feature: 1000 pieces
Lead Shot Stars by Jacob Van Loon, Soonness
Loved, loved, loved this 1000-piece puzzle by Soonness — “Lead Shot Stars” by Texas-based Jacob Van Loon.
Tiki Time, Linda Tillman – Hennessy 1000
First Hennessy puzzle – “Tiki Time” by Linda Tillman, fun! And, first work by Linda Tillman (etsy, blog). Sadly it’s missing a piece, which I can NOT find, but I feel it is likely a user error and will keep hunting. (By user, I mean, me, as in, my failure to keep it covered and […]
Christmas Market, Angela Holland, Ravensburger 1000
An official winter holiday / christmas puzzle — “Christmas Market“, art by Angela Holland — 1000 piece Ravensburger. It was a pretty nice assembly.
Iliad & Odyssey, Neil Packer
I really enjoyed this New York Puzzle Co. 1000-piece puzzle, art by Neil Packer, “The Iliad and the Odyssey”, from the Candlewick Press editions. (It’s not available via the NYPC website, but here’s a link to Puzzle Warehouse, where, theoretically, it might come back in stock.) I loved the art when I saw it, and […]
Christmas Cats, Diane Dempsey, Cobble Hill
Diane Dempsey does fabulous midcentury / retro-style art for Cobble Hill (and has her own design firm, RetroChristmasCardCompany .com), and I really loved this 1000-piece “Christmas Cats” puzzle. The tree was the last & hardest part but it wasn’t that hard … just there was a lot going on visually.
Ruru Owl by Ellen Giggenbach, Werkshoppe
Really enjoyed my first Werkshoppe puzzle, “Ruru Owl“, 1000 pieces, art by Ellen Giggenbach. Her work is so fun! Very textural and blocky. Fun piece cuts, too — not just the usual in/out but also a special twist on the old in/out. Description from WerkShoppe: With its luminous, piercing eyes, the New Zealand Ruru is […]
Takoyaki by Rowon, Soonness
My first Soonness puzzle was wonderful — the image of “Takoyaki“, by Rowon, is perfectly tailored to Ash’s interests (cooking! cats! small street food stands), and the quality of packaging and puzzle itself are amazing. The cardboard is really thick and well-fit, so it’s easy to pick up the solved puzzle and hold it upright. […]
Alchemist’s Kitchen, Vasilisa Romanenko, eeBoo
Did another in the fun eeBoo “Piece and Love” series of “Alchemists’ Stuff” by Vasilisa Romanenko. It was another 1000-piece, this one “Alchemist’s Kitchen.” I like seeing the recurring details — like the portraits of past alchemists! And the cat. (-: (Other entries in the series: “Alchemist’s Library” and “Alchemist’s Cabinet“, which I’ve done, and […]
Happy Halloween, Ravensburger
Really enjoyed this Halloween puzzle by Ravensburger, “Happy Halloween“, art by Demelsa Haughton, 1000 pieces. Zeniba and Bastet also enjoyed it.
Alchemist’s Cabinet, Vasilisa Romanenko, eeBoo
Another of Vasilisa Romanenko‘s “Alchemist” series from eeBoo, “Alchemist’s Cabinet” is 1000-pieces, collage style. Glossy and strip-cut, and you can catch any false fits with careful attention to pattern / color. You can assemble almost the whole puzzle as a series of many small puzzles (the collage aspect); at the end, I was slotting into […]
W-Woman, Romi Lerda, Magnolia
Really enjoyed this 1000-piece Magnolia puzzle, “W-Woman“, by Romi Lerda. I think this is my first Magnolia puzzle? It was really excellent — my only complaint was a few false fits. Otherwise, sturdy, and the pieces felt really good in the hand. It was listed as 3 out of 5 stars of difficulty (5 being […]
Manniquin by Susan Brabeau, SunsOut
This 1000 piece puzzle from SunsOut, “Manniquin”, art by Susan Brabeau, is so hilarious to me. It wasn’t a hard puzzle exactly, although there were a lot of (a) lace; (b) blue fabric; and (c) dark red wood / cloth. The 26″ x 26″ size does NOT fit on my board — this is the […]
Alchemist’s Library, Vasilisa Romanenko, eeBoo
Enjoyed this eeBoo 1000-piece puzzle, “Alchemist’s Library“, art by Vasilisa Romanenko. eeBoo: Alchemist’s Library, 1000 piece square jigsaw puzzle. The next installment in Artist Vasilisa Romanenko’s Alchemist Series. A meticulous glimpse into the life and home of a mysterious alchemist filled with books, portraits and scientific detail. I really enjoyed this puzzle — the cozy […]
Whisper of Cactus, Lynn Weilin, Antelope Puzzles
“Whisper of Cactus”, artwork by Lynn Weilin, 1000-piece puzzle by Antelope Puzzles. Description from Antelope Puzzles: Whisper of Cactus puzzle tells the story of endurance and patience in the test of time. Allow yourself to be patient with life. Be patient with people. Be patient with yourself. Artist Lynn Weilin invites us to explore the […]
Monsters Night Out, SunsOut
This puzzle was haaaard. So many grassy pieces and so many leafy pieces and so haaaaaaaard. And then there was a piece missing! I have looked all over and can’t find it, but I sort of vaguely remember picking up a piece in the sunroom, that I thought belonged to another puzzle … but where […]
Vintage Nancy Drew, Cobble Hill
A couple of years ago I got two Cobble Hill Nancy Drew book cover puzzles — one was labeled “vintage” and the other, which also had covers from similar eras, was not! The one I did last year around this time included a lot more and many smaller covers, many (not all) from the yellow […]
Quilts of Gee’s Bend, Galison 1000
My neighbor Yael lent me this puzzle that I’d long wanted to do — “The Quilts of Gee’s Bend“, from Galison (1000 pieces). So much fun! Forty different quilts on a white background, effectively forty different small puzzles. I loved it! It’s a strip-cut puzzle. The puzzle material itself is quite thin — more sturdy […]
World of Bridgerton, Manjit Thapp, Laurence King
Wow, this was so fun. Like a collage puzzle, with many discrete elements, but in a scene. Also, very interesting for the perspective — since it’s a three-dimensional room using classical perspective, there were ways to assemble the architectural elements based on size, angle, etc. This was my first Laurence King (that I remember) and […]
Banned Books, Re-Marks Puzzle
In keeping with Banned Books Week (which in 2024 is this week, Sept. 23 – 27), my department finished the Banned Books puzzle from Re-Marks. Puzzle quality was fine, but I was disheartened to see a missing piece! Casualty of the work environment? or a manufacturing error? sigh.
Exploding Kittens, Great Wave off Catagawa
Ash worked on this one ….