New cross stitch kit from Yiota's XStitch!

 

I received one of the lovely cross stitch kits from Yiota's XStitch yesterday!  It is named "Bird Nest (No 2)" (since she also has another pattern called "Bird Nest").

I had read reviews by Sandie from Tigermum's creative corner (tiger) in the UK and socialsue (meerkat) in Canada when they also received cross stitch kits from Yiota's XStitch.

The first thing that impressed me was that it came in a large sturdy envelope with the entire back side of the envelope made from cardboard, so it couldn't be bent in the mailbox.  The cross stitch kit came in a nice cellophane pouch and all the floss bobbins were neatly lined up as you can see in the picture above.  They had barely shifted during the long journey from the UK to my front door in California, USA.

The front sheet of the pattern has the photo of the completed cross stitch project and shows the stitch count and finished size in centimeters and inches. The white 14ct Aida cloth that came with the kit measures 16.5" x 15", which leaves a margin of 2.5" to 3.75" for framing.  I have read that the preferred amount should be 3" on all sides, but I'm sure 2.5" will be adequate.  It would have been great if the Aida cloth had serged or whip-stitched edges already.

The pattern is printed on large sheets of heavy paper measuring 16.5" x 12.5".  I prefer this size instead of having several smaller pages to shuffle through.  The symbols are in black & white and very clear and easy to see.  I appreciate the larger printout.  The legend shows all the Madeira floss numbers, but Yiota's XStitch also provides the DMC floss numbers, in case you want to use the pattern and your own floss instead.  That was extremely thoughtful, so the stitcher doesn't have to search for a conversion table.

The most unique feature of Yiota's cross stitch kits is that they come with all the floss already wound on bobbins labeled with the Madeira floss color numbers.  The next best thing would have been if the symbols were also included on the floss bobbins.  It looks like there is more than enough Madeira floss to complete this pattern.  I will provide updates after I start stitching this beautiful picture.  I chose it because the pink flowers and birds looked so pretty to me!

I hope this review of Yiota's cross stitch kits was helpful to you!  I will certainly order from her in the future.  She has over 500 patterns to download in PDF format, or you can order the full cross stitch kit with the printed pattern, needle, fabric, and floss included.

Happy Stitching!