| Product: |
CrossStitcher Magazine |
| Date: |
21/08/08 (37 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Packed with great charts, tips and reviews. Excellent value.
Disadvantages: After a few years of subscribing you realise you cannot live long enough to do all the charts.
I have been subscribing to Cross Stitcher for a few years, its my favourite cross stitching magazine with in my opinion the best balance of news, letters, tips, quick charts and big charts for counted cross stitch fans.
Every month the magazine includes a fantastic free kit or other useful freebie such as a chart holder to organise my stitching. The free kits feature often favourite characters like winnie the pooh, popcorn the bear or they are themed for occasions such as Mothers Day and Christmas. In addition to this they frequently include free giant charts of popular themes like All Our Yesterdays. At the end of the year I get a great free stitchers diary full of tips and stitching events to see me through the year.
Tha magazine is brimming with excellent content. Not just a reference, its a good read too.
Cross Stitcher has all the latest news on needlecraft shows, new products hitting the shops and latest threads to enhance my work. The letters page showcases readers' cross stitching and offers motivation and encouragement to keep on going with that difficult piece of work.
The charts inside the magazine are very high quality and easy to follow with extra timesaver tips. Popular characters are abundant such as Flower Fairies, Tatty Teddy and Popcorn Bear. Charts featuring themes such as Native American, floral and seasonal make sure the needles is never idle. Each chart comes with a shopping list, a quick guide to whether it uses beads, speciality threads, whole stitches only or half stitches. There are handy reader offers to such as discounted books and framing offers.
The reader to reader section is a very handy small ads page for locating that hard to find chart or back issue missed. Tales from Norman is a delightful column written by stitcher and ex TUC General Secreatry Normal Willis which keeps me in stitches every month.
Cross Stitcher regularly features stitching alphabets and excellent 'Buy The Best' product reviews with a top 5 kits column. Expert advice is on offer in the Ask The Experts section and Find That Chart tracks down the rare and the unusual.
At the back of the magazine are three real gems. A beginners guide because not everyone is a seasoned stitcher, Wise Words providing inspiration for samplers or simply a chuckle and a small chart that is part of a yearly collectable series.
A few cross words here. The subscription service has left me a little disappointed, although the magazine has always arrived on time three times now the cover kit has been missing when the magazine has plopped through my door. Future publishing to their credit however have sent out a replacement without quibble which has arrived within a fortnight.
On a more positive note they do offer a high quality free gift with subscriptions, I received a Catitudes kit that is absolutely adorable. The saving on the cover price makes subscribing worthwhile and subscribers get extra competitions, puzzles and charts every month via the subscriber only pages.
Summary: The best cross stitching magazine on the shelves. Great freebies. A must for stitching fans.
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