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, July 9, 2026

The Fruit Stand, Anton Pieck

 TurtleTeasers, 161 pieces. Standard for this distinctive style. 3/5





One Dollar Bill

 X-Man Puzzles, 25 pieces. Small but well-cut. 





Thanksgiving Eve

Stave, 1040 pieces. The biggest single Stave I've done, I think. I usually think 500 is a great size for puzzles and larger can get unmanageable, but this one made me wonder about what a hand-cut Impressionist puzzle would be like, because the level of image detail on each individual piece is going to be different. Anyway, excellent puzzle. 9/10





a flight of geese

sun and, I guess, a gardening tool that looks like a claw

scarecrow

interlocking birds

person and dog

wheelbarrow

comb+pin+E+E comb=company's come

at table

murder of crows

interlocking leaves; hay bale and pitchfork; more crows and an owl

still more crows


Wednesday, July 8, 2026

Jaunty Flight

 Stave, 520 pieces. Lots of variation and irregular edges meant that the shape of this wasn't clear until late in the assembly process. 6/10




multipiece leaf


The Tree of Life, Regina Lord

 Hidden Piece, 511 pieces. Nicely done with multipiece whimsies, like the butterfly below. 3/5






Nicky Zann, Cat City

 Artifact, 348 pieces. Cats are never unwelcome. 3/5





Friday, June 26, 2026

Mary Benson, Delicate Poppy

 Artifact, 306 pieces. A quick build with lots of curves. 3/5





Pride and Prickly Pears

 Rebel Puzzles, approx. 300 (if they put piece count on the box, I missed it; I wish everyone would put the piece count near the rest of the puzzle info!). This was tricky because the cactus cut created a lot of similarity in shape, and had a very nice effect when fully assembled though that took some time to emerge. 3/5





Fourth of July 1916, Childe Hassam

 Liberty, 234 pieces. Sadly, a missing piece, but otherwise a nice smallish Liberty with old-style whimsies. 3/5





Thursday, June 25, 2026

Bumblebee and Dragonfly

 3 Cat Max, about 35 pieces. I'm not a big fan of acrylic puzzles but these are pretty! I couldn't get the dragonfly quite right and didn't want to force it.







Tropical Fish

 Stave, 215 pieces. This Stave has clearly been put together a bunch of times--it was a lot looser than most other Staves I've done, but still fun! The border was cut to still be tricky. 6/10