NEW goodies coming SOON!

It's July! Can't believe the summer is whizzing by, and it's already HOT, HOT, HOT here in Kansas. Which, of course, also makes it perfect weather for stitching.

And time for Alan's mid-summer birthday. Here's the pic he sent our friends on his birthday party invitation. Clearly, he still enjoys his boy toys..and he's good at sharing. We had a bunch of adult friends over to eat and play in the lake on a lovely summer evening.

Alas, it's not all play. Things are humming at L*K headquarters as we are shipping new goodies EVERY MONTH in summer 2016. Usually we release new products every other month, but when it's mystery sampler time, nobody wants to wait 2 months for an update. 

And as long as we're shipping mystery goodies, we will release some other newbies. 

Here's WHAT'S COMING to your favorite shop AFTER July 15. 

SPOOKED! Mystery Sampler Part Two 

Our summer mystery is unfolding over 3 months and progressing left to right over the stitching area. This is the middle section and has the saying...and that's the only clue I'm giving. 

We hope you're having as much with SPOOKED! as we are. Every day we get orders and reorders from shops around the world. It's so fun to have a world wide community...all enjoying the same mystery...one little stitch at a time. Stitching really is a universal language.

If you didn't join the SPOOKED! Mystery Club at the beginning, no worries. Begin any time you like...there's still lots of time before Halloween (and it comes every year, you know!). Precut fabrics (linen and Aida), thread packs, embellishment packs are also still available to order. 

Each SPOOKED! part comes with a BONUS design (that's 3 in all) and this one is really fun. 

I'm calling her Winnie Witch, and she's a Halloween-y hoot! We finished her as a standup (check out the twig "pumpkin stem") and you can find standup finishing instructions on Mona's finishing blog soon. magicbymona.blogspot.com. You can also finish our friendly Winnie however you like. 

A Little Bee Kit

I was looking through a list of ideas submitted by stitchers recently, and saw request for A Little Bee design. I was in a "bee" sort of mood, so got with it and here it is. I enjoy designing and stitching these "Little" kits so much. I'm stitching on a Thanksgiving themed one now. A Little Bee kit includes 30 ct. natural linen, antique white flower button, chart, and hours of buzzy fun.

F161 July/August Yearbook Double Flip

F162 September/October Yearbook Double Flip

It's also time for more Yearbook Double Flips! I've enjoyed this series so much, and love seeing pics of finished Yearbook months on the I Love Stitching L*K Designs Facebook page. Haven't started on the Yearbook series? Choose your favorite month and get started. Or stitch the whole thing together vertically and get a fabulous calendar of stitches. Instructions for combining all 12 months are on the L*K website.

S128 Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful Snippet

As I contemplated 2016 as L*K's 20 year anniversary, I wanted a theme. Over the years, "inspiration" has become an L*K hallmark. I just love finding, graphing and stitching inspirational sayings of all kinds. So I purposed to have 2016 be all about personal empowerment, self care and a sort of "go girl" attitude. So, that's the idea behind this new Snippet. You're welcome to "be your own kind of beautiful" and personalize this with your favorite colors. Don't forget to post a picture of your finished "beautiful" Snippet on the I Love Stitching L*K Designs Facebook page so everyone can admire it.

Did you have a fun 4th of July holiday weekend??? We had a double treat, and got to see both daughters on the same weekend...not at the same time...but still fabulous. We traveled to Chicago for daughter Sarah "Lizzie"s art opening at a cool restaurant. She just finished her spring semester teaching high school art 2 weeks ago, so started the summer with a fun exhibit of her paintings.

And while in Chicago, we ate some authentic Chicago hot dogs, of course.

After we returned to Wichita, Ali and Barclay came for a visit...and brought their furry friends, Henry and Fiona. Who knew the dogs would love paddle boarding? Henry has on his handy doggie life jacket, but Fiona was a fabulous natural swimmer - didn't even get her nose wet. The canine friends stayed busy swimming from board to board. I didn't know you could balance a 40 lb. wet dog on the front of a board, and a dinky dog on the back of the same board, but Ali managed it rather gracefully.

Did I mention the fireworks? I forgot to take pics, but we spent 2 nights on the boat watching fireworks coming at us from every direction. So fun, and so LOUD with all the water echoes. I had a great fireworks experience and didn't spend a cent at the fireworks stand - my kind of holiday!

Happy July, everyone!