Goose Puzzle

I didn't do a lot of woodworking as a kid, despite the fact that my dad is an expert. I made some small things with him over the years, but my sister is the one who created beautiful furniture and other major pieces. In addition to little things I made at home, I did one year of woodworking through 4-H (with classes taught by my friend Colleen's dad). One of the 4-H projects I was most proud of was my first (and, so far, only) jigsaw puzzle. I was 12 when I made it.

I drew my design on a piece of wood, then used the jigsaw to cut it into four pieces. I glued the original piece of wood to a second piece of wood that was the same size, then sanded and painted the pieces of the goose, then treated the whole thing to a beautiful, glossy finish. I thought it was super cute and would do really well at the fair.

It didn't.

I got high marks for quality of worksmanship, but was graded way, way down for the usability of the puzzle. I was confused at first. The puzzle pieces fit perfectly with no gaps! They stayed in place. What else do you expect from a puzzle?! 

Well, it turns out that puzzles with only four pieces are usually intended for young children. And those four pieces should not be small enough for a young child to swallow. Nor should they be sharp and pointy, like the tail and the neck pieces. Oops.

Now that I'm a mom, it's obvious to me that this puzzle is completely inappropriate for a toddler. I found it recently when I was going through my childhood closet. After taking photos, I put it into the trash. Maybe someday I'll make a more child-friendly puzzle. Or perhaps I'll leave the woodworking to the experts.