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Those of you who hang out on my Facebook page know that I have a thing for jigsaw puzzles. It goes back a LONG way. When I lived in Thailand as a child, my family spent its vacation in a house in the mountains of Malaysia. In the evening, after a day of hiking and playing, I would do jigsaw puzzles that had been left by previous vacationers. One time I finished all the puzzles in the house, just to see if I could.
So, to say I like jigsaw puzzles is an understatement. But in recent years, I’ve begun using them to help me plot. For some reason, once I start sorting pieces and trying to put them together, my mind goes into another place where it can easily work out thorny problems I’ve been having with my work-in-progress.
But I also do them for fun, like whenever I finish writing a book. Or on New Year’s Eve, since we rarely go to a party. I began the 1500-piece one above left, with a picture of libraries and fairies, on New Year’s Eve this year. I did the one to the right last year after my wicked father decided to give me the world’s smallest 1000 piece puzzle. Yes, that is my hand. I did it on a TV table–that’s how small it was.
I also have puzzle preferences. I like unique pictures with lots of color and variety (none of those all-black puzzles for me, thank you very much). If the picture is boring, I don’t find it enjoyable. But I want some challenge, which is why I like the big ones. If I had the space and the time, I would definitely want to do the world’s LARGEST commercially available puzzle (32.256 pieces, made by Ravensburger and costing $300).
One of these days I’m going to put jigsaw puzzling in a book. I can’t call them that (the jig saw wasn’t invented until the late Victorian age), but they did exist, cut out with marquetry saws. They were called “dissected maps.” That’s one directly to the left. Apparently, puzzles go back to the 1700′s, when they were primarily maps cut along the borders of the countries/counties, etc. (You can read all about the history of puzzles on a site called “Bob Armstrong’s Old Jigsaw Puzzles.”)
So this is my favorite hobby, something I can do for fun or work or both. I enjoy it either way!
Do you like jigsaw puzzles? What’s your favorite hobby? Have you researched the history of it? Do you have any antique examples of it? Do you do it just to relax or do you like a good challenge?
I’ve always loved jigsaw puzzles, my daughter is nuts about them. They are very calming. Ravensburger made some exquisite puzzles.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 3:55 am.
Mary, that’s my favorite brand! They’re pricey, though. I try to pick them up on sale at B&N when they’re half-priced. And the one above was a Christmas gift from my parents! I really loved it.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 10:13 am.
Mary, I love them, too, and I think Ravensburger makes the best. The pieces are sturdy, solid enough that the backing doesn’t start to peel off, and have enough variety in their shapes to avoid confusion.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 3:22 pm.
I’m not a jigsaw puzzle kind of girl. I kinda like the world map ones. Okay, so, you just thought to yourself: “Well, duh, but you KNOW how the world map goes.” But not just the ordinary ones, just… any one, from the most everything where it should be, to one showing the map of the mythical places of where Fairytales would have happened had them been real. The world as it would have been when the dinosaurs lived. Old looking maps as drawn by pirates. You get the picture. But, besides that, I don’t like them much.
My favorite hobby is general knowledge Q&A. I don’t care what form it comes, anything from Jeopardy to Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, passing through Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (I kinda like watching old episodes on YouTube and scream at the screen!) is fine with me. I’ve gathered quite a lot of random knowledge from that over the years. I just LOVE those types of games! I’d win them all
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 6:13 am.
My husband is good at that, too (me, not so much). He beats everyone at Trivial Pursuit. The first person I always ask if I have a research question is my husband, who can tell me half the info in the world if it’s general knowledge.
BTW, I have a 1500 piece puzzle that contains something like 26 different fairytales, in one big image. You put it together and then pick out all the fairy tales. You might like that one.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 10:18 am.
I just within the last year got back into doing them more. I love doing puzzles, it helps clear my mind. I too like lots of color in my puzzles.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 6:32 am.
It’s really soothing, isn’t it?
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 10:18 am.
I think I have 10 puzzles of Thomas Kincade paintings. Since my mother sold my kitchen table in 2006, I do not have the space for them. Stupid china hutch that she bought me takes up all the room. At least the figurines that over- flowed the curio cabinet have a home.
My hobbies are reading and my family tree program. I spend about 8 hours yesterday scanning pictures into the computer. When my aunt got home, she helped me fix 3 huge errors. I heard a rumor that my maternal uncle is planning his third trip to Sweden. I’ll have to print out the sheets and send them to him to take to the relatives for verifications or corrections.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 7:01 am.
I’d really like to do my family tree, because no one in our family has done much with it (especially on my father’s side), and I’m dying to know more. Someone did part of one for my Mom’s side, though.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 10:20 am.
Back in April 2008, my dad borrowed a book from his uncle that distant relatives had done on the maternal side of his family. Dad did not tell me about the book until a week before I was supposed to attend a family reunion on the maternal side of mom’s family on 4th of July. Dad told his uncle that I would return the book while I was there.
The good thing about the book is that now I can trace the maternal side of dad’s family to 1700. The bad is that whoever was doing the book stopped our branch in the 1930s. They knew enough to contact Great-Uncle to ask if he wanted a copy of the book, but they did not ask him who he married or any other information. Other branchs were printed three times all the way to 2000.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 8:26 pm.
I do like jigsaw puzzles. The best one I have found was one with loads of cats on it and it took me quite a while to do since I had lost a piece then found it months later (that annoyed the snot out of me) but my main pass time is reading and quilting as well as dancing and crocheting.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 7:04 am.
My sister quilts. I used to crochet quite a bit, when I was young, then I lost interest. I’ve thought about taking it up again, though. I don’t know why, since I have books I have no time to read, and jewelry I have no time to make already!
I would like that cat puzzle. I like cats!
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 10:21 am.
I love puzzles too but don’t have the room for them right now. On my wall I have a puzzle that an old friend gave me years ago of an old time magician. Like back in Merlin’s days. I love it. I do a lot, a lot of reading. I’m getting ready to write down every book that I own so that I have a list of what I already have and not buy doubles anymore. It’ll also help me in seeing how many books I have of each other and see what I’m missing by them. Oh and I have hundreds of books.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 7:24 am.
I have hundreds of books, too, so I know what you mean. The last time we moved, the movers practically choked when they saw the 50 boxes of books.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 10:23 am.
I haven’t done a jigsaw puzzle in years. I can remember when I was a teen in the winter when they were bad winters we would set up a table and spend hours working puzzels.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 7:27 am.
I don’t live where we get snowed in like that, but having been snowed in once when visiting friends in Ohio, I can well imagine that a puzzle would be a welcome pastime. We played monopoly. *G*
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 10:24 am.
I do like a good puzzle, but my puzzles these days is finding out about “stuff”.
Internet seaching has become my hobby. a few mos ago, Karen H posted a pic on her facebook page of a bizarre loooking middle eastern cooker. I wanted to know what it was exactly and where it came from, so off Googling and Binging I went, until I found out.
I do the same for any question that pops into my head from listening to conversations- either in real life or on tv. When I was a kid, I used to read encylopedias. So I think that knowledge quest has been with me forever.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 8:42 am.
Kathy, I do that a lot, too. That’s how I found out about the history of jigsaw puzzles! I love Wikipedia and Google Books. I find out all sorts of obscure stuff.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 10:25 am.
by the way the cooker was from Turkey and it was a brazier. you put hot coals in the bottom and use long skewers to roast meats. You could also use it as a room heater, if you put the lid down, there were vent holes. it was so cool
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 8:44 am.
I’ll help a puzzle along if it happens to be out, but I’m not a huge puzzler. My nephew is. He did the scatter of M&M’s puzzle in about a day and a half (after school)! I’ve given him 3D puzzles and hard 2D puzzles. He loves them.
I haven’t researched the history of any of my hobbies, I’m too busy trying to teach myself how to do them. I’m mostly a planner though. I like to plan gardens and pictures I’ll paint or draw and books I’ll write and that sort of thing. Then I’ll research the heck out of the subject in preperation for doing it and then I’m done. That’s the fun part for me. So maybe next time I’m researching, I’ll start in on the history of art or gardening (which will lead to anthropology which is its own interesting subject) or whatever. Thanks for the idea!
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 8:47 am.
I’ve done some of the 3D puzzles. I like the one that’s a cathedral. That was fun. *G*
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 1:37 pm.
Quiet time was very important growing up with my grandmother, she did puzzles and my sister picked up doing them. I always read, did crafts, and colored..the things I do now. I think the need to unwind, relax, comes from nurturing your inner child. What better way than to do what is ingrained to do.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 8:49 am.
carla, it’s so true. The older I get, the more I appreciate having quiet time. My walk is my daily quiet time (I don’t get to do puzzles nearly as often as I like, because I’m obsessive and have to finish them after I start them, which means hours out of my schedule). I love my walk.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 1:38 pm.
My mom loved jigsaw puzzles; but I do not. I did get my love of crossword puzzles from mom though. Other than picking up a good book to read, doing a crossword puzzle is my way of relaxing.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 9:20 am.
My mom likes crosswords and isn’t as keen on the jigsaws! How funny. I don’t find crosswords relaxing, I’m afraid. You’d think I would, being a writer and all, but I don’t. Glad that you do, though!
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 1:39 pm.
I have a 2 year old, so I do puzzles quite a bit, but they only consist of 24 pieces. I do like doing adult puzzles, but with said 2 year old running around, it is almost impossible. She would have those pieces scattered about the house in no time.
My big hobby is reading. It’s the one hobby I always stick with. I have had other hobbies over the years, but they never seem to last. I picked up knitting about 6 years ago, and just recently found the scarf I had been working on. It has about 25 rows done. Same goes for cross stitch. I never stuck with it.
Btw… I just finished A Lady Never Surrenders. I can’t say enough good things about it! I loved it! I think I fell a little bit in love with Jackson Pinter.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 9:28 am.
LOL! My son loves jigsaws, but he’s too disabled to do anything bigger than a 100 piece one. I think he enjoys the 24 piece ones the best, though. He can do them quickly and he enjoys it.
I’m so glad you loved my latest! Jackson is such an honorable guy with such a big chip on his shoulder–it’s hard not to love him.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 1:41 pm.
I do like puzzles….jigsaw, crossword, online puzzle games, etc. We like Scrabble and Rummikub, which I consider puzzle games, although I’m not sure if they technically fall in that category.
I love to put things together and keep my brain from taking a nap. I know a lot of people that are in their 70′s and 80′s that still do the daily crossword puzzle in the paper every day. They say that they will continue to do so until their brain stops working, and they’re pretty darn smart. 
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 9:30 am.
My aging mom does the crossword every day. She really enjoys them. Everything I’ve read has said that things like that keep the mind limber into old age, so you and I will just keep it up, and we’ll be doing well once we’re in our rocking chairs!
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 1:42 pm.
A few weeks ago, you came to mind, Sabrina, while I was looking in a toy shop window filled with Ravensburger puzzle. I smacked my head because I was in Ravensburg on this trip but in different German town when I made the connection to the town and its puzzle maker. I should have and would have loved to gifted you with a Ravensburger acquired in Ravensburg. Maybe next time.
I had a few years where I enjoyed doing jigsaw puzzles, not sure why I stopped. Probably space.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 9:33 am.
Fresh!!! I can’t believe you actually were in Ravensburg. They really do make the bet puzzles. It’s so sweet that you thought of me!
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 1:43 pm.
I used to do puzzles a lot when I was younger, but I must admit that I haven’t done one in probably ten years. Now my hobbies are reading and writing. I guess I should add editing in there as that’s what I have been doing for the last week now! One other hobby is gardening, and pretty much all aspects of it. I do know some history of it as I have a degree in horticulture. All of my hobbies I do to relax, at least for now. If I got paid for writing it would probably not be as relaxing!
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 9:47 am.
I confess I’m not a gardener. I don’t find gardening relaxing, but I do love the results when OTHER people do it!
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 3:05 pm.
I love puzzles of all sorts, though I don’t do many jigsaws. I do like them I just don’t do many. They actually have web jigsaws where you drag the pieces into place with your mouse. I got there when a different author used the site to make her book covers into digital puzzles. Hadn’t been there in a bit but jigzone is still there with some fun digital jigsaws.
I’m with a few others in that my main hobby is reading. I love jewelry making, playing with crochet and tatting, and several other hobbies but they’re harder for me to find time for. A book I can pick up and put down to chase the baby.
I guess I do get in some fancy cooking too though, my hubby is more than happy to encourage that one
since it keeps dinner from getting too boring. (he encourages them all really it’s me who forgets things mid project)
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 10:00 am.
miranda, I haven’t tried the web ones yet. I’m not sure I like them, but that’s a good idea–doing jigsaw puzzles out of my book covers. I should do that!
I like jewelry making, too, but like you, I just don’t have time!
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 3:29 pm.
Great blog! It made me look up the history of my hobby, scrap booking . Turns out beginning in the 15th century common place books were popular in England as a way to compile recipes, quotes, letters, poems and more. In the 16 th century Friendship Albums became popular where friends or patrons would enter their names, titles and short texts or illustrations. These were also created as souvenirs of European tours with memorabilia. In 1570 it was fashionable to include colored plates of popular scenes which became embellishments. In 1775 books were published with blank pages at the end to put your own history on paper.
We’ve moved a lot and depending on space we have had family puzzles out on a table and everyone would do a little as they chose. It was great family time when two or more would sit down together.I tried to do it here, but we must be a lot busier because it sat for quite some time with no work done on it, so it was put away for now.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 10:03 am.
I had no idea that scrapbooking went back so far! A lot of my friends do it, and I try to pass on stuff to them, since I always have bits and pieces. I hate to get rid of anything pretty!
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 4:23 pm.
I do like jigsaw puzzles, as long as the picture is one that intrigues me. I like having one around over the holidays for people to work and find common ground.
One of my favorites was when a friend sent a mystery puzzle during a hard portion of my divorce ten yeas ago. It occupied me when I was overwhelmed.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 10:14 am.
Is that one of those where you put the puzzle together to find the clues? I think I’ve done one of those, but it’s been a while.
I’m with you–the picture has to be pretty or interesting.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 4:24 pm.
I love to do jigsaw puzzles, but haven’t done one in years. Growing up, I would sit for hours with my mom at the dining room table and work on puzzles. Now I just don’t have the room. I’ve tried those felt pieces where you can roll up your in progress, but it never keeps the pieces together.
I do love word finds and Sudoku. I can play that for hours on my iPod.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 10:18 am.
I have one of those felt things, too. I’m with you–they just don’t seem to work that well.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 4:25 pm.
What a wonderful story Sabrina! We here at gnomeworks all love puzzles also- that’s how we ended up in the puzzles business. Do you like the wooden jigsaw puzzles better than the cardboard type? I find the feel is so much better & I like the whimsy pieces. I was curious- isn’t the small puzzle a Bonnie White image? I love her work- very colorful.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 10:41 am.
Kimmy, you’re right! It’s called “Homecoming.” When I saw how small the pieces were, I was worried, but it ended up being very fun to do.
I don’t think I’ve ever done a wooden one. Do they make them in puzzles with lots of pieces? Because I need one that’s at least 300 pieces for it to be enjoyable to me.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 4:29 pm.
Absolutely! All the extremely difficult puzzles are 300+ pieces & the whimsy pieces make it really fun. Just check us out @ gnomeworkspuzzles.com
Posted on February 8, 2012 at 11:14 am.
We used to have a puzzle table at the house in Taos, and whoever passed through would work on it. I don’t have a lot of patience for them. I like the ones for five year-olds, with the big pieces that take up the floor. I do not like one we had going once — a penguin standing on a glacier. The whole thing was white, save the penguin. Murderously annoying!!
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 10:46 am.
Yeah, I wouldn’t like the all white one either. I like pretty, colorful pictures. I can DO those challenging, all-one-color ones. They’re just not fun for me, so why bother?
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 4:33 pm.
I love working puzzles but don’t have the space for them now. We would have one over at the girls’ but the gd would be too tempted to get into it as she loves puzzles as well. She’s been working them well above her age group since she was two including a United States one. It’s amazing to watch her with the little pieces on that one. She learned her alphabet and to count to twenty through puzzles.
My hobbies are reading, of course, and organizing my music on iTunes. My BFF and I watch Jeopardy every night and are thrilled when we know a lot of the answers We have those ‘aha’ moments when we realize how much we’ve forgotten in our vast store of knowledge *g*.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 11:03 am.
Watch out–it sounds like the gd is a budding puzzle fanatic! *G* But at least you’ll always know what to buy her for Christmas.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 4:35 pm.
You know, I really love doing puzzles. What I mostly lack is a place to do them. I have quite a few I have bought with some cool photos or illustrations on them that are packed away at the moment waiting for my attention. My grandmother loved doing them and we would work on puzzles together while I visited my grandparents. It is rather soothing and I can completely see where it would let you work on plots and the like as you figured out where the pieces went.
I have too many hobbies and interests to keep track of, so I will list my current ones: crocheting and making some fun shadow boxes. I have not researched either, but would be interesting to do some digging to see how they figured out how to make all that stuff with the little hook. (same with knitting.. who in the heck figured out how to work those and make something out of it?
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 11:28 am.
Ooh, I like shadow boxes! But I’ve never made any. That sounds interesting.
Hubby bought me a puzzle table once, and I use it a lot. It’s a folding table that goes right behind the door in my office, but when I’m working on a puzzle is put out in the middle of the room. The only problem with it is I can only do puzzles on it that measure 19″ high and about 28″ wide. That covers a lot, but you’d be surprised the number that it DOESN’T cover. If I have one that’s too big, though, I use my square card table. It just takes up a lot more room.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 4:38 pm.
My mother crochets and knits and has for eons. My father loves Soduko and jigsaw puzzles and if there was a way to combine the two, he would be in heaven. I bought him a puzzle of the world that, when completed, is shaped like a globe. He completed it and never took it apart. It is proudly displayed on a shelf.
As for me, my favorite hobbies are reading (I am ever a bookworm!) and photography. Not much to research there.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 12:32 pm.
I don’t know–I wrote a short story about a photographer and ended up having to do research on large format cameras! Somehow I always end up having to do research.
I never could master knitting. I don’t know why. I did it some as a kid, but I’m just not good at it. I used to crochet a lot, though.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 4:39 pm.
I do like to do jigsaw puzzles and have made the library and fairies one you show. Around the holidays you can usually a puzzle on my dining room table – tells you how often we eat in there! I could not make the 32,000 piece puzzle. I do not have the patience for one so large.
I look at reading, not as a hobby, but as an autonomic nervous system function – like pumping blood – I can’t live without it. Hobbies include quilting and basketweaving. I enjoy the challenging quilts and baskets. The preparation and logic behind them are almost as much fun as sitting down and doing them. I own a few antique quilts but prefer to make my own from antique patterns.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 12:47 pm.
I think that giant puzzle is more of a logistical nightmare than anything. It measures so big that no table would be huge enough for it. So then you’d have to build a table or do it on a floor, which would KILL my back …. yeah, not practical. It sounds neat in theory, though!
My sister quilts. She won a prize for one of hers recently! They’re gorgeous.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 4:41 pm.
I do like a good puzzle. I haven’t done any in a very long time though as I don’t have a place that I can do them and leave it out. I did get one of those storage puzzled things as a gift. But it’s the roll kind and honestly it stinks. It just ends up breaking the puzzle apart anyway. I’d love to get a table just for puzzles or one of the better storage cases that I can take it out when I have time to work on them.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 1:01 pm.
Yeah, I have one, too, and it does work well. I do have a special puzzle table, though, that hubby bought for me. I love it! It wasn’t that expensive either. If I can find a link, I’ll post it.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 4:42 pm.
I love jigsaw puzzles, Sabrina! I just bought another 1,000-piece one yesterday, as a matter of fact. I think they help me with plotting, too — and I use them while I’m writing for those moments I need to get up and think (it beats snacking).
As for other hobbies, I do collect those action figure thingies, too. *g*
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 1:01 pm.
If I could keep one going all the time, I’d be happy, but I’m so obsessive about them that all I’d do is puzzles. So I have to save them for the big crunch plotting/writing issues.
Yeah, that action figure thing is sort of a hobby for you, huh.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 4:46 pm.
I have a beautiful dining room table – old, round and maybe 2″ thick – tilt top but yes a dining room table (there is a point to this) I always have a table cover on it because if you lift the cover off – paper from jigsaw puzzle pieces are stuck to it!!! One of the kids must have spilt something, it couldn’t have been me, and when were were done with the puzzle and went to put it away – there were the outlines on the table of a couple pieces. I don’t want to refinish the whole table. I love puzzles but it’s just me. My family will pick up a piece now and then but in the end I’m the one that sits there and enjoys the challenge. It would be great in a book! Good idea.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 1:15 pm.
Wow, I have a cover on my table, too, but I’ve never had puzzle paper stick to the table. That’s terrible! Now that I have my puzzle table to whip out, I don’t use the dining room table anymore, though.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 4:47 pm.
I love jigsaw puzzles it’s one of my favorite things to do:) I wish though that they would do jisaw puzzles of romance covers of books so I could enjoy 2 hobbies at once I am a muti-tasker:)
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 1:27 pm.
Gail, be careful what you wish for–I may do that down the road!
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 4:47 pm.
I do enjoy puzzles, when my whole family went on vacation two years ago we rented a very nice cabin and part of the evening activities was putting a jigsaw puzzle the goal to have it completed by the end of the week. We did it!
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 1:36 pm.
That was how our vacations used to be when I was a kid. I still love going to a cabin in the mountains and hiking and then doing a puzzle!
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 4:48 pm.
I love doing puzzles, haven’t done any in quite some time though. My favorite are the Thomas Kinkade ones, but I also like to do kid puzzles (cars, winnie the pooh), glue them together and frame them for gifts.
I decorated both my sisters nurseries with puzzles I had done in the theme they were using. Once the kids got older I did puzzles in their favorite disney movie and framed them for their walls.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 3:25 pm.
That sounds so cute!
I never do glue the ones, but I’m thinking of doing that for my favorite. I just can’t decide where I’d put it!
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 4:49 pm.
Sabrina, I love jigsaw puzzles. Our son gives me one every Christmas and birthday. I’ve never researched the history, though. I also find that my brain can cycle through other things while I’m working a puzzle (or playing Tetris–not so with MarioKart).
The hardest puzzle the boy ever gave me was of a snow leopard in the snow, all done in sepia tones. At that point, I asked his dad to steer him toward ones with a bit more variety in the design and colors.
Twice now puzzles brand new out of the box have had one piece missing. That’s really aggravating, and it loses the company a customer. I’ve never had this problem with Ravensburger.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 3:26 pm.
Nancy, that would drive me nuts! So far, I’ve never had one out of the box that had pieces missing, but then that’s because I always assume a piece missing is MY fault! And with good reason–I’m always trailing pieces about the house.
Yeah, I would kill him over the snow leopard in snow. And I might not even do the puzzle!
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 4:51 pm.
I love jigsaw puzzles but I also enjoy cross-stitching when I have the time. It is hard to concentrate with two little girls running around. I would love to teach my daugters when they are a bit older. Thanks for sharing with us!
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 3:42 pm.
My sister does cross-stitching. She did a set of stockings for us that were just gorgeous! We use them every Christmas. What a great hobby!
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 4:52 pm.
Love, love, love jigsaw puzzles. The bigger the better. I have done 5,000 and 6,000 piece puzzles. I prefer landscaps over any other kind. Round are okay. No two-sided or funny shaped pieces. I do have one 3-D puzzle which I haven’t done yet as my kitty wants to help a little too much.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 3:43 pm.
I’ve never done anything bigger than a 2000, I don’t think. I would love to try, though. Maybe for a long vacation?
It’s funny–I don’t really like the landscape ones! Everybody has their own favorites, though.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 4:53 pm.
I don’t hate jigsaw puzzles, but I don’t love them. I do, however, ADORE hidden object games. The more intricate the image, the better.
I have to believe that the people who love the all-one-color puzzles have engineering-type brains. They’re not interested in the visuals; they’re interested in the mental challenge of piecing the shapes together. I’m with you – I want a pretty picture to look at while I work.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 4:01 pm.
Susan, you’re absolutely right–I do think it’s a gravitation toward shapes for some people. For me, I need the visual. That’s what I want.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 4:54 pm.
I have 3 bins full of them (most of them new). I use to do them all the time but now the computer takes up most of my spare time. My biggest problem is I have cats and they love stealing the pieces or nibbling on them. I got one of those roll up felt thingies since I have nowhere where I can leave them out, but I spend half my time refixing it (sigh).
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 4:07 pm.
You’re right–cats and jigsaws don’t mix. When my son was little, I couldn’t do them either, because he wanted to pour them over himself for fun.
Now he does his own!
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 4:55 pm.
I love doing puzzles. I find doing them so relaxing and calming. When we moved from Ohio to Florida, I donated oveer 300 puzzles to Charity. I’ve now managed to build up another collection. I love doing puzzles that have like a vintage theme.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 4:26 pm.
I donate mine to my son’s day program. They like to have them. But they can’t use the big ones, so I need to find out where to donate those.
Vintage sounds cool!
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 4:56 pm.
I’m not much of a jigsaw puzzle girl. I did love those 3D puzzles that I used to do as a kid, though.
At the blacksmith shop that I work, we occasionally make tavern puzzles. They’re always a few pieces of metal that are bent a certain way that allow you to untangle them if moved in a certain pattern.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 4:31 pm.
I don’t think of heard of those. That sounds interesting!
I always think it’s so cool that you do blacksmith work sometimes. Just a bit of a tie to the past!
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 4:56 pm.
I love jigsaws. Always have and always will. the last couple of years I have bought the Ravensburger Christmas limited edition puzzle. My 2 boys gave me the latest one for my birthday last year. It does tend to turn into a family project and we all have a go over the Christams break. I have a jig roll that is felt and it isn’t too bad at keeping the puzzle together..
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 4:40 pm.
I didn’t know they had such a thing, Paula! Next year I’ll have to look into that!
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 4:57 pm.
They are fantastic puzzles. My boys love looking at them as there is so much to see. thye are all based around Santa and his sled
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 6:33 pm.
When I was younger I did quite a few jigsaw puzzles. I loved to do them. There’s something kind of zen about doing a puzzle. If I had room I’d probably still do puzzles.
Hobbies – reading, genealogy (not so much these days), and of course, jewelry. Lately, I’ve been doing some really simple soldering to make open back bezels. At some point I need to stop working, take pictures, and list this stuff on etsy. It’s just more fun making stuff, though.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 4:44 pm.
Janae–exactly. It’s very zen-like.
One of these days I’m going to get back to my jewelry making. I just haven’t had the time!
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 4:58 pm.
My youngest is an avid jigsaw puzzler, but once she finished, she hated taking them apart and putting them away! So we glued them to posterboard, and they provided the art for her room. Unfortunately, many didn’t survive the last move despite the frames(should have put glass over them or something), and I’m wondering if little girl still does puzzles now that she’s wed.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 5:05 pm.
I haven’t glued any of mine yet, but there’s one of them I’d like to glue. I just haven’t figured out where to put it.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 10:47 pm.
I understand why you like the puzzles. I have gotten into them periodically—not like you, but I go through phases when I have one out. DH likes to do them too, so we poke at it until it is done. They can become compelling.
I should probably get one of those boards that allow you to take one down and store it in progress. Having it in the way is why I don’t do more of them, I think.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 5:44 pm.
That’s why I like my puzzle table. It’s easy to move around. If it’s in the way in one play, I can just slide it into another.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 10:47 pm.
Oh I love jigsaw puzzles. My father had one going all the time and that was quite a feat in our 1000 square foot house and three children. We all helped. He must have gotten the bug from his parents because they did too. I love all kinds of puzzles especially logic and sudoku. It must be the mathmatical/science part of my brain that I excelled in in school. My children are strong in those areas as well. My favorite hobbies (besides reading) are counted cross stitch (another type of puzzle), knitting & crocheting, sewing and scrapbooking. It there’s a pattern to be followed you’ll find me interested. By the way my Dad was studying cryptography in WWII. Big surprise.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 6:32 pm.
I was a math minor, so I do wonder if my love of math has something to do with my interest in puzzles. I also loved music theory (another mathematical discipline). And I used to crochet, too! Hmmm.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 10:53 pm.
I don’t care for them much, but having said that, whenever I see one in progress I just have to try and put a piece or two in place. My attention for jigsaw puzzles only lasts about 10 minutes, tops.
I can so understand why working one would release the creative juices and I really understand why those juices would aim right at plot. It’s the same kind of thinking, isn’t it? Pieces . . . pieces that need to fit together . . . .
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 8:42 pm.
Exactly. They sort of work hand in hand for me.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 10:54 pm.
I like to read of course, and to knit. Maybe you should add a knitter to one of your books. I don’t know if the upper class ladies knit or not…
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 8:51 pm.
I have to research that. I got the impression that knitting was more of a lower class pastime at this point, but I’m not sure. It would be interesting to find out!
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 10:55 pm.
I am a puzzle fan too. I tend to do them in spurts and haven’t done one in awhile. I usually like 500-1000 pieces and the busier the motif, the more fun. Charles WYsocki has alot of folk scenes that are fun to put together. I had one puzzle with lots of multicolor marbles on it that was fun, it feels like a treasure hunt finding the spot for a particular piece.
I also knit, crochet and quilt. Plus I like to sketch and mush around watercolors in my sketch book, I feel like an impressionist – squint your eyes hard enough and you’ll see the picture, lol. I really never met a craft I didn’t like doing at least once.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 9:04 pm.
Yes, that’s exactly how I like them, too–”the busier the motif, the more fun.” I’m not sure why.
I used to crochet and I briefly knitted, but never quilted, although I think I would like it. What I CAN’T do is sketch, draw, or paint. I just don’t have the eye. I’m not sure why.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 10:56 pm.
My younger son is into puzzles. My 6 yr old couldn’t care any less about puzzles than he already does, but my 4 yr old has developed a thing for them recently. He always wants me to help, which I thought would be torture, since I was never a fan of puzzles, but I actually really like them. I just never do them on my own- there’s always so much to do in my “spare time”!
I don’t have any hobbies, really. Between my kids, writing, life- I just haven’t had much time for extras. But I’ve always wanted to learn to sew, on a machine. I actually HAVE a machine, but I’ve never used it, lol!
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 10:23 pm.
I know exactly what you mean. If I didn’t use them for plotting, I’d probably only allow myself one a year, during the holidays. I just have NO spare time (especially these days). Kids have a way of sucking time out of your life, don’t they?
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 10:57 pm.
I love to work jigsaw puzzles but I can’t do them anymore. When ever I try to work them my cat loves to come and grab one or two pieces. Then I never see them again!
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 11:14 pm.
Yep–cats must have some aversion to puzzles, I swear!
Posted on February 7, 2012 at 1:41 am.
I lurk at this site but had to respond when I saw your subject. We starting doing jigsaw puzzles again just last year. What I love about them is that my teenage son sits down and works on them too. As a result he spends less time playing video games. I’m not anti-video games but I love seeing my son do something else and I love “puzzling” with him. We are fond of Wysocki puzzles and pictures with dogs in them.
Posted on February 6, 2012 at 11:32 pm.
It’s interesting, because the family aspect does appeal to me. But I tend to prefer to do them by myself. I know that’s weird, but that’s just how I am.
It’s so great, though, that you can get your teenager to do them with you. He’ll remember it in years to come as a special time!
Posted on February 7, 2012 at 1:43 am.
I am not into jigsaw puzzles all that much, I prefer a different form of piecing things together. I am a seamstress. My Puzzles are those of fabric and patterns for petticoats and corsets. I spent my teen years learning to fit the pieces together to get the image on the package…sounds familiar no? Now I challenge my self by designing my own patterns, but the real puzzle is figuring out how to fit it into the schedule of a liberal arts student.
Regardless of time constraints, watching something take shape beneath your hands, be it Jigsaw, dress, or novel, is always fulfilling, and that brings with it a special sense of piece.
Posted on February 7, 2012 at 12:07 am.
Wow, it’s impressive that you now design your own patterns! As someone who used to sew, I know how very difficult that is!
Posted on February 7, 2012 at 1:44 am.
peace, 11:00 is clearly too late for me to be writing.
Posted on February 7, 2012 at 12:08 am.
I thought you were making a pun on purpose! *G*
Posted on February 7, 2012 at 1:44 am.
I adored jigsaw puzzles when I was younger but I find I don’t have much time for it now. I tend to spend most of my free time either reading or working out at the gym.
I liked the ones of scenery best; my fav was a painting of an English countryside with a castle in the background.
Posted on February 7, 2012 at 2:54 am.
My husband and I do puzzles when we go to the beach. Everybody looks at me like I’m crazy when I mention that. It’s such a calming environment and a calming activity. That’s a pre-requisite of our beach condo–that it have a table big enough to do puzzles. We have cats and can’t do puzzles at home as one of the kitties is a klepto and she would steal and hide the pieces.
Posted on February 7, 2012 at 12:56 pm.
Do you like jigsaw puzzles? Yes , my husband and I like to leave one set up and mess with it when we want to.
What’s your favorite hobby? Crocheting
Have you researched the history of it? No, but it was handed down to my by my grandmother.
Do you have any antique examples of it? Yes a lot of things my gramdmother made.
Do you do it just to relax or do you like a good challenge? I do it because I love it, and find it relaxing.
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 8:08 pm.