My friend, Vicki, over at Vicki Lane Mysteries widened my horizon considerably the other day with this: http://www.jspuzzles.com/ where you can work puzzles online. The main advantage I can see is you will never lose that last piece in the sofa onlyt MS;">History of Jigsaw Puzzles There are FAQ's, puzzle artists, brands of puzzles, and jigsaw trivia for those interested in finding out more.
Despite the popularity of electronic games and all manner of sophisticated toys these days, jigsaw puzzles remain extraordinarily popular. As for brands, I like Springbok, and this SunsOut is shortly going to join my list of favorite puzzlemakers. For those who consider themselves afficionados, what's important you in a jigsaw puzzle? Color? Size? And where in your house do you put your puzzle? I finally purchased a large piece of foamboard at the office supply store, which I can move easily. I lay the pieces out on a cutout piece of formica left over from sink installation in housebuilding! And both fit on an old door, propped up with plastic milk crates and plastic drawers from Walmart.
All in all...i believe building a puzzle is a delightful way to spend parts of a winter day (along with writing, spinning, knitting0...inside when it's just plain unpleasant outside! I find them soothing, lovely, relaxing, and --of course--challenging.
And what do I do with a finished puzzle? Keep it and frame it? Nope. Break it up and pass it on. Anyone want to trade puzzles???? This one is well-travelled. It came from a friend in Idaho!
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I gave photo puzzles (photos of themselves) to my grandchildren (13, 10 and 3) for Christmas. They loved them! We think of puzzles for little ones to develop dexterity and cognition – for us older folks, it's entertainment!
ReplyDeleteI too find puzzles addictive, the harder the better. I always ask for one on my Christmas list but Peter got a bit over enthusiastic this year and got me a puzzle that measures 4ft x 3ft. We do have a big board that it will fit on but with our visitors around I had to wait until my next holiday to start. I don't use the picture and for this latest one Peter put it in a blank box (as requested) to make it more of a challenge. I get this weird satisfaction matching exact colour shades, almost obsessive. The minute I finish the puzzle is broken up and given back to a charity shop.
ReplyDeleteI'm not keen on jigsaw puzzles, but my daughter is. And my dear aunt credits them for bringing her back from a stroke. She had paralysis on her left side, so she put her right hand in her lap and forced herself to work the puzzles with her left. She is convinced (and so am I) that the puzzles really made a huge difference in her rehab, working both her left hand and her cognitive skills.
ReplyDeleteI'm not keen on the real puzzles, not being willing to devote a surface to one -- besides, our cats would undoubtedly wreak havoc with all those little pieces. But an on line quickie -- ahh, that's another story!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe how much we have in common! We always kept several drawers full of puzzles at our holiday cottage (now sadly sold) so they've all come home. I use my huge old corflute real estate signs (they've come in handy for so many things) to lay things out and work in our formal dining room which isn't used that often. My grandmother always laid hers out on a huge piece of felt that she could roll up and (theoretically...ahem) things would stay in place. Love the wasjig puzzles - less for images and more for the challenge and hate anything with too much sky! Happy puzzling :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's really nice to read an article about the gentle hobby of jigsaw puzzling. All my family love jigsaws but you have to admit they sometimes get "In the way". Lisa, my wife, and I became so obsessed with tidying up jigsaws in our home that we invented an array of products to keep them under control! We started selling on the Internet in the UK and then got a warehouse in the USA where we now sell many more than in England. We would love you to drop by at Jigthings to have a look at the videos etc. on doing puzzles.
ReplyDeleteHow really coooool, Debbi! Always the thoughtful one, you are! Ruta! How in the world are you going to do this????!!! WOW! What a huge puzzle! Colin King! Have you got a solution for Ruta?? Thanks for the information on the Jigthings! Nice to meet you, and thanks for stopping by! NCMW, what a wonderful comment about your aunt! Vicki, you take the cake for ingenuity! No sofa pieces for you! I, too, Julia, am amazed at how much we have in common!!! And all the way from New Zealand!! BTW how's your finger? Hope it has healed! (She cut off the tip of her finger with a very sharp knife, folks! Not good for working jigsaw puzzles, Julia!
ReplyDeleteThank you everyone! I learned so much! Love you all!
Elora
My mother loved jigsaw puzzles Elora. The last time she was at my home she put together a puzzle that was a picture of a crazy quilt. She had already had surgery for a brain tumor at that time so putting together a puzzle was really about all she could do. She spent hours painstakingly finding each piece and placing it in the correct place. I preserved it and have it out still....7 years later. It's a little memory of her that makes me smile. blessings, marlene
ReplyDeleteMarlene, Thank you so much for this wonderful comment! I had not idea as to the therapeutic benefits of puzzles for the less dextrous among us, for whatever reasons. I so appreciate the knowledge and my eyes being opened!
ReplyDeleteElora
Hi Elora, Many thanks for your welcome – it’s good to meet you too.
ReplyDeleteRuta, 4ft x 3ft is some big puzzle! I’m more than happy to tell you about our experience to date…..
You can get “Jigsaw Rolls” made of felt-like material that will accommodate a puzzle of this size but we have never found them to be satisfactory. They don’t provide a nice surface to work on and if you roll them up too tightly you can damage the pieces. On the other hand, if you roll them too loosely then the pieces fall about.
We prefer a solid surface to work on and we sell a range of Jigboards and Jigsorts (that contain a Jigboard) but unfortunately we don’t make them large enough for your puzzle – the largest we do is 36 inches x 26 inches. If you have a board larger than this it becomes a nightmare to move around – it won’t go through doors or in the luggage department of a car.
We are always being asked for ways to manage large puzzles and two years ago we thought we had the perfect solution – we called it the Jigmat and we had a load made in different sizes including one for 3,000 piece puzzles which I suspect yours is.
Now I’ll share a secret with you – they sell terribly! We still think it is a good idea but we can’t persuade anybody else. If you look at the Jigsaw Mats section of the Jigthings site you will see a video of how they work along with some pictures of them - the lady in the pictures is my wife Lisa! In essence you put one mat on a hard surface such as a table, do your jigsaw on top of the mat and then cover the whole thing down with a second mat when you need the table for something else.
We thought it was a touch of genius and that they would sell like hot cakes instead they sell like dead rats! (Do you use those expressions in the U.S.?)
Ruta, if you think it might be useful to you then I will be pleased to send you one free of charge from our New York warehouse to see if there is anybody else in the World who might think it a good idea! Just let me have address details. Best wishes from England, Colin