Jigsaw Etiquette

Oh, I’m with you OP - I came home once and found that my cleaner had finished quite a big bit of my 1000 piece puzzle!! I didn’t say anything but texted the next day to say that I thought she probably only needed 3 hours to do the house rather than 4 from now on…🤣🤣

I hope nobody minds me digressing but it is still jigsaw related so here goes.
In Me and my Pal, a Laurel and Hardy film, it is Ollie's wedding day and as he walks around getting ready he frequently passes a table with an unfinished jigsaw on it. Each time he passes the table he cannot resist doing a bit more of his jigsaw. Stan, who is the best man, arrives and he gets involved with the jigsaw. The taxi driver comes to take them to the church and he starts looking for pieces. One by one, the vicar, the bride and her father, a policemen and a lot of the wedding guests are all crammed around the table doing this jigsaw. Hilarious.

My jigsaw is covered by the tablecloth unless I'm actually working on it, but I would be annoyed if it was visible and someone did some without asking first. Some family members who are also keen jigsawers have at times been invited to join in though.

I’d be grateful. I check puzzles for a local jigsaw festival, so always have one on the go. I wouldn’t even care if they put the last few pieces in!

Wouldn't bother me at all.

I wouldn't mind at all, but then my jigsaw table is part of my craft room, where my sewing machine and art supplies are set out on other tables so I imagine a friend would think it was all part of the general fun to have a go while I was in another room.

Golly, it wouldn't trouble me in the slightest. I'm in the minority, here.

I don't know about jigsaw etiquette, as I am not a jigsaw fan, but if anyone picked up my knitting I would be furious as people's tension is different, and I follow a pattern closely, so don't want someone moving things on without my knowledge.

I do think that in someone else's space guests should respect the fact that that they are guests, and behave accordingly, though. No helping yourself to things without asking, no wandering round uninvited, (and probably no finishing of jigsaws😀). In someone else's space you behave respectfully, IMO.

I say that as someone who has just had one of my (adult) children visiting immediately after the other, and have had three weeks of dealing with with loo rolls being put on backwards (when in use), dogs allowed to sit on sofas, used crockery left on worktops, TVs on in empty rooms and so on. A lot of my disgruntlement is because of my grumpiness (and other family stresses), which I don't deny, but I would do none
of those things in someone else's house.

Mi castillo no es tu castillo! 😎

I let my granddaughter put the last piece in once and it nearly killed me .

That would mean a firing squad, I'm afraid. My jigsaw is exactly that, mine!

Thank you all for your replies.
I'm glad others would have found this rude. It's made me feel better about being so cross about it x

Not on! Unless invited, I wouldn’t touch another person’s jigsaw, especially as you had covered it up with a tray.

I don't like people interfering with my knitting! I had to undo and correct it.

Regarding jigsaw etiquette, I worked with adults who had learning challenges. One lady in particular was a whizz at doing jigsaws. I lost count of the people who brought in puzzles saying "this will be ok for E only a few pieces missing." Grrrr

I don't think your friend should have touched your puzzle without checking with you first Mumski

I am someone who has to try very hard to keep my fingers off an unfinished jigsaw. Don't do them myself as I'd never get anything else done..
but I do restrain myself in other peoples' homes. And you say you'd covered this one up with the box too, so I think it's bad manners in jigsaw etiquette.

Don’t know how I d feel I ve always got a thousand piece jigsaw on the go, as I finish one I start another but it is fairly personal isn’t it, I mean you wouldn’t pick up someone’s knitting and do a couple of rows would you ?
As I ve never had anyone do that, I think personally it was bad manners and I can’t think of any of my friends that would do that, but if she’s very extravert she probably wouldn’t think the same way as I do ( I d be on my very best behaviour in someone else’s house )
It sounds as if the mystery misdeed is really what’s hacking you off, with this as an addition

I think it's the other issue that made this irritating!

What's the fuss?
Is she a friend?
Did she wizz through the last nine pieces and finish it for you?

I would be annoyed too! Sometimes I'm doing a jigsaw and if a friend visits, we might work on it together, but if she just started without asking, I wouldn't like it.
If you have any spare jigsaws you've finished with, I think I'd ask her if she'd like to borrow one to do in her own house! It would give you a chance to explain that you prefer to do your own, on your own!

That was very bad mannered of her, you are right to be irritated, but just as a matter of interest - what would you have said if she;d asked?

Personally, I think it would only really annoy me if I had nearly finished a puzzle at the point where someone decided to do some of it, but that is just me.

But i admit that how i felt about it would probably also depend who the person was, which in your case is obviously a big factor.
Given that you already have an issue with her, I can understand how this might make you very cross.