So this afternoon I finally finished a jigsaw puzzle that I’ve been working on (off and on) for a few years. There is a bit of discrepancy when exactly I got this puzzle, but suffice it to say that it’s been a few years.
It’s a Photomosaic puzzle, which means that it’s made up of a bunch of very little pictures, all arranged just so to make a larger picture show up.
That’s the finished puzzle – you can click on it for a bigger view. Here are 2 close up views:
It’s quite challenging to do because you can’t really approach it the same way as you do a regular puzzle. The way I do it is (after first putting the edges together of course), start with the smallest color – in this case pink. So I found all the pink pieces, and then it’s a lot of trial and error. Then the red, black, orange, etc. For the large swaths of sky and grass, the best way I’ve found to do it is just to organize all the pieces into the same shape (based on male/female parts), and then match them by basically trying every eligible piece in a spot.
I remember giving one of these to my Grandma Swartwood as a Christmas present (she was a big puzzle enthusiast so puzzles were always a safe gift). It’s the first (and only) time I remember ever hearing her say that she had given up on a puzzle as too difficult. I believe the one I gave her was this one which is even harder than the one I did, since it’s all black and white.
Anyway, puzzles are something that I enjoy doing and it’s always nice to have that sense of accomplishment that comes from completing something. A few weeks ago I was on the verge of giving up because it was approaching the point of becoming “no fun”. But, as Carolyn pointed out today, it’s amazing what a little perseverance can accomplish!
2 responses to “Puzzle goodness”
You did a very nice job oh your puzzle my coolio husband.
Nice work Dan. Definitely out of my league. The hardest puzzle I’ve ever done (other than perhaps choosing a career) was a 1000-piece, with 1,000 origami cranes on a black background. Actually it was 250 cranes, with each appearing 4 times. The puzzle was divided by two diagonals into 4 quadrants, with each quadrant containing the same 250 cranes. But since it was a rectangle, the 4 triangle quadrants were not identical, so the resulting distortion along one axis or the other helped you figure out which quadrant a particular bird belonged in. I actually did it at work on lunch hours, with the puzzle set up in an empty cubicle. I don’t think that had anything to do with my being laid off.
Dad G.