Merry Christmas!

This is an ornament I made for a Christmas stitching exchange which had a snowman theme. The design is from an old Just Cross Stitch magazine and it was fun to stitch with all the beads and fine details. Maybe I will get round to stitching one for myself someday....

Stitching magazines

This week's Stitching Blogger's Question:

What cross-stitch magazines or other publications (as opposed to blogs) do you read on a regular basis? What do you like about them? What do you not like? What would your perfect publication include?

I've had a subscription to New Stitches for about 3 years. I like this one because it has in-depth articles and a techniques masterclass. Plus it covers a mixture of stitching types, such as blackwork and speciality stitches. I haven't stitched many designs from it, but the designs are classic and won't date too much. My main dislike is that the designs use Anchor rather than DMC. As a consequence I've ordered the kits to save me having to buy Anchor threads I won't use for anything else.

I recently started reading Sampler & Antique Needlework Quarterly. I enjoy reading the articles in this magazine and find it interesting to see the photographs of the antique embroidery. Until December 2005 I had a subscription to World of Cross Stitching. I cancelled this because many of the designs seemed repetitive and not to my taste. I didn't like the style of the main designers they were using.

My perfect publication would include a mix of stitching types eg, cross-stitch, blackwork, speciality stitches, with interesting and informative features. It would also contain designs from designers I like eg, Just Nan, Mirabilia, Little House Needleworks etc.