Magazine Review--Just Cross Stitch, December 2007

Pumpkin's comment on my other magazine post reminded me that I had purchased this issue last Saturday and then forgot to review it. In my own defense, I was dealing with a depressed dog who decided she would pull a muscle in silent protest because I was petting her brother. She snapped out of it though and I remembered I had it to review.

I am not sure how I feel about this issue on a whole. I buy Just Cross Stitch every other month, and have for 6 years. I never stitch anything out of it. I don't know why. I like the stuff in it, I just never get around to stitching it.

There are masses of stitchbooking designs this month. I think they would be good as straight ornaments. But I do not scrapbook, I do not papercraft. And even if I decided to change my ways after 30 years, they have a beautiful wreath made of paper and no directions on how to make the wreath.

There is a pretty Santa as well. It's a crescent design, not too original, but it's pretty. If you can't be original, being pretty ain't such a bad trade-off, because this is prettier than the other one.

The "find" of this issue is Simple Stitches. I have never seen these designs before, but they are really cute. And they don't look mindblowingly hard to finish. There is a very sweet beach set that would look good if I ever get my living room done. The issue features a Christmas house design that could be good as an ornament..

There are 5 simple country ornaments. They are pretty. Also a little design of a sheep for Christmas and some seasonal hats for a pillow.

Val of Val's Stuff contributed a really cute snowman with a rainbow colored scarf. It looks pretty simple; you could stitch it with regular DMC and use just about any colored variegated thread for the scarf.

There is also an article by Martha Beth Lewis on knots. I am not a fan of technical artists, nor do I particularly like Martha Beth Lewis, due to an issue I had with a class I took with her at CATS in Nashville in 2005. Suffice it to say, I didn't there is that much one needs to write on knots to warrant an entire article, oh, sorry, 4 articles, on knots.

OK, now for what I don't like. I wish magazines would stop publishing designs by Cathy Bussi. They are not nice designs. I don't know if they are too simpler or what it is that turns me off about them, but there are so many other designers out there, and yet they keep publishing designs by her. The Khamseh sock is also not my druthers.