Preprinted cross stitch from china, would you buy one ?

 I must admit that I am a bit of a crafty hoarder when it comes to kits in charity shops but there is a gem of a reason for doing this.

1 I like to think that if I am confined to he house I will have plenty to do.

2 The small simple kits are often given away to people who want to try out cross stitch or embroidery. In fact I purchased a couple of small ones on Wednesday and one of them found a new home the very next day.

3 I like the challenge of a new style of embroidery when I come across one ( not the best at finishing things though)

4, This is the main point of this post. I'm curious about the influx of cheap, preprinted cross stitch from China although I would never buy any as often the artwork has been stolen etc. I understand that some brands are completely legit and I'm not complaining about them.

But whilst in Stonehaven I cam across one in a charity shop, a complete kit, unstarted ( in fact unopened) for a couple pounds so I bought it just to see if it works. 

The kit comes with 11count fabric so I'm not expecting any detail :-) I have since seen a kit with 18 count fabric which would be a lot better so maybe a more sensible choice? If I spot one at a cheap price I will try that also.

The cover picture depicts artwork not a completed stitch ( red flag moment) and a quick search found it on Amazon for around £8, reviews were interesting though, several were 5 star but one mentioned poor quality floss and having to redraft the pattern.

This is what I got.

Paper Pattern, I hope that I never have to refer to it as its really small and not gridded.

It looks more like a bunch of flowers but the colours do seem to be printed in line with the stitches. but we have symbols on the key which are difficult to read on the paper pattern or fabric

The instructions on how to cross stitch are printed on the transparent sleeve with an unremovable sticker across the part that explains how many thread to use at a time for different size fabrics.

another instruction sheet is included. There are clear instructions to only leave 1cm of thread when starting and finishing stitching so I suspect that the thread amounts may be the same across the three fabric sizes quoted on the cover sheet for this design. This makes me a little concerned that running out of thread may be an issue.

Threads are pre sorted, it remains to be seen how they hold up to being pulled through the stiff material.

They state that everything is included to start although though snips look a bit lethal !

I think that I may start with a couple of squares in the middle just to get an idea of how it works, I'm not holding my breath at all haha

If I don't like it, next up will be this heritage bookmark spotted by Ian which he has asked me to stitch for him. Comes complete with fabric, needle, backing material, threads, design story and even a tassel. Bargain £1.50 at the charity shop in Lochcarron ( I also picked up a lovely new cotton traders cardigan to wear over winter)

To conclude, I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised by the stamped cross stitch. Although my preference will always be for counted stitch designs I would like to know whether this kit, which is advertised as a beginner kit, is actually suitable for a newbie.