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.

Thursday, June 28, 2018

Unwiderstelich/Irresistible

handcut puzzle, 250? pieces. This one was very hard, because the cutting was loose for hand-cut and there weren't a lot of clues about placement. I hate to admit it, but I used the frame!  I try not to do that.  3/5





The American National Game of Baseball

Liberty, 505 pieces. Some nice baseball-themed whimsies I haven't seen in any other Liberty puzzles.  3/5




Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Waterhouse, Ulysses and the Sirens

Artifact, 485 pieces. The most interesting thing about this puzzle are the oars sticking out from it!  Not colored to be part of the puzzle, which I understand though I sort of wish they'd continued the picture at least to the extent of the overlap.  Very muted colors made this pretty hard.  3/5




Pavo Bengala, Catalina Estrada (twice)

Wentworth, 500 and 1000 pieces--an experiment!  How does it differ at two different sizes?  And the answer for me is that 750 pieces might be my optimal Wentworth size (non-difficult cut).  This was a good image in that it was colorful and varied; it might have gotten a little easier to sort pieces at the larger size because they were likely to have only one really obvious element per piece given the stretching, if that makes sense.  I love peacocks and I enjoyed these. 4/5
500 pieces

Garden whimsies

peacock whimsies



1000 pieces


they look pretty much the same from this angle!

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

David Maclean, Manhattan Skyline

247 pieces, Wentworth.  Very nice sunset colors on this one and fine details, plus a repeating pattern in the cut.  4/5



Penguin Pandemonium

Wentworth, 231 pieces.  Snowflake repeating shapes plus repeating image/limited colors make this one pretty difficult, even at this size.  3/5




Monday, June 25, 2018

The Ladies' Home Journal All Story Number, July 1913

Liberty, 550 pieces. Another picture with a lot of stuff going on! The whimsies pick up on the circus theme, but I can't help thinking that the guy on the left of the first whimsy closeup is skinny Homer Simpson.  4/5

Ok, with this orientation Homer Simpson is at the top


A bear riding a bicycle


Butterfly Kaleidoscope, Aimee Stewart

Wentworth, 210 pieces.  Small but irregular edges provide some challenge. The pictures inside are small: butterflies interspersed with flowers, both with lots of color.  3/5












Friday, June 22, 2018

Triskelion, Bradley W. Shenk

153 pieces, Wentworth. Small for me but the repeating pattern and the repeating pieces made it worth a try!  And it definitely was difficult for its size. 3/5



Covered Wagon, restored by Bob Armstrong

Unknown maker, 500 pieces.  Nicely cut pieces, very tightly fitting.  The restored ones were identifiable on close inspection but didn't interfere with the enjoyment of the puzzle.  4/5



Thursday, June 21, 2018

Victoria Hall, Three Sisters

Wentworth, 250 pieces.  Very colorful design and irregular borders add some interest to this relatively small Wentworth.  The patterns are similar across the three matryoshka dolls which added a bit of difficulty.  3/5



Sunset, Childe Hassam

Liberty, 514 pieces.  Really beautiful colors on this one, melding in a way that made for greater difficulty as I went down the puzzle. 3/5

Some of the maritime whimsies



Thursday, June 14, 2018

Sue Coccia, Dragon

210 pieces, Wentworth. This is a different style than the ones she's done for Liberty.  Because of my prior exposure to those, I saw this as "early" and less well developed, but I'm not sure that's accurate; it's just different, with more watercolor-like colors and fewer internal animals.  3/5