Little puzzle library a conversation piece
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/08/2023 (874 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Cori Toews is constantly on the lookout for new puzzles.
Her best friend, who has been collecting puzzles for years, inspired her to put the pieces together and take on a new hobby. Between the two of them, they have more than 400 puzzles.
“I quickly found that I was very enthused by puzzles,” she said. “Part of the hobby is hunting for them.”
RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Cori Toews with her two sons, Rowan, 3, and Harlan, 5, next to their little puzzle library in front of their home in St. Vital.
She scans the aisles for second-hand puzzles in thrift stores, at garage sales, or online.
Two weeks ago, Toews decided to install a little puzzle library in her front yard in St.Vital to meet people in her neighbourhood and bond over their love for doing puzzles.
Toews said it was easy because a family friend built her the nook and a neighbour provided the stand to mount it.
She painted it red and decorated it with vinyl jigsaw stickers. She also added the lettering “take a puzzle leave a puzzle.”
“I’m very happy to see people taking advantage of it,” said Toews. “I know I made the right decision to do it.”
During the summer, lots of people go for walks and she figured the puzzle library would be a great addition to the community. She often sees three to six people checking out the puzzles each day.
Her youngest children, age three and five, wake up every morning and ask to check the puzzle library to see if anyone has traded something they’d like to check out.
Toews collects puzzles based on whether she likes the picture and has a knack for finding beach-themed or gradient designs that are colourful and more complicated.
She organizes her puzzles by the number of pieces, difficulty and shape, along four shelves in her basement. Lining the walls, are approximately 40 puzzles that she’s glued together and tacked to her wall.
RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
The little puzzle library is red in colour and decorated with vinyl jigsaw stickers.
“I guess I just like the art of them,” said Toews. “I only do pictures that I really love. Those are the ones that I buy.”
She spends most of her evenings unwinding with a new project, completing 1,000-piece puzzles within two days and 300- to 500-piece puzzles in less than an hour.
Seeing a completed puzzle feels like an accomplishment, she said.
tessa.adamski@freepress.mb.ca
