By this time last year I’d read about twice as many books as I have this year. One reason is the length of books I’ve been reading, but another reason is that I’ve been doing a jigsaw. I enjoy doing jigsaw puzzles and once I’ve got started on one I find it simply addictive – and I’m often surprised at the length of time it can take me.
Just as I have a backlog of books waiting to be read, I have a backlog of jigsaws and I bought this one, Northumberland Castles when we first moved to the county three years ago. I put it to one side at the time, busy settling in the house and promptly forgot about it, until recently. I finished it last weekend:
This puzzle shows from top left, looking at the photo, Dunstanburgh Castle (which we have yet to visit), Bamburgh Castle (see this post), second row from the left, Alnwick Castle (see this post), Lindisfarne (one of my favourite little castles – see this post), then Warkworth Castle (we have visited but I’ve not written a post yet) bottom row again from the left Chillingworth Castle (not visited this one), and Norham Castle, right on the Scottish Border (see this post).
I use a PuzzleKaddy to do the jigsaw. It folds away keeping the pieces held together and has a carrying handle. When I’m not doing the puzzle I fold up the board and slide it under the sofa out of the way.
I also use a Jigsafe to hold the pieces. This is a series of nesting boxes. I think the idea is to sort the pieces by colour. Each tray has a separate cardboard base so that you can do small sections and then slide them complete onto the jigsaw board. I don’t actually do that very much but use the trays just to hold the pieces, as shown in the photo below where I’ve sorted the pieces for the next jigsaw I’m doing. I separated the side pieces into the smallest box and just put the rest in the boxes as they came to my hand. Heidi was very interested!
For more Saturday Snapshots see Alyce’s blog At Home With Books.
BooksPlease 
I’m covetting my neighbour’s jigsaw puuzle (ok… blogging friend’s jigsaw) . That is absolutely beautiful! Just the kind of thing I like to do.
I like your Puzzlekaddy, there seems to be a variety of things available to do puzzles on, but I don’t think I’ve seen that sort before. My husband bought me a piece of perspex to do mine on but it’s unwieldy and I can’t fold it up and put it away. I’ve also never seen a Jigsafe, what a brilliant idea.
I’m doing a painting one at the moment, it’s called One of the Family by F.G. Cotman, 1,500 pieces. I’m left at the moment with a huge amount of brown to do. I think it’ll be a few more days before I finish and then perhaps I too will do a post about jigsaws on my blog.
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Cath, I’ve had the Puzzlekaddy quite a time now and I see that Jigsafe have now got different coloured trays for the pieces – but I prefer my white ones. I find both products really helpful. I hope you’ll do a jigsaw post too. I’m still pondering whether to join Pinterest …
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What a great puzzle-congratulations on finishing it. My son and I often have a puzzle on the go- we’ve got a Van Gogh Starry Night at the moment- it’s really hard. I like the look of your puzzle kaddy, I might have to checkout those out. Love the photo of Heidi- I can imagine her trying to get into the stack.
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Oh, I bet Starry Night is good to do, with so much yellow and blue! I love that painting.
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What great bins and caddies! We always seemed to lose pieces, or just leave them on a table when in progress…not a good plan! Thanks for sharing…not only the outcomes, but the handy devices.
Here’s MY SATURDAY SNAPSHOT POST
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Isn’t it annoying losing pieces!! It’s great just to be able to pack everything away when you’re not doing the puzzle.
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I absolutely love to do jigsaw puzzles!! I happened to stumble upon a huge puzzle store once on vacation. It was a bit of heaven!!
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That was a lucky find!
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What a beautiful puzzle! I haven’t done one in years.
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We use to love to do jig saw puzzles too, I must dig one out, since we are so snowed in, it might bring us all into the same room.
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That’s a beautiful jigsaw! My grandad is a big fan of jigsaws and I often get him one or two when it’s his birthday or Christmas. I also try and help once in a while, but I’ve not done a jigsaw of my own for years (although I often help my little niece & nephew!).
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Jigsaw puzzles are a wintertime staple in our grey cottage! Christmas always brings a couple new ones in and by Springgtime, we’ve made them and swapped with other family members. They’re such a great way to putter away an afternoon when it’s cold and raw outside and all we want is to sit by the fire! Your puzzle caddy is a neat thing to have!
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Our children and grandchildren love jigsaw puzzles.
I like your method of separating and sequestering the pieces especially if there are pets around.
Very nice photos.
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I used to love jigsaw puzzles, but now I only do them on the computer. My cat thinks the pieces are edible, and that’s not good for my puzzle or the cat. Nice photos!
Saturday Snapshot
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A lovely hobby..and I love the whiteness of your cat! Here’s my SS: http://lore-eleven.blogspot.com/2013/02/icy-convex-mirror.html
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I had no idea that puzzles had accessories!!
I visited Bramburgh Castle in 2007 – such a beautiful area.
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I’ve thought of getting one of those mats so that when I need to put a puzzle away, I don’t lose the pieces. I do fewer puzzles these days.
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Neglected to mention that your puzzle looks both interesting and challenging.
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Margaret – Jigsaw puzzles can be so therapeutic. I can see why you enjoy them and the ones you show here are just lovely.
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Very nice! We have a puzzle going on our dining room table all winter. It’s just the two of us and we eat at the Kitchen bar. I have a puzzle mat but never used it. We do a 1000 piece puzzle about every 2-3 days. I just set up an online puzzle page on my blog! http://peggyannspost.blogspot.com/p/your-web-browser-does-not-support.html (strange link I know but it works!)
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Hi Margaret,
Thanks for publishing a picture of your ‘Northumberland Castles’ jigsaw. After we discussed it last week, it was good to see it in all its glory!
I am not too sure whether I would make good use of the ‘jigsafe’ system … just a few too many boxes for my liking. I get frustrated just having the ‘kaddy’ and the box containing the jigsaw puzzle, cluttering the place up for too long!
I have a new puzzle on the go at the moment, however, now that I know so many people seem to be interested in our ‘puzzling’ posts, I shall save the details for another day.
Have a good week, Yvonne
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It’s been a long time since I made a jigsaw puzzle, and I think I’d have to start with something easier so I wouldn’t get frustrated. I applaud you.
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I’m so glad you posted this – and I’m sorry now that I didn’t take a photo of the jigsaw I finished last week. It was quite beautiful and all the pieces were stick shaped, so it was also challenging, as it looks like this one of yours was!
The point is, I’d love to see more of your jigsaw posts, and hope you don’t mind if I do some too.
Thanks so much for sharing!
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Unlike me, my mother (with whom I’ve been staying for more than a week, which is why I’m catching up on blog posts!) is a jigsaw enthusiast, and has a folding board similar to your’s, so she can move a ‘puzzle-in-progress’ off the dining room table. I’d love to get her the little trays – she would love them.
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We’re addicted to jigsaws too. We’ve just completed a 1000 piece one of a poster for the 1924 Empire Exhibition (repro) – it was very difficult.
I think I’ve only visited Norham Castle in your puzzle.
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I haven’t put a jigsaw puzzle together in about a year – they are addictive. I really like the idea of being able to wrap the puzzle up and keep the progress. I’ve known about those for a while, but haven’t gotten around to tracking one down. The castle puzzle is definitely a nice one!
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I love your jigsaw puzzle gadgets!
I find them totally addictive, too, so I try to space out my puzzles. I still have one I bought last year that we never put together, I may need to get it out this weekend….
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