Thoughts on Jigsaw Puzzles

Andy and I go on intermittent jigsaw puzzle binges. Everything will be going along normally, and then all of a sudden we can't stop doing jigsaw puzzles. Fortunately, we rarely use the dining room table, so we can keep one going there day in and day out—until we need to entertain, then we're screwed. (Yes, we have one of those felt mats that roll up, but it's such a pain to do a puzzle on it that it's not worth it. You can't push around the pieces at all.) There's something very civilized about just sitting down in the evening with our cocktails and chatting while we work on separate areas. "So today at work. . . . Do you still need the pieces with the  green fence?" "I forgot to tell you what happened at preschool this morning. . . .  Aha! I found the rest of that orange sign."  We also tend to just wander by now and then to do a small section.

I recently bought a bunch of new puzzles from someone on ebay (I buy only new puzzles; I would probably end up in a strait jacket if I did a whole puzzle only to find out that the last piece was missing). But I just discovered that Nancy and Warren have been doing puzzles a lot lately too, so we're going to trade puzzles as we finish them! Good idea, huh?

We've always done only 1000-piece puzzles, but I think Andy might need a little something more. He is the most talented puzzle-doer I've ever seen. He can barely move his hands fast enough to put the pieces in place. So I'm thinking he's ready for the big time—maybe 2000 or even 3000 pieces! (Do they come bigger?)

We always start by pulling out all the edge pieces and constructing the frame (or the crust, as Andy likes to call it). I'm not sure I could be friends with someone who just starts with random middle bits.

Julie, meanwhile, appears to have inherited her dad's gift for puzzle-doing. She has a bunch of those little 24-piece puzzles that she can assemble like lightning. She does each of them several times a day. I want to get her something a little harder, but she's certainly not ready for 100 pieces, and I can't find anything in between! Isn't that strange? The only thing in between 24 and 100 are those puzzles that are in the shape of something, like Big Bird or Winnie the Pooh. Boring.

Comments

[Susan]

It seems there are even 6000+ puzzles. http://www.puzzlehouse.com/_jigsaws/6000pieces.htm

[Susan]

This is the catalog I started getting when I was looking for good puzzles for my dad who loves jigsaws. http://www.bitsandpieces.com/

[cmaine]

I love bits and pieces! But, if you have a Rite-Aid, Savon, or Walgreen's, you might be able to find some 48-54 piece puzzles. But you might also be surprised at how easy some of those 100 piece puzzles are.

Sarah is up to 100 piece puzzles and has done some 300-500 piece puzzles with her dad and me.

Let her try the 100 piece sets. She'd probably love the challenge, especially if she has Andy's talent for puzzles!

-C

[Karen]

Don't forget, Julie is only 3! I don't think she could do 100 pieces yet....