SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS Mystery Sampler!!!

It's TRUE! We're doing another MYSTERY SAMPLER, and we can't wait to share all the mysterious details with you. It's been 4 years since our other Christmas mystery sampler, Holly and Hearts. Our holiday hearts are ready for another mystery!

What's a mystery sampler? Many of you know, because you've been asking for another!  But for our rookie detectives, it's a sampler that unfolds in parts. The big mystery is...what will it look like?! Because unlike every other L*K project, there is NO PHOTO on the front (I know...perplexing!). Each month you receive a portion of the design. As you stitch, the project develops and the mystery unfolds!

Mystery Samplers are so fun and popular because...well, lots of reasons:

*It's a giant club with stitchers literally all over the world. And it's our favorite kind of club, because EVERYONE is invited and warmly welcomed. It's fun to chat with other "members" as the mystery develops. It's great for needlework shops because they get to see you/communicate with you every month. 

* We do lots of extra fun things - like developing new products - when it's mystery sampler time. We'll tell you below about our new fabric and thread colors and Needle Nanny (designed just for Spirit of Christmas), and some cool embellishments we're rounding up for you.

*We "gift" Mystery Club stitchers with BONUS projects. Spirit of Christmas will include one BONUS project with each part...3 BONUS stitcheries in all! You never know what you'll "unwrap" when your mystery shipment arrives.

HERE'S ALL THE "SECRET" SCOOP ON SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS

* 3-part series will ship in early September, October and November (finished in time for Christmas, of course).

* Stitch Count for Spirit of Christmas is 95W x 191H. Not too big, not too small, just right.

* Spirit of Christmas is stitched on lovely Heartland linen from Picture This Plus. We worked with Marilyn and the Picture This Plus gang to create a gorgeous neutral color. We'll have 4 fabric options...28 and 32 ct. Heartland linen, as well as 14 and 16 ct. Heartland Aida. All fabrics are precut with 3" border on all sides, serged, and individually packaged. You can also personalize with your own fabric choice.

* Spirit of Christmas thread pack has 11 skeins of Weeks Dye Works overdyed threads, including an exclusive new color we requested especially for Spirit of Christmas! Miranda (WDW owner and color guru) and I are brainstorming a name for this subtly beautiful color, and we'll reveal that soon.

* There are 3 BONUS projects, one included with each Spirit of Christmas portion. These are each lovely little projects by themselves. Here are the BONUS projects, in the order they will be revealed:

Holiday Home 2 sided scissor fob  - 34W x 33H on each side - September
Christmas Love pin pillow - 73W x 27H - October
Christmas Is...mini sampler - 93W x 48H - November

* Embellishment Pack with goodies designed especially for Spirit of Christmas. This pack includes embellishments for the main sampler, as well as the 3 BONUS projects.

* For the first time, we're offering a mystery sampler Needle Nanny! Our gal pals at Zappy Dots are making us a beautiful collectible "dot" just for Spirit of Christmas. It's the perfect place to park your needle while you're watching the mystery unfold.

We'll be blogging soon with behind-the-scenes looks at the whole mystery sampler process, including our awesome suppliers/partners at Weeks Dye Works, Picture This Plus, Just Another Button Company, Zappy Dots and (of course) the busy goings-on at Lizzie*Kate. 

We know from previous mystery adventures, that you enjoy seeing all the prep and creativity that make a mystery happen. It's truly takes a (cross stitch) village to put one of these projects together, and we want to include YOU as we uncover the Spirit of Christmas Mystery Sampler together.

HOW TO SIGN UP???

Contact your favorite needlework supplier. They are taking pre-orders NOW. 

NEED TO FIND A NEEDLEWORK SHOP?

Look at the Info for Stitchers button on our website. Most shops will ship. Just ask!

Mysteriously yours, 

Linda

Lizzie*Kate

***Check back soon for Mystery Sampler sneak peek CLUES!

OOPS - almost forgot to be THANKFUL

I blogged last week about our upcoming releases this Friday, July 21.

I'm so embarrassed to admit, I FORGOT ONE NEW DESIGN (OOPS).

F169 Thankful Celebrate with Charm Flip-it

I frequently refer to Thanksgiving as the "forgotten holiday" in the cross stitch world. Halloween and Christmas designs are SO popular, even outside the US. But the day we reserve to "give thanks" just gets lost in the holiday fervor and the anticipation of Christmas (and in my distracted brain). 

Thankful is the 6th holiday in our 2017 Celebrate with Charm Flip-it series. We'll finish the series with Merry (Christmas), which will be available in October. 

Here are the other Celebrate with Charm holidays already available:

F164 Love Celebrate with Charm Flip-it (includes heart charm)

F165 Luck Celebrate with Charm Flip-it (includes shamrock charm)

F166 Basket Celebrate with Charm Flip-it (includes dragonfly charm)

F167 Liberty Celebrate with Charm Flip-it (includes star charm)

F168 Boo Celebrate with Charm Flip-it (includes moon charm)

Our much-awaited, sadly delayed vacation begins next week. So hopefully after a week away, I'll return more focused and less forgetful. I'm "counting" on it (a little counted cross stitch humor)!

CHECK BACK LATER THIS WEEK FOR ALL THE SCOOP ON OUR UPCOMING

SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS MYSTERY SAMPLER!!!

Newbies coming SOON!

Alan escaping the heat

It's HOT here, but our minds (and busy needles) are thinking about autumn and Christmas.

HERE'S WHAT WE'RE SHIPPING TO SHOPS WORLDWIDE ON FRIDAY, JULY 21:

#185 Autumn Smalls - with embellishments

Our seasonal Smalls series continues with 4 charming autumn projects. Every year I enjoy designing with gorgeous autumn hues and stitching the models. These little guys are quick and fun, with lots of creative finishing options. Chartpak includes embellishments.

#186 Tiny Tidings XXII

All 5 Tiny Tidings stitched together!

It's our "tiny" time of year! For 22 years, I've been designing "tiny" little gems to make your holidays a little brighter. This year I did something a "tiny" different. There are 5 tiny design that are great individually, but you can also choose to stitch them together. We included a back cover picture of all 5 stitched horizontally. Stitch individually, or group 3 or 5...whatever your holiday heart desires!

E186 Tiny Tidings XXII Embellishment Pack
We've gathered all the goodies to make your projects look just like ours...JABC custom cookie button, JABC small and medium white buttons, and tiny white button.

S132 The Elves Did It! - Santa '17 Snippet

Santa (the Jolly Old Elf, himself) invited a couple elf friends to join him on the Snippet this year. Those hardworking elves are used to being behind the scenes at Santa's workshop, but this year they're on the cover! There's lots of Christmas merriment and a bit of mischief for 2017.

S132E The Elves Did It! - Santa '17 Embellishment Pack
Includes 2 white snowflake buttons and golden heart charm.

F169 Thankful Celebrate with Charm Flip-it

Continuing our Celebrate with Charm Flip-it series, it's time for that often overlooked holiday in the stitching world - Thanksgiving. Includes golden leaf charm - it's hard to see in pic but it's a cutie.

I do love stitching autumn and holiday projects in the summer. Which is a good thing, because that's when they always get stitched!

Need some L*K autumn and Christmas at your house?

Contact your favorite needlework supplier and request your "must haves"! 

Have a great weekend, everyone!

1 wedding, 1 funeral and a little cross stitch

So...I'm embarrassed to see it's been over a month since I blogged. I'm sure that's officially the longest gap in L*K blog history.

But a lot of life has happened since we last chatted. Happy, sad, busy, emotional, just plain hard...it's all been there.

Sarah "Lizzie" and Ali "Kate" getting ready for Ali and Barc's wedding

On the happy side, our daughter Ali was married on June 2. Barclay is the man she's been waiting/praying/hoping for for many years. And they are adorable together. They're so profoundly happy and grateful to have found each other (at ages 34 and 39), they're just totally embracing life together. It's just a joy to be around them.

Thanks to son-in-law Jeff for this pic before the ceremony

I loved my pretty pink MOB (mother-of-bride) dress. It was so comfy - no hose, no SPANX, and even pockets. Woohoo! Dillard's for the win.

We had the large wedding at beautiful historic KC Union Station

Henry (on Alan's lap) and Fiona (by his side)

We kept our grand-dogs while the honeymooners were eating their way through Mexico and frolicking on the beach. Henry recently lost his vision due to sudden doggie disease (SARDS), but he was a champ...navigating our stairs and even swimming in our lake.

Those crazy, sweet  newlyweds

****If you need a super relaxing, off-the-grid, not-too-expensive getaway with Mexi-food 3 meals a day...check out Ali's blog post on their honeymoon destination.

https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/life/our-honeymoon-in-mexico-hotel-escondido/

I was still reveling in all the wedding bliss, trying to get back to work when I got a call from my Mom's Assisted Living complex, requesting me to take her to ER. My brother and I have been managing her care for 5+ years...driving her everywhere, doing 3 moves, too many trips to the ER, happy times and sad times...many of you know about caring for aging parents.

After 10 days in the hospital, Mom died on June 25. the day after Alan's birthday. We spent the next week planning her church service and cleaning out her apartment (yes, it's done!). On July 1 we had a wonderful celebration of her life at our church. 

Mom, Me (upper left) and brother John...circa 1957

We were so blessed by the service and the time surrounding it. So many family and friends from my past, it was such a joy to chat and catch up with them all. Yet, I can tell it's going to be a long time adjusting to this new phase in my life. Sigh...

 

The 3 Kathleens..Linda Kathleen (me), Wanda Kathleen (my mom) and Alison Kathleen (our daughter)

We are still patting ourselves of the back for managing to take Mom to the wedding. It never would have happened without my brother and his wife, but we pulled it off. I was her "personal shopper" and dressed and accessorized her head to toe for the big event. 

Back to my blog post title...1 wedding, 1 funeral and a little cross stitch. I've been trying to get back in the work groove. Thankfully I had the next batch of L*K newbies already designed and published. I've been SO distracted. But I'm looking forward to the week ahead - no weird mid-week holidays - and getting back to MORE cross stitch biz. 

***Thanks for your many kind condolences and well wishes on the L*K Facebook page. You can't imagine how much it means to me. The cross stitch community really is an extraordinary bunch of kind and thoughtful people. 

Check back soon and I'll post a preview of NEWBIES COMING JULY 21.