In my hoop Sue Day’s coverkit story

Sue Day has been a CrossStitcher reader from our very first issue, back in 1992. Inspired by other readers, this year she finally got around to stitching our first ever covergift!

Be er late than never – that’s been the mo o of several of our readers who have featured in ‘In My Hoop’ as they shared with us their completed WIPs. But none so far has held on to a covergift from our first issue, only to complete it almost 30 years later, as did Sue Day…

Sue, who lives in Cambridge, began cross stitching after she bought the first issue of CrossStitcher. Before our first issue came out she had focussed on embroidery. “Oddly enough, what a racted me to the first issue of CrossStitcher was not cross stitch at all,” she recalls. “It was the article on stitching nostalgia inside. I love the social history of the early 20th century and I am fascinated by all things vintage. After reading the first issue I took out a subscription to CrossStitcher and always looked for the Memory Lane feature first. Although the content of the magazine has changed over the years, the range and variety of charts and projects is always interesting, with designs to suit all levels of ability. Even after all these years I still consider myself a novice, but, with practice, I hope to tackle some of the more intricate and challenging projects one day. I love reading the Needles and Notions pages to see what other CrossStitcher readers have achieved.”

HIDDEN TREASURES

In our February 2021 issue a reader wrote to say that she had just completed the cover kits from issues 6, 8 and 10. “It prompted me to search out all my early copies of the magazine and sure enough, the cover kit from issue 1 was still a ached,” says Sue. “I thought I would have a go. I cannot think why I did not do it before. To be honest

I was a li le bit pleased with myself for completing the kit after so long, but also ashamed – it was so easy, I have no excuse.

I have a couple of co age ornaments that I inherited from my mother, and it will sit nicely alongside them.”

MORE TO EXPLORE

Sue has worked on many of our designs over the years. “One of my first projects was to adapt a CrossStitcher chart for my parents’ Golden Wedding Anniversary in 1995. I embellished the original floral design with gold thread and stitched a message in gold over the top to make a special card. I had started the Winnie the Pooh card kit from issue number 74 some years ago, but it was only last year that I completed it to send to my great niece. During lockdown I also completed the Kokeshi Doll card kit from issue 263 to send to a friend who loves anything Japanese, and I adapted a railway engine chart for her foster son, who has Down’s Syndrome and who loves trains. There is one special design I should like to stitch very much. In issue 359 the cover picture is of a cricket match on a village green. It reminds me so much of summers years ago when my late husband played cricket on village greens just like the one in the picture. It will be more ambitious than anything I have done so far. But it would be a wonderful reminder of those happy days.”

I searched out all my early copies of the magazine and sure enough the cover kit from issue 1 was still attached