Leslie at the State Fair.
Leslie visiting The Liberty Puzzles shop in Boulder, CO on a road trip!
Leslie happily posing with a brand new puzzle!
Leslie’s cat Herman, supervising from a most comfortable spot.
Leslie’s Puzzle Story:
Leslie M. (she/her) lives in Minnesota, and has casually puzzled for 60 years, while also competitively puzzling for the past 20 years. She was involved with the documentary, Wicker Kittens, and though she says it took some cajoling for her to participate in that project, her appearance resulted in a gift to the entire puzzling community. She shared her special puzzling technique, dubbed “The Mallery Move”, by her puzzle friends, where she moves a large section of completed pieces by stretching the connected pieces away from each other from the corners with tension.
She is very active in the puzzling community and is notably part of a speed puzzling team at the yearly Autism Society of Minnesota contest, which is held at the Mall of America in November. Her newest project is called “Slow Puzzling”, where she constructs puzzles with only 100 random pieces at a time. She then records music on her 100-year-old piano, and combines that music with the puzzle visuals into short videos on her YouTube Channel! (Link below.)
Q&A Time:
Are you active in the puzzle community?
“I've organized the “Longest Day” fundraiser to benefit the Alzheimer's Association for 7 years. We pick a day close to the summer solstice and puzzle from sunrise to sunset - that's about 16 hours. It's my favorite day of the year.”
What do you enjoy most about the puzzle community?
“The camaraderie. Puzzlers competing against each other in one competition will then team up to puzzle with each other in the next.”
What is your best advice for someone who wants to improve their speed puzzling abilities?
“Scan the box at the beginning to get a sense of the scene and colors but don't rely heavily on it during the puzzling process. When you're getting down to just a solid color left, take a moment to shape-sort the pieces. It's worth it. Believe me on this one. And don't forget to make use of the Mallery Move if the pieces are interlocking.”
What do you enjoy most about puzzling ?
“I work puzzles on a board in my lap so I leave the pieces in the box and dig for what I need. I love the feel of the pieces sifting through my fingers.”
Connect:
Leslie can be found through her YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@themallerymove