Final day to PIG OUT on our BACON contest!

WOW...you L*K blog readers are amazing! Your excitement for BACON has been beyond my expectations. I have read every comment, and they are hilarious, inspiring and hunger-inducing!  Who knew BACON was held in such esteem in households all over the US and around the world?!

Today is the final day to leave your comment and enter our BACON contest. Don't forget to include your email address when you leave your comment. Scroll back to previous BACON post for all the details! We'll determine the random winners over the weekend and send emails to notify.

Meanwhile, the BACON has hit the road! We shipped the new BACON BITS chartpak on Monday, along with several other new releases. See below for the tasty scoop!

Our chart #153 Bacon Bits has 4 BACON designs. Have fun, and don't "hog" them all for yourself - share your BACON!

YEA! These are the final 2 designs in our Less=More series. All four designs are now available! If you're stitching the series together, don't forget to download the FREE border and instructions from our website for combining everything into one long, inspirational sampler. The colors in this series are so lovely, and the antique sampler motifs are so fun, I had the best time stitching the original models.

Our final new release is the B38 Spread the Love Inspiration Boxer. Like the other designs in this series, Boxer kit comes with 32 ct. lambswool linen, pattern and embellishments. This kit also includes a BONUS design for the darling little needle roll pictured. Embellishments include beads for the needle roll, too. 

Many happy stitches, readers! 

Makin' the Bacon BLOG CONTEST!!

Doesn't the word BACON just make you smile? Everyone is always asking me where I get the inspiration for my L*K designs. Honestly, sometimes it arrives in the strangest ways. As I was in the breakfast buffet line at our recent Nashville Needlework Market, I tried to cruise right past that giant tray of extra-crispy BACON...but it was impossible!  A few yummy pieces jumped onto my plate, next to the healthy fruit and mini veggie omelette. How did that happen? Whatever...that BACON was super salty, crunchy and all-around tasty!

Which got me thinking...I should do a BACON themed design...or maybe 3 or 4. I've done designs about chocolate, coffee and tea...so BACON was a natural...right? Sort of the 4th in the L*K food group series! So I rounded up some fun BACON sayings and got to work designing and stitching models. I have to say, I was smiling my way through this marathon round of speedy BACON model stitching!

We'll be shipping the new BACON BITS chartpak next Monday, along with other new L*K designs. We haven't got it back from the printer yet, but here's a computer printout of the cover. We did the whole retro kitchen look with a red-checked tablecloth, plate and fork...I love doing this stuff!

When I went to the photographer to shoot the group last week. we gathered up a bunch of fun retro kitchen things. I brought my grandmother's iron skillet (and we added real BACON). Steve contributed some other cool props - this antique flour scoop....

and this ultra-cool antique egg weigher - check it out on the left of the photo below. I tacked one of the designs on an apron I already had for a fun finish.

So, we're having so much BACON fun, we decided to have a BACON BLOG CONTEST!  To enter, just leave a comment with your favorite BACON-y food, or a (short) memorable bacon story. Don't forget to include your email address so we can contact you if you are a winner. All the details and prizes are detailed below!

Show us your BACON pride and enter now!  We're achin' for more BACON!

GIVEAWAY PRIZE
6 Bacon Bits Chartpaks and surprise BACON goodies!

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
How to Enter: Leave a comment on this page and tell us your favorite bacon related food or story.
Required: You must include your email address in the comment form. I'll need it to contact you should you win.
Deadline: Fri., April 20, 2012 at 11:59PM Central Time

The Fine Print: No purchase necessary to enter. One entry per person. Winner will be selected at random by Lizzie*Kate using random.org. All entries received after the giveaway closing day and time will not be considered. Winners will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to confirm receipt of the email. If the winners do not reply within 48 hours, another winner(s) will be selected. Giveaways will be mailed to the winners' homes.

What is a bunting?

No, it's not something to bundle a baby, it's not a baseball term...it's a cool banner sort of swag thing! I'm sure you've seen them in magazines and shops recently. They're old-fashioned, but suddenly they're popular in a fun, retro sort of way.

Last weekend when I was in Savannah with my girlfriends, we admired a cute bunting in a shop. My friend said "oh, I've pinned one of those on my Pinterest account. I think we could make that."  I got very excited, because I love doing no -needlework craft projects ...and so it began.

My friend, Glenna, is my go-to craft project buddy. She can do ANYTHING, and regularly does all sorts of cool stuff. When I live and breathe needlework everyday, I really enjoy doing something different with my hands and exercising some different creative muscles. So even though neither of us had thoroughly unpacked our suitcases from the previous weekend (priorities, priorities!) we met last night after work. Armed with a short supply list, we slogged through a torrential thunderstorm for a Hobby Lobby run.

With Glenna's iPad in front of us for step by step instructions and photos, we got to work. We decided on our text "Springtime" and cut out 10 little triangle shaped banners from scrapbook paper. Then we each freehanded some letters and glued them on with a glue stick. (There are lots of other ways to download letters but we were lazy and this was quick).

The final step was so easy and efficient, we were surprised. We used Glenna's old Kenmore sewing machine (not quite as old as my Kenmore from high school), but it felt like my machine. We used double fold bias tape to zig zag stitch the pennants together. Just insert the edge into the folded tape and start sewing! 

You can see the happy results above and below. We hung Glenna's bunting right away on her kitchen fireplace, next to some antique Easter decor she has on display.

I hung my bunting in my L*K office this AM, so I could admire it's beautiful colors (and pat myself on the back) while I work. I'll transfer it to the dining room for Easter dinner, since I'm hosting the family. 

Glenna and I had so much fun on this project, we can't wait to make another special occasion bunting. It took about 2.5 hours, from start to finish, including our very wet supply run. We found lots more cool pics and projects online...definitely more buntings in our future!

Here's the link that got our creative juices flowing!

http://navybeanonline.blogspot.com/2010/01/how-to-make-bunting.html

Savannah!

I just returned from a long girlfriend weekend in lovely Savannah.  I've wanted to visit Savannah for a LONG time, so when I had the opportunity to go, I WENT!

Savannah didn't disappoint!  The beautiful old homes and buildings in the historic district and the neighboring Victorian area were stunning. We managed to fit in a lot of activities, and still work around my slightly diminished walking ability with my recovering knee (thanks, dear friends!).

Between the 4 of us, we took a zillion photos, but here are a few of my photo highlights!

We were delighted with our brownstone we rented (Thanks, Glenna!), right in the heart of the historic district. There was a really famous restaurant tucked next door, nearly at the bottom of our staircase, called Mrs. Wilke's Boardinghouse. The first day, we were baffled at the line forming outside our front door!

Yes, it's the beautiful church from the movie Forrest Gump where the wandering feather floated down and down and down...and landed in the pretty park next door.

We toured 4 historic homes (loved them all) including the Mercer Williams Home. You might recognize this gorgeous beauty from the movie "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil". Another house we enjoyed was the Juliette Gordon Low house. You former Brownies and Girl Scouts will remember Juliette as our beloved founder. Who knew her nickname was "Daisy"? Suddenly I understood why those cookies are called "Savannahs"!!

We drove to beautiful Tybee Island, where we played on the beach in the unseasonably warm temps and visited this lighthouse.

We "Kansas girls" were fascinated by the abundance of real Spanish moss, dripping from the live oak trees. It was the first time I'd seen Spanish moss, outside of the bag from Hobby Lobby!

We ate outdoors whenever possible...what a treat!

Last, but not least, a photo of my new passion - chocolate PRALINES! These sweet treats combined 2 of my favorite flavors...chocolate and brown-sugary goodness. I won't post how many times we visited the Savannah Candy Kitchen to restock, but I had to photo this one before it disappeared!

Thanks to Glenna, Cheryl and Julie for an unforgettable weekend in sunny Savannah! WARNING to husbands...we're already plotting our next adventure!