Jigsaw Puzzles

[Hermitreader]

In the last few years, since Lockdown actually, I have really got into doing jigsaw puzzles. I have even been given a proper board I can save them on whilst working on one. I've found a cheapy shop where I can buy a 500 piece puzzle for £6 so no great outlay. All happy until I mentioned my hobby to someone from a group I go to and she looked at me with a look of barely concealed contempt, and muttered something about 'all right for oldies'. The thing is I'm only 59, work part time because I looked after my mum until she died and can afford to do so. Is doing jigsaws a sign that I'm getting old before my time? I thought it was good for manual dexterity and keeping brain active but her comment has unnerved me a bit.

@leeverarch I'd love to find another one like that one - it had some very unusual shaped pieces. A nice level of difficulty, and very pretty

@toastofthetown those are beautiful 😍

Love a jigsaw especially with an audiobook and a clear evening/day. There's a train station near me that has a jigsaw always on the go in the waiting room. Perfect.

I'm 41 year old bloke and love a good jigsaw.

And what's more I have done all my life. Some of my best memories with my Mum are sat helping her with a jigsaw in my teens.

Tell your friend she's a twat from me.

I love jigsaws, I do them on an app on my phone.

I am 34 and love jigsaws! I have just bought Cloudberries Backyard and it is sitting on my desk in my office waiting for the summer holidays...I am very excited!

And yes OP, just ignore the uninvited comment from random people whose opinion you didn't ask for or want in the first place. I'm early thirties and my friends also like puzzles (and have floated the idea of a 5000 piece puzzle between us before). I remember my aunt asked for what I wanted for my birthday once and I suggested a puzzle and she said that it was too boring. Didn't really care what she thought to be honest, and if puzzles are boring then I'm happy to be boring too 🤷‍♀️

But if you check out the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championships on YouTube, you'll see it's definitely not just a hobby for the elderly. And interest in the competition is growing each year.

Ugh, I hate it when people make snarky comments on things that bring you joy.

Well OP, my 16 year old, when not out with her mates can be found pretending not to be swearing under her breath cos she has been stuck on a huge jigsaw for weeks.
On the other hand my mother also enjoys jigsaws, although she is in her 70s she is young at heart and gives me 'old lady goals' cos she may be in her 70s but gives me a run for my money when it comes to having fun, acting young and downright getting older disgracefully. She is very young at heart (this is not always great when I have to tell her to behave) and she enjoys a jigsaw.

I have a 1000 piece jigsaw, I am in my 30s! Although I am awful at them and the jigsaw is being ignored because it is far too hard

I love doing a jigsaw and the largest I’ve attempted is 3000 pieces because it was so beautiful. Sadly it’s been under the bed in the spare room for months now because I just couldn’t work particular section of it out. I’ll perhaps give it another go now.

ETA - I’m 66 now and have done them for years.

They are lovely @toastofthetown

I like Eurographics and New York Puzzle Company. I also really like the newish literary puzzles The World of-Jane Austen, The Great Gatsby, Miss Marple and others I only have one-Poirot-which I got for Christmas but I have my eye on the others.

I’m 50 and my DC1 is 19. We love doing jigsaws together. Ignore other people’s opinions and do what makes you happy.

@toastofthetown and @OlgaBracley I share the same taste as you!

I don't do anything illustrated or twee, only graphic designs.

Have all the Cloudberries collections, plus lots of Elena Essex and The World Of.

Other ones worth a look are...

Journey Of Something
Mudpuppy
Val Goldfinch
Eeboo
Angela Harding
Galison - Frank Lloyd Wright
(Some of the) Falcon Contemporary collection

And possibly my favourite of the year so far...
Humming Dragon by Android Jones - utterly amazing.

Ignore. I love jigsaws... although I was about 46 when I got really back into them. My friend is the same, and my younger sister. End of term coming up and I'm going to treat myself by getting out a 500 or 1000 piecer. I find them like balm, or meditation!

They also do so much for your sensorial awareness! I remember one I did that had a vast area of blue sky, and after a while I became a master at finding a piece's home by noticing tiny variations in the hue of the blue. Or another one that had a detailed, line drawn cartoon as a picture and in one section the lines were slightly less sharp, so I found lots of pieces by noticing that.

You always get to a moment when you have to step away, though! You go back next day and find either the piece or the hole you were missing, immediately...

I recently got back into jigsaws, I like 1000 or 1500 piece ones which I get in the charity shops or on eBay for a few pounds. I'm 60 but have enjoyed doing them off and on all my life. My problem is I really dislike many of the designs eg country cottages, cutesy scenes, kittens everywhere etc. I like proper art or more architectural ones eg I've done some Lowrys, Kandinsky, van Gogh, interior ceiling of at Peter's Basilica, antique maps, but there are definitely fewer of those around than the thatched cottage type.

I'm in my 40s and love a jigsaw! Quite a few of my neighbours do as well so we have a swap arrangement going on in a local neighbourhood group. Never be embarrassed about enjoying something.

OP there’s a longstanding thread here where we share pics of jigsaws once completed.
www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/4114213-anyone-fancy-a-new-jigsaw-thread?page=9&reply=135888462

I’ve always loved doing jigsaws, as has my sister. I remember mentioning to my mother in law that I’d bought my sister one for her birthday and she laughed and asked “and just how old is she?”

Ooh I love those @toastofthetown we have similar taste. Which one is the rainbow animals one id like ro
get that one.
I sometimes do one of the kids 300 piece ones as they are nice quick afternoon fix. We’ve got a few rainbow style graphic ones, my autistic DD likes doing them to calm her mind.,

Oh wow I’ve just found the Elena Essex puzzle shop thanks to this thread they are lovely think I’ll have to get one.

Lots of lovely puzzle inspiration here!
I've always enjoyed jigsaws and I'm 47; this weekend I'm re-doing a Wines of France puzzle.

Not sure if this means you’ve figured it out, but the puzzle is Rainbow Kingdom by Elena Essex.

We like to do the Jan Van Haasteren jigsaws.

Nothing wrong with getting absorbed in a jigsaw. Love them.

41 here and I love jigsaws although I'm not very good at them. 500 piece is probably my level but currently struggling through a 1000 piece one. It does give me a great chance to catch up on audiobooks/podcasts.

Good old Ravensburger have a wide variety of designs and high quality pieces.

Then there are so many new brands such as Cloudberries, Elena Essex, Eeboo, Happily etc. All have their own style and feel really modern and fresh.

Karen Puzzles YouTube channel is great fun, she knows a lot about the design and history of puzles. She introduced me to gradient puzzles, miniature jewel-like puzzles, giant puzzles, puzzle contests and so much more. She is so enthusiastic about it and her enthusiasm is catching.

The history is interesting. When puzzles were first issued commercially there was just a box of pieces - no illustration to follow!

The fact that there are so many new, modern jigsaw designers springing up would suggest the Op's detractor doesn't know what she's talking about. But we knew that 😁

I quite like the cutesy pictures - something with a lot of detail rather than blocks of the same colour.

Galison are one of my favourite makers .

I love a jigsaw! Been doing them since I was a teenager, so nothing to do with being old! I'll do any kind of jigsaw, usually 1000 piece plus. I stay up till 3am to finish them because I have to find "just one more piece"!
I love making order from the chaos. It's so therapeutic, and I listen to music while I do them. I have a really good eye for colour, so I must be the only weirdo that does the sky first (after the frame, of course!) I love sorting pieces. I did a 5000 piece one a few months ago, that was tough! I needed to get it done in 10 days, because I needed the table for Sunday dinner! I can usually do a 1000 in 1-2 days, but the bigger ones are so much harder!