So Im new to cross stitch, you dont see this regularly but im only 23 and cross stitch is my main hobbie. I started buying little beginners kits, and recently my partner bought me a cross stitch which cost £27.99 and it is so big, ive not even got 1/10 of it done yet. Anyway I needed some inspiration so I headed to Tesco and picked up Cross stitch crazy about 2 months ago, it was about £4.99, but I dont know if this was because its getting nearer and nearer christmas and the issues become bigger.

I love this magazine as it regularly gives away charts and free kits to keep you busy, I have recieved magazines with lots of charts in, at the minute they are mostly christmas charts. You however do not recieve the thread and aida with these charts, but you do sometimes get the full kits, with the latest issue I recieved this month I got a free kit with the chart, aida, thread and a needle, this kit was of a cat in a wreath.

I was that impressed with cross stitch crazy, I decided to sign up to the subscription, I paid a £8 up front fee and I now pay £8 every six months which is a saving of over £7, which I think is brilliant for a subscription magazine. When you sign up to the magazine you also recieve a free gift, however I got told i was not entitled to one, which I am still in the process of sorting this out!!

All the magazines run a feature where someone writes in and reuqests a celebrity be made into a chart, I have seen ones of Keira Knightly, Johnny Depp, Katy Perry and Rihanna. All the charts in the magazine have long lists of the threads which are needed to be able to complete the designs, they are mostly all compiled using the cross stitch company DMC, and if you need more thread you are able to order them online from the DMC website. In some kits you also recieve special card for making christmas cards, and other celebration cards such as easter, birthdays, halloween and valentines day.

You can get the help you need from the magazine as it has help pages to show you how to stitch the different stitches that are needed, like half stitch, full stitches, french knots etc. These are really helpful for beginners who are looking for help and feeling a bit perplexed with their stitching like I was at the start.

Overall this magazine is great for people who need a bit of help, some inspirational ideas in order to stitch, for people who want to collect some kits to stitch in their free time. It is definitely worth the money although it is only released once every 2/3 months which is a bit of a let down. I have had some great ideas from this magazine in the past and will definitely be reviewing my subscription in March!!