine, which was published from the 1940′s, through to the early 1960′s. As I was only a very young child at the time publication ceased, this ‘walk down memory lane’, is a little before my time.
Having checked out the John Bull website, I am not sure that Ravensburger have chosen the most diverse, colourful, or interesting of the cover images, which would appear to have been available to them.
Nonetheless, I enjoyed the challenge of the many areas of similar colour and found the overlapping arrangement of the images to be an interesting challenge.
As alway with a Ravensburger product, the quality of the pieces can be almost guaranteed, assuring a finished piece which fits together snuggly and makes for a smooth and quality, completed picture.
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I decided to post this short product review on Amazon.co.uk and as always with this site, I was compelled to give the jigsaw a star rating, so I have awarded it 4 stars. This product is part of my personal collection, bought and paid for by myself and I have not been asked, nor received any payment for a review.
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I love jigsaws too and right now I’ve nearly finished one of Northumberland castles. It’s made up of scenes of several castles in the county, so you get sky and trees in different places in the scene. I do mine on a puzzle caddy too – I slide it under the sofa when I’m not doing it. It is addictive, isn’t it – I thought I’d do a bit yesterday and spent about half the afternoon on it.
Hi Margaret,
That sounds like a really interesting and difficult jigsaw, all that sky and greenery!
I don’t know why I swapped to the more nastalgic and ‘cartoony’ images, I think it was probably after talking with some of my fellow volunteers in the charity shop. Many of them are addicted to the ‘Wasgij’ jigsaws, although they really aren’t of any interest to me. I guess that the nostalgia idea was some kind of compromise for me and one which I love.
Time cetainly does fly when you start a jigsaw and I find it to be a very therapeutic way to unwind and have some quality ‘downtime’.
It was so good to speak with you again, I hope that you are well and thanks for stopping by.
I haven’t tried the Wasgij puzzles. I like the scenic ones, although skies can sometimes be a bit boring. The John Bull puzzle looks hard! But Ravensburger do make good puzzles, some of the cheaper makes are almost impossible to do when the pieces could fit where the pattern is wrong – if you see what I mean. It’s good to communicate with another jigsaw lover – my husband isn’t really interested.
I’m fine, thanks for asking – you’re well too , I hope.
Hi Margaret,
I agree that some of the cheaper puzzle manufacturers definitely produce an inferior quality product, in terms of the way the pieces fit together and the board out of which they are made.
With most jigsaws of the cartoon or multi-image variety, it is almost impossible to start the puzzle in the traditional way which I was always taught as a child, that you should fit the outside edge pieces together first. I find that I almost always have to start with constructing the main images, then join them all together, finally placing the edge pieces on last.
I do have another jigsaw on the go, at the moment and that one has been a real so and so to do, although it is starting to look good now. I’ll save that for another post sometime, now I know that there are fellow ‘puzzlers’ out there!
Have a good week
Wonderful post! I’m trying to remember whether I knew that we also have this hobby in common. I did know that Margaret above did them however.
I’ve been doing jigsaw puzzles since I was a young child and have never lost the habit. When I met my husband I discovered that my mother-in-law was also a huge fan of them so that was a real plus. I used to love really big ones of 3000+ pieces but these days tend to restrict myself to 1000 or sometimes 1500 or 2000. My eyes aren’t what they were and I don’t have anywhere to do a 3000 piece jigsaw. I tend to do them on the coffee table in the conservatory where they don’t intrude on anyone but only a 1000 piece one will fit on that. My husband got me a piece of perspex which sits on that and will take up to 2000 pieces so that is very handy.
I even started a Pinterest page for photos of the ones I’ve done over the last couple of years. Such a saddo am I. Here’s the link:
http://pinterest.com/pzcath/jigsaw-puzzles/
Like you I don’t tend to buy new ones as they are expensive. I tend to buy almost all of mine from charity shops or my eldest daughter passes them (charity shop bought too) on to me as her and her husband also have the bug. Mine do tend to be chocolate boxy but that’s because those are mostly all I can find. Like you though I do prefer the more unusal ones and definitely have a preference for paintings rather than real-life photos.
I love Childhood Memories, such a lot going on in the picture! I have one my daughter passed on of old fashioned shop fronts, I shall get to that soon.
Hi Cath,
I think that we have chatted puzzles in the past, although only as a passing comment or two. I just felt like publishing a post that was a little different this weekend, although I am never sure if that is a good idea or not. Mr.G advocates that I should keep the blog exclusively to books, as ‘Google’ will rate it more highly if the content is kept relevant to the overall theme, but then there are many bloggers out there who choose to write posts on a thoroughly diverse range of subjects, which keeps the whole blog fresh and interesting somehow. Oh well! it’s done now, so whether I shall post ‘off piste’ again, remains to be seen!!
My mother-in-law also shares an interest in jigsaw puzzles and we will regularly swap, although I inevitably end up wit them all back to re-donate to a charity shop again. Actually, we are quite alike in our hobbies, as we both enjoy jigsaws, reading, knitting, crossword puzzles, quizzes and crocheting.
I too, have enjoyed doing jigsaw puzzles since I was a small child and for me they were the perfect Christmas or birthday gift … I have always enjoyed rather solitary hobbies!
We live not too far away from the ‘Wentworth Wooden Puzzle’ factory, just outside Malmesbury in Wiltshire, so a couple of years back, we decided to attend an open day they were holding for members of the public. The jigsaws themselves were beautifully made and as you can imagine had a price ticket to match, so we only bought a couple of the ‘sale’ items which were available, although the tour of the factory was really interesting and something which we both enjoyed.
http://www.jigsaws.co.uk/index.php
I haven’t delved into the depths of ‘Pinterest’ or ‘Facebook’ yet, although I am seriously contemplating the latter, but only when Mr.G has some spare time for a crash course tutorial!! As you would imagine, I particularly liked the picture you posted of ‘Cartoon London’, although a couple of the others were real possibilities. I always used to enjoy the traditional ‘chocolate box’ images and I don’t really know when or indeed why, I seem to have changed direction to the more ‘cartoony’ images. There is generally a history or story behind the pictures though, so perhaps that might be the reason.
Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to read the post, your comments and observations are always so interesting and I appreciate them.
My grandad is a big fan of jigsaw puzzles. I’ll often get him one or two as a present and I try to go with either challenging, fun or a picture that suits him (trains, landscapes, gardens, paintings etc). I’ve not done a jigsaw puzzle myself for years (unless you count the ones my 3 year old neice and nearly 2 year old nephew have!).
Hi Nikki,
It’s funny you should say that … but part of my job in the charity shop, apart from the books, music, jigsaw puzzles and film sections, is to take care of the children’s toys and games shelves. When it comes to children’s games and jigsaws, I always like to make sure that every one we sell is complete, as the thought of a little person getting a box home, only to find that pieces are missing, is not good. So, I can often be found making up children’s jigsaw puzzles to make sure that they are complete and that the right pieces have been put back into their correct boxes. I am amazed at just how difficult and complicated some of the children’s jigsaws are and as I am the only one in the shop with the patience to sit and do them, I do get the mickey taken out of me , on a regular basis … but it is fun, and I can take the harassment!
Jigsaw puzzles are something you either love or hate, but thanks for taking the time to read the post and add your comments to the discussion.
Have a good week.
Very cool hobby Yvonne. I’m sure the Ravensburger images are great for the puzzle, glad you enjoyed completing it. My mother in law loves these puzzles and we have gifted her many over the years, especially the difficult ones. She loves the challenge.
When hubby and I were dating, we decided we’d do a small jigsaw puzzle and glue it once finished, then hang it as a memento. Well, it took us forever to finish, but we did it and we glued it and hung it for a while. It was of a basket full of apples. I told him I’d never do another jigsaw puzzle again. Having to focus and concentrate on those small pieces drove me batty…lol. For some reason it made me angsty….lol. I can sit and read a book or crochet for a good while, but for some reason I cannot sit and put a puzzle together.
Hi Naida,
I have to admit that I am not the most patient person in the world, however I can sit for hours with a jigsaw puzzle and not notice the time passing by. In fact most of my hobbies are pretty solitary and quiet and I am more than comfortable with my own silence and company … most of the time anyway!
Mr.G, however, just can’t cope with the whole concept of a jigsaw, to him they are completely pointless and a waste of time, when he could be doing something informative or educational. On occasion, he has fitted a few pieces into a jigsaw that I have started, however those times are few and far between and he generally gives up as soon as he can’t find a piece!
I have never got to grips with the concept of gluing a jigsaw puzzle together and framing it, although I have come across puzzles which come as a complete kit with the glue and frame, so it must be quite a popular thing to do.
When you mentioned small pieces, it brought to mind a jigsaw which was donated into the charity shop a few weeks ago. It stated that the jigsaw was made up of 1,000 pieces and yet the box was so small, that it just didn’t seem possible. Nosey parker that I am, I opened the box and couldn’t believe my eyes. There were indeed 1,000 pieces in there, but each piece was so small, that I almost needed a magnifying glass just to see the picture on each one. It turns out that each piece was a miniature and quarter the size of a traditional piece of jigsaw. Needless to say, the lid went back on the box and it went straight out onto the shop floor, where to my surprise, it sold a few days later!
Thanks for taking the time to stop by and share your story and I hope that you have a good week.
I be automatically hooked and wouldn’t get anything else done if I did jigsaw puzzles. I become addicted to new hobbies:) This one sounds fun though.
Hi Diane,
I have to admit, that once I get started on a jigsaw, it is very easy to while away 2 or 3 hours without realising it. I am trying to limit myself to the amount of time I spend sat at the puzzle board, to the amount of time it takes me to finish my cup of hot tea after my evening meal and whilst progress does seem terribly slow on finishing the jigsaw this way, I then also have the time to go off and do something else.
I have so much wool and so many half finished crocheted blankets to complete, that it isn’t as though I am looking for things to fill a few minutes of my spare time. That, along with baskets full of embroidery cottons, several hundred books and of course, my blog, usually sees me having to constantly make choices about what to put to one side until another day!
I hope that you are well and thank you so much for stopping by.
Funny how I can sit for hours lost in a book and yet jigsaws are one of several past times that I have never had the patience for.
Hi Tracy,
I find that the longest time I sit for anything these days, is when I am blogging and that seems to be taking up more and more of my spare time in the evenings (very probably too much time, although I do enjoy chatting with everyone).
I am not a particularly patient person generally, but I find that I can become completely immersed in a jigsaw and lose all track of time. It used to be that way with my reading, however I am finding that I can only read for short spells these days, without getting fidgety.
I am not a great one for joining groups, or having a hectic social life, so most of my hobbies are solitary.
Thanks for stopping by, I hope that all is well with you.
You’re right, there’s nothing worse than a puzzle with a missing piece. I haven’t tried one for many years. My daughter bought me an ocean scene puzzle not long ago, and thanks to your review, I’m now itching to sit down and try to put it together. I’m not very patient, so hopefully it will be an easy one. I doubt it though with the blue water and sky. I’ll let you know how it goes!
Hi Vicki,
Sky and water together in one jigsaw puzzle!!! That’s always a recipe for some choice words and heavy sighs, in my house anyway!
I must admit, that if I do come across a jigsaw with missing pieces, it is very frustrating, but then when you consider that I pay about £4 for the type of jigsaw I enjoy, from a charity shop and would have to pay at least £15 for the same thing new … well you get the idea!
Mind you, the charity shop customers often ask whether the jigsaws have all been completed before we sell them, just to make sure that all the pieces are there!! We have at least 30 individual jigsaws on the shelf at any one time, of varying size and complexity … I wonder exactly how many volunteers they think are employed behind the scenes doing jigsaw puzzles on a 24 hour rota?? LOL
I am also not a particularly patient person, just ask Mr.G., however I find it very easy to lose myself in a good jigsaw and shut out the rest of the world for just a short time!
I do hope that you decide to give your jigsaw puzzle a try, I shall be interested to know how you get on with it.