We'll miss you, Mrs. Wain!

Remember how excited you were as a kid when school was out for the summer? Now that a lot of my friends are teachers, I know the teachers are equally excited...maybe more!

Our daughter Sarah is an art teacher, and she just finished the most interesting year of her short teaching career. But her feelings were a little bittersweet as she finished her first (and last) year in tiny Medora, Indiana. She said to me "I hope I can find another job I like as well as this one!".

She commuted 45 minutes, twice a day, to teach art in a bitty district in rural Indiana with only 230 students from K-12...and she taught the whole school! There just weren't any jobs in Bloomington, where her husband Jeff was in grad school. After spending the previous year as a special ed para in an elementary school, she was anxious to get back to teaching...so she decided to take a radical step and apply for jobs within an hour radius.

Sarah was hired 2 days (that's TWO days) before the fall semester began and she was thrilled. She got right to work inventorying supplies (not much) and making lessons plans (lots of those for the varied ages!). She had previously taught middle school and high school, so the elementary kids were a complete mystery to her. 

The experience turned out to be amazing! The staff and rural community were very welcoming. How small is Medora? It's so small the district superintendent doubles as the Methodist pastor! It's the 2nd smallest school district in the state. Sarah heard chatter about "squirrel hunting" the first day of school and wondered if they were kidding or serious?!

Right away, Sarah started sharing the kid's art with the school, papering the hallways with awesome projects. You know how exciting that is to see your creation in the hallway!

From clay creations...

  to dragonflies and rubber duckies for the young ones...

 and self-portraits for the middle schoolers...

and cool custom cars and a largeVan Gogh reproduction for the high school kids! The school secretary reserved this finished piece for her office!.

Alas, the year is over and Mr. and Mrs. Wain are moving to Chicago, because Jeff finished grad school and got a job - we love that! And...Mrs. Wain is looking for a job...AGAIN!  If anyone knows an opening for a art teacher in Chicago...let me know!

I think my favorite pic of the year was Sarah with her youngsters on "Colonial Day" at school. She figured out how to help kids make candles (without burning themselves), found a cool prairie dress, and had a good old-fashioned time!

Unraveling the Mystery Sampler!

More MYSTERY! We've posted a couple times about our upcoming Mystery Sampler Club project (see May 4, May 18 posts), and we're so pleased that you're excited about this project. We sure are!!

This summer is going to be so FUN! Today is the first day of June (yikes!) and since the first part of the Mystery Sampler ships later this month, we are BUSY!  I designed the cover and emailed it to the printer earlier this week. After about a zillion changes and adjustments, I love the new cover. Below is a partial pic of a printout from my computer - it will look prettier when it's professionally printed! Since it is a MYSTERY sampler. there isn't a photo of the finished project, like the usual cover. 

Now you can see the name of the sampler...VERY SCARY! I have to confess, I almost forgot to name the project. I have been working really closely (daily emails and phone chats) with Katy at Norden Crafts and we had a funny exchange a couple weeks ago.

Katy: BTW, do you have a name for the Mystery Sampler?

Me: No, am I supposed to have a name?

Katy: Well, that is the usual thing. 

Me: Wow, how could I forget something as important as that? I'll think about it and get back to you. I suppose "Mystery Sampler" isn't really a name!

While we're waiting on the printing, Alan is busy assembling embellishment packs for the first part. For some reason, his big hands are faster at opening those tiny little 1" x 1" zip bags than my hands. So he gets the job!   You get a SNEAK PEEK of what's in the first pack...can you identify these little goodies? We're trying to catch up on the past 2 seasons of Downton Abbey, so we'll be prepared when the new season begins. Alan is making packs while I'm stitching on Christmas models and watching the exploits of the aristocrats and their "staff" at Downton Abbey. Those Brits from the year 1914 are certainly entertaining!

In case you missed it, here's a photo we posted earlier. This is the whole project, slightly wadded, headed to the LNS to be stretched and framed. But that was the FIRST time I delivered it. Before it landed in a frame, I got some darling buttons samples from a supplier. They were so cute, I decided to add them! I ordered them to be dyed, then while I waited for them to arrive, I retrieved the sampler and took out some stitches to make room for them. Will this design ever be finished? YES! Happy to report that the aforementioned buttons arrived, I attached them, and delivered FINISHED sampler to my LNS...again!

And...Alan is opening all those little 1" x 1" bags he already finished, and adding buttons.  Thank goodness that Downtown Abbey show has a lot of episodes!

P.S. We continue to receive a lot of direct inquiries from stitchers about joining the Mystery Sampler Club. We love hearing from you, but (as always) we don't sell direct to consumers. Please contact your local needlework shop to sign up. If you don't have a LNS, you can find a list of shops on our website, or go to Norden Crafts Facebook page. There is a list of shops that are participating. This isn't a snobby club (like those characters on Downtown Abbey)...EVERYONE is invited!

 

HAIL, no!!!

I think I've posted about this before, but it bears repeating...I hate HAIL!!! We've been hoping and praying for rain because we are so DRY, and yesterday we finally got a big thunderstorm. Loved the thunder, lightning, flickering lights and all that. Alas, we also got HAIL!

I'm still in my office about 5 PM and I start to hear rain and think "great, finally!". Then I hear the telltale pitter- patter of hail on the roof and I think "OH, NO!".  Then the pitter-patter turns to clunk, crash, clunk as the hail gets bigger and more frequent.

So I did what every good Kansan does...I grabbed my camera! I took this shot out my upstairs office window. That's my backyard under a blanket of frozen hail.

After about an hour of on again-off again hail and rain, I escaped to my house with my faithful dog, Henry, and my nightly stitch project in hand. I snapped the photo below as I passed through the wet patio. I guess we'll have a few less grapes (those little green balls in photo) in July. The birds, who feast on them every summer, may be disappointed!

I just texted my sister-in-law on the nearby family farm and found out they didn't get nearly as much hail and rain as we did. Thankfully the wheat is still standing up (not shredded into bits, laying on the ground) and ready for it's big date with the combine!!

Memorial memories

What did you do over the long holiday weekend? Was it relaxing? Was it fun? Did it all end TOO soon?

We squeezed in as many activities as possible, while still maintaining the very important element of "relaxation".  This is best achieved by staying as far as possible from our home office!

We started with a 4th birthday party for our great nephew, which was also a thinly disguised family get-together. Small people abounded, and enjoyed all the usual birthday stuff, including one of those giant blow-up bouncy things which occupied a big part of the backyard. We ate and chatted the afternoon/evening away.

Casual and comfy was the dress code, as evidenced by the charming relative above. Eating popsicles is SERIOUS business when you're two years old!

We bid the birthday kids goodbye, and the adults took a turn in the bouncy toy. Is there a prohibition against gray hair in these things?

Is there a 55 year old age limit? If so, we broke a lot of rules!

The next day we traveled to the family farm to see more family and visit the cemetary. The beautiful Kansas wheat is golden and ALMOST ready to cut. In a couple days, the farmers will spring into action as the annual harvest begins. Here's a patch next to the farmhouse.

We visited the 23 baby chickens and checked out their newly updated roost. My brother-in-law demonstrated his "chicken whisperer" skills amid much laughter and doubt. Is it really true that you can put a chicken to sleep by swinging it gently to and fro? Warning: Don't try this at home...he is a professional (he's really a veterinarian, but usually hangs out with dogs and cats!).

While on the farm, we visited the studio at City Girl Farm, where my talented sister-in-law and niece produce all kinds of beautiful chicken-related products (and other goodies). Check out their beautiful giant chicken footstools (upper left), chicken pillows, and chicken aprons at www.thecitygirlfarm.com

We also took time on a very windy day to visit the beautiful old cemetary where my husband's parents and a host of other relatives are buried. My husband, Alan, is in the middle, flanked by some of his sibs.

We also squeezed in the movie "Men in Black 3" (mindless FUN!) and a big outdoor dinner on our patio with fam and friends. Alas, the Memorial Day weekend is over, but I have more sweet memories. Gotta get that scrapbook up to date!

Fond thoughts of Santa...

...in MAY!  I know, even Hobby Lobby doesn't have their Christmas stuff out yet. (I'm sure it's coming soon, though).

Here at Lizzie*Kate I'm in the full Christmas swing! The air conditioner is on, and I'm working on my annual holiday designs. Every year I do a Snippet Santa and a collection of small Christmas designs we call Tiny Tidings. Last year I also added a new project to the mix - Flora McSample's Ornaments - so I'll add to that collection, too.

How do I think about Christmas in May? I keep a notebook of ideas as I explore new projects. Some of these ideas make it to publication, some don't. So to begin, I flip back to previous year's notes on Christmas projects. I am looking for cool sayings, motifs or ideas I haven't used yet, or I want to explore further. Note my 3 favorite desk tools - the mechanical pencil, the BIG eraser and pretty clips (pretty clips really do help with productivity!).

I decided to tackle the Santa design first, so began by pulling previous Santas from the shelves to remind myself what Santa has already done.  Santa has ice skated, posed with woodland animals, rode his sleigh, come down the chimney, held a tree (several times!), posed in his PJs, and more.  Then I start to wonder..."what new thing can Santa do this year?"

I found a saying I liked, and got to work graphing the 2012 Santa Snippet. The next day, when I was satisfied with the design, I rounded up the usual Christmas colors (red, green, white) and added some fun accent color possibilities (aqua, light blue, chartreuse, pink), and found the fuzzy Wisper fiber I always use for Santa's beard. I'll figure out some embellishments later - I have a couple new ones in mind.

Last night I started stitching Santa, as I watched the farewell FINAL episode of House that we had recorded. I don't know if any of you are House fans, but I confess now that I have a major crush on Dr. Wilson (swoon). I remember him (real name is Robert Sean Leonard) fondly from the movie "Dead Poet's Society" when he was the tormented teen with the overbearing father. 

Alas, Santa will live forever in our hearts, but House is television history!!! Or is he?? 

Summer mystery unfolds...

Friday seems like the perfect day for another "Mystery Sampler tease"...so here goes! If you missed our first Mystery Sampler post, just scroll back to Friday, May 4 and you'll be caught up.

So...we are working on a cool, unique project this summer...a MYSTERY SAMPLER!  Already we're getting bombarded with tons of questions and inquiries, so here are a few basics. For more specific info, contact your local needlework shop or fave online shop. They have received very specific ordering info from our friends at Norden Crafts, our distributor and partner on this project. If your shop doesn't know about the L*K Mystery Sampler, tell them to contact Norden or visit their website.

We'll call it the Mystery Sampler for now, because we haven't named it yet!  OOPS! Kinda forgot that it should have a real name, so we're working on that. Those pesky details!!!

*The Mystery Sampler will be published in 3 parts. These 3 parts fit together into one big, Halloween/autumn design.

* Each part will come with a portion of the design, but won't include designs for the other 2 parts (duh). Each part will also include embellishments (beads, charms, etc.) and a BONUS design. I really had fun designing the BONUS projects. They are all the same size, can be stitched separately, or combined into another Halloween design.  Yes, more MYSTERY!! We may have a L*K blog contest for everyone to show off their cool finishing skills on the bonus projects.

*The 3 parts of the design will be released during the months of June, July and August...perfect for summer stitching. I think they will arrive in the shops at the very end of each month.

*NOW is the time to order to get shipped in the very first round. We're working really hard to assemble all the pieces for the first round of shipments. Our pals at Weeks Dye Works are super busy dyeing the beautiful linen and all the threads needed for the project. We've even created a cool new color, just for this project! We're busy working on the printed materials, and assembling embellishment packs. Those things don't sack themselves...darn!

***I just found a Facebook post from Weeks Dye Works with tons of SNEAK PEEK info out there. Inquiring minds want to know...so check them out!

I'm off to my LNS, Heart's Desire in Wichita, to deliver the finished stitchery this morning. The frame is waiting and I can't wait to get this baby in it's final resting place - a beautiful blackish frame from Eastside Mouldings. Above is my project, ready to leave the desk, destined for Mystery fame!

Graduation for adults!

Maybe I should say "Graduacion para adultos". This is the time of the year for graduation ceremonies, but the one I attended last night was really unique...it was FUN and energetic...not always the norm with graduation ceremonies...right?)

My church has a wonderful partnership with Park Elementary School, one of our downtown neighbors. We do lots of things for the school...send 35-40 tutor/mentors every week, help with special events, help the nurse, and generally do anything the principal or social worker requests.

Several years ago the church ladies began a ministry with the Moms from school that attend an Adult Literacy program. Originally funded through a grant, these women attend school 4 days a week. They spend part of the time in their own classroom with a bi-lingual teacher, and visit their children's classroom the rest of the time. For our program, we invite them to our church every month for a lunch and conversation!

I've been the co-chair for our monthly meetings for a couple years, and it is a joy!  I often coordinate a craft activity - they love hands on projects. Below are some tasty gingerbread houses we managed to build, as we eagerly sampled the "building materials". That's my good friend and co-chair, Deb, on the right.

We made some teeny little bunnies for Easter. These little rabbits sure looked a lot bigger on the Martha Stewart craft page when I spotted them! The cute lady on the left, Gaby, is their teacher.

Usually the church ladies provide the food, but sometimes we get treated to some yummy Mexi-food. Below we worked together to make gorditas! We made about a thousand gorditas, stuffed them with assorted fillings the ladies brought, and ate them all. !Que rico!

So what's the point of all this? We provide a safe and inviting place for the ladies to practice their English and  interact with English speakers. I enjoy decorating the tables, making pretty treats, and generally making the ladies feel special.

And...we LAUGH!  We laugh when we struggle to communicate effectively, we laugh when we finally DO communicate, and we laugh at all the things women laugh at, no matter what the language. We'll all take the summer off and, thankfully, the funding is in place for the program to continue next fall. 

And did I mention I enjoy practicing my limited Spanish skills? It's just irresistible to throw out the bits and pieces of Spanish that I know and watch their faces. I know lots of words (nouns, verbs, adjectives), but am not too skilled at that pesky grammar (think indirect object pronouns and subjunctive - ick). Whatever?!

!Tenga un buen verano, mujeres amables! (Have a good summer, sweet ladies!)