Friday, May 4, 2012

Mysterious summer of 2012!

It's going to be a "Summer of Mystery" at L*K, and we are SO excited to finally talk about it!!! Yes, we've been keeping a BIG secret, and it's finally out...WHEW!  Norden Crafts contacted us this spring and asked us to work with them on a Mystery Sampler and, of course, we said YES!

This project has been such a fun and unique challenge. When you've been designing for 16 years, it's wonderful to have an interesting, new needlework riddle to solve. I've been chatting with Katy Fong from Norden almost daily, bothering her with details, questions, thoughts and ideas. The process has been so exciting, I've lost sleep dreaming about it (or is that menopausal sleep loss?). Whatever...Katy  has been really flexible and helpful, and I'm so excited to reveal our joint project!

I decided on a Halloween theme, since stitchers are CRAZY for this holiday and I love Halloween colors and motifs! Summer is the perfect time to work on a Halloween project, too. Norden Crafts has just sent details to your local needlework shops, so check with them for specifics and pre-ordering info. Below is a portion of the promo card we sent to shops and they can forward to stitchers. You can catch a black/white glimpse of the actual project in the lower left corner.


The Mystery Sampler will be revealed in 3 parts, one each month this summer. There won't be the usual project photo on the front...hence, the MYSTERY sampler. The three designs will fit together to form one, tall spooky stitchery! Each design will come with it's own embellishments and a BONUS design (more about these later!). 

While looking through the piles of paperwork I've generated while working on this project, I found some original sketches I made. I always begin a design with a pencil sketch, before moving to the computer and the design software. Sometimes the finished design actually resembles my original sketch! It's interesting for me to look back on my original ideas and see how they evolved.



That's enough MYSTERY for now....stay tuned for more details and check with your local needlework shops for additional info. 

BTW, bacon lovers...the winners of the BACON contest were notified at the close of the contest and prizes were mailed. Thanks to ALL of you who participated in the blog contest. May your days be filled with happiness and BACON!

21 comments:

  1. Oh , I am so excited about the mystery stitch. I love Halloween and that little sneap peek looks adorable!! thank you for sharing. I will look forward to reading more about it.

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  2. PS. if we don't have a local stitch shop, where can we sign up (buy) for the patterns?

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    1. You can probably try 123stitch.com. I buy all of my Lizzie Kate charts there. And even if they don't offer it, email them - they'll find it :).

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    2. Hi, I hope you will give my shop a try - we would love to have you try us out:
      https://stitchandfrog.com/cross-stitch-news/update-lizzie-kate-summer-mystery-halloween-sampler-series-coming-soon

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  3. I literally CAN'T WAIT for this mystery SAL to start (I might loose sleep hours as well, but in my case it's definitely insomnia.. :D)
    only one doubt: will Casa Cenina count as a LNS? ..otherwise getting the parts here in Italy will be quite a challenge too.. ;D
    happy xxx,
    chiara

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  4. What a fun idea, Linda! And I just love those big eyes on the witch owl in your sketch LOL

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  5. oh uh ! im in trouble !! but i cant wait even if my bank acct moans and groans lol

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  6. I love a good mystery, and I can't wait to join in on the fun! Halloween is one of my favorite holidays to stitch, and I think I have all of your Halloween charts, so I can't wait to add another! Thank you for designing such fun and whimisical designs!

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  7. Such a fun idea! I love Halloween designs, so I have to have this one, plus I love a mystery so it's a win, win for me!

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  8. Can't wait to get this!

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  9. Yes I also wonder... if we don't have a local stitch shop, where can we sign up (buy) for the patterns?

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  10. yes I also wonder... if we don't have a local stitch shop, where can we sign up (buy) for the patterns and floss?

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  11. So excited! Halloween is my favorite holiday and Owls! Iam a child of the 60's and we all love owls! I am sure I will be loosing sleep, dreaming of what this will look like! I already called my "local shopowner" and told her the news and asked her to reserve a complete set for me. I can hardly wait!

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  12. I am so excited for the mystery sampler. Halloween is my favorite.

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  13. I am soooo excited, I already called my "local shop owner" and placed my order. She didn't even know about it yet. Halloween is my favorite holiday and I already have lots of projects started, but this will be fun because we will get the charts spread out. I need to finish last year's Lizzy Kate halloween piece, getting it out now. I am sure to loose precious sleep thinking about the day this arrives. I am a child of the late 60's and we all love owls! Hope it comes soon!

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  14. So so excited too !!! I love Halloween stitcheries ! And here, in France, a lot of stitchers loves it !

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  15. Thank you so much for being part of Theresa's "For the Gatos" project. I'll be retiring soon and my xs budget will be much less but I will remember your generosity and will continue buying, stitching and enjoying your designs. I love XS and I love cats!

    Lynn in Alabama

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  16. I'm really excited about this series! I've already pre-ordered everything! I got so excited about it, I got my almost finished Halloween Rules out and I'm stitching away. This is going to be Spooktacular!

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  17. Can't wait for the Mystery Sampler! I love stitching Halloween patterns. Your creative juices have really been flowing lately!

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  18. It's a wonderful idea and I hope to find these three charts somewhere in Italy, not too late to stitch before Halloween (I'm stitching now Halloween rules and I find it so nice!). So because when I bought my charts in America, I've always waited about two month before reciving the enveloppe!
    Roberta

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  19. ciao vorrei sapere come partecipare ..bello lo schema!!

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