About my ratings

Perhaps because of my day job, I'm a tough rater. Everything 3/5 and above I consider worth the time and money. If I purchase on Etsy or a similar platform and the puzzle is as expected, I will give a top rating on the platform because of how seller ratings work, but here "as expected" is probably a 3/5 in most cases.

Friday, December 30, 2016

Christopher Saxon's Map of England and Wales

Optimago, 600 pieces.  The old maps displayed things very differently than we do today.  Fun to put together.  4/5
starting out--I wimped out and did the frame first

finished


Puzzlewood, Winter

650 pieces. With lots of branch-shaped pieces, this was a nice challenge. 5/5
starting out

progress
finished--lots of similar colors in the sky and the water increased the challenge, as did the color line cutting

Friday, December 23, 2016

Spiral without an edge, Thom Spencer

Whew--not even the shape of a circle to guide me. This was really difficult, but ended up being a blast. 5/5
little carving

it's a snail

starting out

Some progress--not too much guide from the colors

moving along

ok, now we're getting somewhere

most of a spiral

finished

Hedgehog, by David Feather

500 pieces: Pieces on the larger side for Wentworth, except for a few very tiny ones created by intersections. Surprisingly pleasant. 4/5
starting out

much progress

everything but the hedgehog

finished

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Circle au Natural, Thom Spencer

251 pieces.  Pure shape matching--tons of fun!  Like the Nervous System amoeba puzzle, but hand-cut so there's more variation in the shapes.  5/5

cute little guy

you're a kitty!

starting out

lots of doubles and some edge

all teh edge

more progress


shrinking it down

the last piece

all done


Puzzlewood, The Finding of Moses

472 pieces. Lots of color-line cutting made for extra difficulty here; I didn't quite know how the last mass would fit in until the very end.  4/5

starting out

a little bit of progress

halfway?

finished

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Thom Spencer, Sandy Blue Heart

201 pieces.  Nice difficulty with lots of weird shapes.  4/5

Little doodle

It's a bird?

starting out

closeup on pieces

A bit of progress

most of the center


further progress on the curve


getting there

so close

finished

Puzzlewood, Dalmations

261 pieces. Wow, what a challenge! A bit of color line cutting upped it more, but I got there in the end. 5/5
starting out

sides and faces


mostly there



finished

Monday, December 19, 2016

Thom Spencer, Crazy Spotted Turtle

181 pieces.  Another challenge, with difficulty coming from both color and cut.  4/5
Another mini puzzle

A horse?

starting out

A little progress on the legs

more

most of the outline


so close



done