APRIL SNEAK PEEK

It's been 3 weeks since my last blog post, but it seems like FOREVER!

Between now and then, we've had some quirky warm/hot weather (yes, we've already mowed our lawn), watched tons of basketball, I've designed a bunch of newbies for 2017 (including a Mystery Sampler!), and worked on planning a wedding. Ali (aka "Kate") is getting married and we couldn't be happier. But sometimes it's hard to squeeze work between all the fun, family and friends.

But no worries, I haven't forgotten about you, my dear stitching friends. You are what keeps me going.

Here are the first 2 SNEAK PEEKS of April new releases:

We'll be releasing 4 new products in mid April. We'll do another post soon with the other 2 newbies.

#182 Summer Smalls (with embellishments)

We're excited to preview our Seasonal Smalls series! These little buggers are so quick and fun, we decided to make them a seasonal series. Each "Smalls" chartpak will include 4 charming little designs, with embellishments included for all. I promise...this is going to be a darling "small" series.

#183 Coffee Time

What time of day is coffee time? Always! We "perked up" 3 favorite coffee quotes, just for your stitching pleasure. Enjoy the buzz and get stitchin"!

About those "other things" we've been doing, besides running the L*K family biz...it turns out wedding plans are a big deal.  Literally...Ali and Barc are expecting 300-350 guests at their wedding and reception.

We're so excited they've scheduled the event at historic Union Station in downtown KC.

I got the printer who does all my L*K printing to do their invitations. I have learned a thing or two about printing over the last 21 years. They found a cool invite that looks like a vintage train ticket....not your usual stuffy wedding invite, but perfect for the happy couple.

We have an April "full of showers" in Wichita and KC. It will be a joyful month of travel between KC and Wichita (3 hours apart) as we spend time with our dear friends and family.

Amidst all the wedding prep activity, we "faithfully promise" to get our 4 NEW PRODUCTS shipped to shops around the world on Monday, April 17!

Which came first...the chick or the egg?

Question: Which came first...the chicken or the egg OR the chick and egg cross stitch from Lizzie*Kate????

#181 Chick Party

Answer: Doesn't matter, this cross stitch is super CUTE and it's here NOW!

AND...we have a wonderful new finishing post so you can finish your little egg just like ours!

Click Here

These finishing instructions are brought to you by Mona, our good friend and finisher extraordinaire. If you see a finish other than a frame on an L*K design, you know Mona is the "magic" behind the finishing scenes. Hence her biz name - Magic by Mona.

And it is magic for me...because I hate to sew! I know...it sounds weird, but sewing and cross stitch are not at all the same thing. I CAN sew, but I don't really enjoy the process, except when I'm finished.  Back in the day, my Mom taught me sew and I sewed a lot of my own clothes. Heck, I was even a Home Economics Liberal Arts major in college - believe it or not. (That's a fun quirky fact I pull out sometimes to amaze my friends!). Would you believe the Home Ec department has been renamed Human Ecology?

So click on over to Magic by Mona (link above) and find her super helpful egg finishing instructions. You'll find the egg template on the L*K website under the Free Designs button on left of Home Page. It looks like pic below. Then click on egg, download and print.

Our Free Designs page looks like pic above. Find the egg, download and print

Then head over the Mona's site for all of the written instructions with some amazing pictures to help tell the egg-cellent story!

Mona really does make it look easy with her great tutorials. And the step by step pics...so helpful!

And here's the final result...artfully photographed on my placemat! Haven't unboxed the Easter gear at home yet.

All of this "egg" talk reminds me of a kit I did a couple years ago. I adored this little egg finish, and was excited to display it at home. Unfortunately, I lost it somewhere between photographing it and going to market. Pretty embarassing. So I did the next best thing. I made a large poster of it for market and displayed that. I thought maybe I would "uncover the egg" when we moved last year, but alas, no.

I guess the "yolk" was on me! That pesky wabbit must have made off with my egg when I wasn't looking. Yesterday I took my new egg to my local needlework shop (Heart's Desire in Wichita, Kansas) for safe keeping!