QE2 Story Jigsaw "Evening at Sea" by Peter Mugridge

[June Ingram]

Great to know that QE2 (jigsaw) found safe shelter at Isabelle's moorings.  It is no wonder that the jigsaw crew absconded under the conditions.  Glad to know that they will be reassembling !  QE2's (jigsaw) excitement must now be building as the Christmas tradition of her refit approaches !   

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

Happy new year to everyone here in the Forum! And happy new year also to our QE2, still awaiting her next refit :


Happy new year! by seikinsou, on Flickr

The jigsaw is a bit more advanced at this stage, and the refit crew is making (slow...) progress!

[Peter Mugridge]

Oh goodness - don't catch any of those pieces on a sleeve or something when leaning across to pick something out will you?!

[June Ingram]

Glad to see that the refit crew is assembled and off to a good start ! 

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

Well, the (jigsaw) refit crew regarded this as a tough assignment! And so, they took on the easiest and most pleasant tasks first :


The frame and the centre by seikinsou, on Flickr


Jigsaw at New Year by seikinsou, on Flickr

... leaving the more difficult and taxing bits to be tackled later. And then, they drifted away...

As all skilled tradespeople the world over, they were only too happy to abandon a project that had become challenging and needed to be completed, when other work called!

I shall do my best to reassemble them (and assemble the jigsaw) as soon as possible!

[June Ingram]

Hi Isabelle -

Thank you very much for the marvelous pictures of QE2's (jigsaw) refit.  I am sure she is enjoying the attention being lavished on her.  It does look as if great progress has been made so far.  The perimeters of her "floating dry dock" have been outlined and then it does appear as if the crew are working on her exterior.  Very good !  The refit crew probably were called away to an "emergency" knowing full well that QE2 (jigsaw) is safe and sound and enjoying her stay at your shipyard.  And since she does not have a deadline to meet, she can relax and relish her time off. 

June   

[Lynda Bradford]

Well done Isabelle for mustering the crew to try this challenge and hope they return soon to finish the refit.

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

A little bit of progress has been made, so I thought I would post a wee update :


A little more progress by seikinsou, on Flickr

Only red and black pieces remain -- it will take a fair while more I think... but she will look so beautiful once the refit is complete!


All black and red pieces by seikinsou, on Flickr

[Peter Mugridge]

Only red and black pieces remain -- it will take a fair while more I think... but she will look so beautiful once the refit is complete!

Ah... the fun part!  It's challenging, but not as bad as you might think at first sight.

[Lynda Bradford]

Only red and black pieces remain -- it will take a fair while more I think... but she will look so beautiful once the refit is complete!

......and it looks like there are a lot of red and black pieces......

Well done Isabelle for keeping with the jigsaw challenge. 

[June Ingram]

Good work, Isabelle, and no need to rush her refit.  She appears to be very content to be worked on as time permits.  Thanks for posting the photos and please continue to post photos as work progresses.  June   

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

She's done! Evening, sea, ship and all .

This is how I started, last week-end :


A couple more pieces found by seikinsou, on Flickr

And it's all done now. Too dark at present to take a picture, but I shall do so tomorrow.

Now, who would like to take on this challenge? One good thing though...these evenings at sea are long and leisurely... no rush!

[Peter Mugridge]

That's good - now do tell, please, how much of a challenge did you find the sea and the sky?  I'm guessing you were cursing a bit while doing it, but once finished you were wondering why it wasn't a bit faster?

It's probably clear now why it took so long to do the actual painting in the first place, bearing in mind that I don't paint "wet on wet"? 

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

Luckily, I am not much prone to cursing -- but I did find it a huge challenge, the most difficult jigsaw I've done!

Finally, with the black areas (the sea), I tried out an entirely "new" technique which worked for me amazingly well. And yes, you are right, once it was finished, I did see lots of shades and streaks and wondered why they helped so little during assembly...

I really liked the challenge and eventually wanted the pride of having carried out the refit all on my own -- but I believe that, while my back was turned a fortnight ago, Pia and a couple of friends also helped and deserve some thanks!

The list of interested Forum members is here :

QE2 Jigsaw No. 4 "Evening at Sea" by Peter Mugridge
    Isabelle P. (current holder)
    Pete C.
    Alan S.
    Jim B.
    John
    Catherine
    Rod
    June

Pete, would you like me to send the jigsaw to you? If not, are any of the others on the list interested?

As for myself, I was recently given a 1,500 piece jigsaw as a birthday present -- nothing to do with QE2 for once! It will be very different, and will keep me occupied for the next few months... .

[Peter Mugridge]

Ah... the shades and streaks don't help much on the jigsaw simply because there are so many of them with little size differential; they are after all the waves in the sea and it's a calm sea...