January 2, 2002

3:55 pm - Yesterday I was looking at puzzle #20, an early Green Dragon I did in April 2000. I noticed the Twirl Star figural in it and I was "impressed" with how sloppy it looked compared to my current work. My latest puzzle #203, Fantasy Faire, also has a Twirl Star in it, so today I decided to place both of the stars side by side for comparison. Check out the difference in cutting smoothness, particularly on the outside edges of the arms! The new star is also a little smaller than the one I did in #20.

December 31, 2001

7:55 pm - Fantasy Faire is done! ... another eight hours of cutting. With the "Train Feature" this has to be one of the most interesting puzzles I've made. I'll post some more pictures later this week.

December 30, 2001

11:35 pm - OK here's one reason why FF is taking longer than usual................

Ferris Wheel carriages can form a Train - there will be 10 cars,......... six are done.
Will fit (does so far) in any order except the Engine and the Caboose
The interlocks required very precise placement and cutting
See Fantasy Faire for an earlier version

December 29, 2001

10:36 pm - I spent about seven more hours cutting Fantasy Faire and I have completed the bottom half. I've cut out three of the Ferris Wheel carriages, and they successfully interlock in a standing position, like train cars. I plan to finish the puzzle on December 31, and ship on January 2.

December 23, 2001

7:55 pm - Start cutting the last puzzle of the year - Fantasy Faire - the re-attempt of an earlier failed effort. This is a particularly hard puzzle to cut, given its size, the number of figurals, that the Ferris Wheel cars are being cut out, that the cars will have "connectors" so they may be connected together outside the puzzle as a train, and finally that the customer requested that the "black area" be cut as Creative, with the rest in Long Round. The Ferris Wheel contains many structural elements which divide up the black areas with rods - spawning multi-style pieces, sometimes with little room for pieces to "express" themselves before they enter a different-style space, so some pieces end up with an identity crisis :-). I've completed about 20% of the puzzle (lower left hand section), and the progress is going well. I'll resume on December 29th, after I return from Yosemite, and in three days of marathon sessions, hope to finish by December 31st.