Lots of DOTS!!!

We're drowning in DOTS at L*K headquarters!

Well, officially they're called Needle Nannies and they're made by the creative gals at Zappy Dots. We simply call them DOTS!

For the first time in "mystery history", we're offering a matching Needle Nanny for our project. We worked with Kim and the gang at Zappy Dots to create a Spirit of Christmas Needle Nanny.

What do you do with a Needle Nanny?
It's a super magnetic little dot where you can park your needle and/or scissors. You attach it to both sides of your stitching fabric, or wherever you want to hold things securely.

These little magnetic marvels are SUPER strong, and I'm not kidding. When we're working with them around the L*K office it's not uncommon for them to jump out of your hands if you near another metal surface. Thank goodness we've done this before and have developed a method to handle the magnetic magic.

Here's how the process unfolds...

First I chatted with Kim and she agreed to work with us on a special Spirit of Christmas Needle Nanny. Then I created and emailed her several art files so she could make samples. Then Kim got to work and emailed me pics and then mailed actual samples. We both agreed on a design with a snippet of the sampler and the logo on top of it. In case you collect these little buggers, you will know which one this is...the one that says Spirit of Christmas on it!

A couple days ago a heavy box arrived at our house. When we opened it we were greeted with sheets of metal covered in darling DOTS. We're expecting another shipment next week because you all surprised us with your Needle Nanny enthusiasm!

While I was waiting for the dots, I designed and printed piles of Spirit of Christmas inserts to hold the Needle Nannies inside their 2" x 2" zip bags.

Then our favorite employee Carmen got to work! She's our favorite employee as well as L*K Employee of the Month - every month. Admittedly she's our ONLY employee, but we can't sing her praises enough. Carmen has been working for us a couple mornings a week for 9 years now! I met her while volunteering at a local elementary school. Her son, Elizeo,  was in 3rd grade when she began working at L*K. He just began his senior year yesterday...hard for all of us to believe. Elizeo is an honor student and we.re so proud of him. 

What does Carmen do when it's not mystery time?

Almost anything that requires assembly...designs put in sacks, embellishment packs, kits...Carmen's fingerprints are on it. And she does everything faster than we do! I used to hire high school girls for extra hands at L*K, but they kept getting cars, graduating and moving on. Carmen has become an important part of the L*K family. 

This picture shows package inserts, a couple Needle Nanny tops, and the rare earth magnets that we put on the back. These little guys are SO strong, you can't just pull them apart. You have to slide them off sideways.

These white discs are the spacers that come between the magnets. Without them, we'd never be able to separate the magnets. After they've done their important job, they end up in the trash.

Here are the finished Spirit of Christmas Needle Nanny packs. Yes, they are all stuck to each other!!! Carmen lines then up in a box and they're one marvelous magnetic pile. We'll separate them when we're packing orders. That could be interesting...

Here's what's on schedule this WEEKEND at L*K headquarters and our remote office (our house!):

* We're expecting 2 more boxes from Weeks Dye Works today, so we'll be putting together hundreds more Spirit of Christmas Thread Packs.

We got this box of threads yesterday, but we're waiting on 2 more boxes today before assembly begins

* Tomorrow, Saturday, we're driving to nearby Abilene, Kansas - the home of Picture This Plus. We will be picking up several thousand pieces of precut Spirit of Christmas fabrics!!! Imagine that many fabric precuts, all in one place. I'll share a picture next week. I'm hoping Marilyn and her helpers are still speaking to us after we swamped them with fabric orders. I think we better show up with some refreshments.

Embellishment Packs for dinner, anyone?

* Our dining room table is still full of Spirit of Christmas Embellishment Packs. We'll take a pause in assembly while we wait for another shipment of mystery buttons....whew.

* Alan will be at the office confirming quantities - via email - with needlework shops around the world.

What are you doing this weekend???  LEAVE A COMMENT and have a fun one!

How was your ECLIPSE day?

We had so much "eclipse" fun, I want to take a quick break from MYSTERY SAMPLER scoop, and share! I promise another behind-the-scenes mystery update soon!

So here we are...looking geeky in our official eclipse glasses, gaping at the historic event. But where were we? We traveled to sunny, scenic Missouri...our neighboring state. Many months ago we signed up with a group of friends to ride our bikes on the KATY trail during the eclipse.

What's the KATY Trail State Park? It's our nation's longest continuous rails-to-trails conversion with almost 240 miles of trail from St. Louis to Kansas City. It has beautiful scenery and is super well maintained...and did I say it is blissfully FLAT?!

Cool stone railway tunnel behind us at beginning of ride. See how refreshed/unsweaty we look?

We drove to Missouri with 6 of our favorite bike buddies, 8 bikes and enough snacks/drinks/photographic equipment for a long expedition. Alas, we only rode for one day...but what a day!

The Total Eclipse of the KATY ride was organized through the Missouri State Parks. We signed up many months ago before our Spirit of Christmas Mystery Sampler even crossed my imagination. Leaving town the week before our September 1 shipment wasn't a great idea, but it was a once in a lifetime eclipse...right?

For a brief moment I considered packing my Spirit of Christmas Embellishment Packs but decided to let them rest at home and wait until I returned. The drivers will thank me for not distributing random beads and buttons in their back seats.

We began about 9 AM, cruising by cliffs on one side...

...and the calm Missouri river on the other side

Every time you pass through a small town on the KATY, there are charming little "depots" with important stuff like restrooms, benches and bike repair stations. And during this ride...SNACKS and DRINKS!

Check out these scientific eclipse cookies our friend Vicki made for us

My husband Alan (right) and 2 other K-State faithful in their purple

Alan wore a Kansas State (Go Wildcats!) jersey which was a great conversation starter along the trail. There were riders from many states and it's so fun to meet new people as you roll along. 

Beautiful views everywhere!

But what about the eclipse??

We were in the area of TOTALITY, so we kept our geeky eclipse glasses handy as the eclipse began about 1 PM. 

We would stop our bikes. gaze at the eclipse, then ride on

We managed to finish the 37 mile route about 2 minutes before TOTALITY. It might sound like good planning, but it was definitely accidental. It was getting really hot on the trail, and I just wanted to finish the ride.

We viewed "TOTALITY" with other gazers in Jefferson City, MO

Below are some pics our bike friend Bob took for us. Aren't they amazing? AND...he carried his camera on his bike!

After we were done riding, the organizers served us a hot dog/hamburger lunch with tons of iced tea/lemonade/water, which was great. I'm not sure a mini bag (alright...2 mini bags!) of chili Fritos have ever tasted so good. Then we waited to shuttle our bikes and ourselves (in separate vehicles) back to our starting point. During our wait we chatted with some of our 500+ new bike buddies about our adventure.

Now it's back to work on the Spirit of Christmas Mystery Sampler. Can you identify the goodies in the picture above??

LEAVE A COMMENT with...

* Your eclipse adventure

* What are the "covert" items in photo above?

Mystery Color Revealed!

One of my favorite things about doing a Mystery Sampler is working with suppliers to make custom goodies for us! There are SO many creative people behind the scenes at an L*K Mystery!!!

I've been working with Miranda and the talented gang at Weeks Dye Works for many years. We've created several cool colors together...clockwork (Spooked! Mystery Sampler), Busy Lizzie (Things Unseen Mystery Sampler) and Oscar (Holly & Hearts Mystery Sampler). Not only do I get to request and collaborate on a NEW overdyed thread color, I get to help with the new color name...so fun.

This year Miranda agreed to create a new color especially for Spirit of Christmas Mystery Sampler. Our new color will be a part of the Spirit of Christmas Thread Pack, along with 8 other lovely WDW colors. There will be 10 skeins in all, including 2 skeins of one color. 

And....drumroll...the NEW COLOR is...OYSTER!
I'm not sure OYSTER is a holiday word, but hey, I guess lots of people make oyster stuffing? Here's how "Oyster" became a part of the L*K/WDW family.

To begin the process I described the color I was dreaming about to Miranda. It's not a traditional Christmas color, but I thought it would blend beautifully with the muted pinky reds and greens in the sampler. I gave Miranda several DMC numbers that were similar. Since WDW threads are overdyed, they incorporate several beautiful hues.

Then Miranda got to work, mixing her color magic, and sent me 5 sample colors. I'm sure this is a really time consuming and tricky process, but Miranda is a sweetheart. Those of you who have met her know this already. And she has that charming North Carolina accent and politeness that makes me just want to call WDW to chat with everyone in the office. **There were originally 5 color samples,  but I played with 2 of them - stitching, taking out, restitching on sampler -  before I made my final decision.

What color is oyster?
Just like a real oyster, it's a beautiful blend of muted colors...lilac, taupe, pink and gray. It's just yummy (no pun intended)! Do you like to eat oysters? Being a Kansas girl...not so much for me.

I love playing with words, so I originally sent Miranda a list of about 30 possible color names. Maybe I was inspired by the oyster shadowbox hanging in my hallway - from my favorite source, Home Goods?! The colors at WDW are often named after something organic...plants, flowers, birds, animals, fish, food...you get the idea. When we finally chatted on the phone, we both agreed that OYSTER was perfect for this color. 

       

Fast forward to the exciting day when we received a couple GIANT boxes from Weeks Dye Works with our threads for Spirit of Christmas Mystery Sampler. **Thanks to your generous response, we had to order a couple more BIG boxes, and the WDW gang is busy at work dyeing more threads, putting them on cards, and readying to ship us next week.

The beautiful threads arrive conveniently packaging in a bag of 100. Inside the bag are 10 bundles with 10 skeins each and a label with name and person who packed it. So organized!

Then the fun begins! We set up 3 work stations to assemble thread packs - 2 in our basement and another in the L*K office. It's a little tricky to get the threads into the plastic bags, but we've developed a system involving that piece of cardboard you see in middle of table.

Then the finished thread packs get stacked in big totes (on loan from the US Postal Service!). Eventually they will find their way into orders from shops around the world...and finally to your house!

Our Spirit of Christmas Thread Pack is available to order NOW! It's an optional purchase, but so convenient to have full skeins of all the threads you'll need. For now, it's the only place you'll find WDW Oyster. Oyster will be available in general distribution in March 2018.

The Thread Pack will have enough threads to complete your mystery sampler. **If you stitch the 3 BONUS charts (you'll receive one with each of the 3 mystery parts), more threads may be required. 

Here are some of the friendly (camera shy) staff hard at work at Weeks Dye Works in North Carolina. We asked them for a few pics, and they sent us these colorful views.

Getting the orders to shops

Beautiful threads and gorgeous wools

Those giant cones of colorful floss!

I've got 100 more thread packs to assemble before the next big boxes of threads arrive next week, so back to work for me and Netflix in my basement.

CHECK BACK SOON for more behind-the-scenes peeks at our upcoming Spirit of Christmas Mystery Sampler!

**One more thing...we keep getting questions if it's too late to order Spirit of Christmas. Definitely not! Just let your favorite needlework supplier know. We will be shipping needlework shops around the world on September 1. That shipment will include Part 1 charts with thread key, 1st BONUS design, thread packs, fabric precuts, embellishment packs, and Spirit of Christmas Needle Nannies. 

HAPPY OYSTER, everyone!

L*K "fan pages" on Facebook

Before I tell you about L*K on Facebook...here a quick SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS Mystery Sampler Update:

Yesterday, August 10, was our pre-order deadline for needlework shops around the world.

What does this mean?
Our first shipment of Spirit of Christmas isn't until September 1, but we need a few weeks to get everything together...charts, thread packs, embellishment packs, Needle Nannies, and fabric (yards and yards of beautiful hand-dyed fabrics), then assemble everything and pack boxes. The next 3 weeks will be "organized pandemonium" at L*K world headquarters. ***The overtime elves will be BUSY!

Based on orders from previous mysteries and early response, we placed tentative orders with our suppliers several months ago. Everything is handmade, so it takes time for all of these talented folks to make and ship us their wares.

This morning we placed amended orders with Weeks Dye Works (beautiful threads, including custom color OYSTER), Picture This Plus (4 different fabrics in Heartland, a new color developed for this project), Just Another Button Company (6 styles of custom buttons) and Zappy Dots (makes of the magnetic Needle Nannies, so you can "park" your needles as the mystery unfolds), as well as 2 other embellishment suppliers.

Why amended orders???
Because the response to Spirit of Christmas Mystery Sampler has been phenomenal...who knew?!?! We are blown away - and admittedly a little nervous - about the overwhelming pre-orders. We make estimates based on previous mysteries, but YIKES! This sampler is breaking records. ***And we also know from previous years that the orders will continue to increase as the ship date nears. Calling all L*K elves!!!

Getting back to my original topic...FACEBOOK!

I know...my friends have trouble believing this and get the giggles...but there are several L*K "fan pages" on Facebook.

In addition to the "official" Lizzie Kate Facebook page, there are 3 fan pages that are independently moderated and devoted just to L*K fans...like you!

Check out these 3 pages on Facebook and see if you'd like to join:

I Love Stitching Lizzie Kate Designs
This is the largest and busiest group with over 3500 members. Almost every day there are updates on L*K works in progress or finished projects. There is so much creativity on here, I check it daily for inspiration. It's full of L*K designs - old and new - with all sorts of creative finishes.

Lizzie Kate Mystery Sampler Club
This page is devoted to our mystery samplers. There are 5 mystery samplers so far...Very Scary, Holly & Hearts, Things Unseen, A Little Mystery and Spooked. We're premiering a new mystery, Spirit of Christmas, in September. Sometimes members post pics of other L*K designs, too.

Lizzie Kate Spirit of Christmas 2017 SAL
This is a brand new group created just for our upcoming Spirit of Christmas Mystery Sampler. I'm sure this group will be a busy place in the mysterious months ahead.

All of these are Closed Groups on Facebook. To join, just send a request. The group admin will add you ASAP.

***These 3 "fan pages" are independent from L*K. We are just members, like many of you. There are volunteer admins who devote their time to managing these pages. We appreciate them so much! These pages wouldn't exist with the generosity of stitchers who manage them and contribute regularly.

Facebook is just one more way to interact with the worldwide stitching community. These pages are a great way to connect....in stitches!

Have a great weekend and check back for more "mysterious" updates next week!

..so this happened

MAJOR change in plans yesterday for the L*K "pre-mystery" team. My car got smashed and grabbed!

I was at the gym this morning enjoying my Boomer weight lifting class (I know - a bunch of menopausal ladies - and a few guys - lifting weights together). A staff member interrupted our class and asked if anyone drives a white Mini Cooper. That would be ME!

I followed her out where she told me my car had been broken into in the parking lot. Less than 15 minutes after I had arrived, someone had smashed my driver's side window and taken my purse from under the seat. I know...should have locked it in the trunk before I left home. Taking it in the gym is such a hassle. So for 20+ years I have slid it under the driver's seat - no problem. Until TODAY!

What a MESS!!! Turns out when you smash a window glass goes EVERYWHERE!!! Not only the front seat, but also the back seat was covered in tiny bits of very sharp (I quickly discovered) shattered glass. Nothing was missing except my little wallet/purse. Not to be melodramatic, but that little purse was my "life"!

What to do first? Call Alan...husband to the rescue. But I didn't have a phone - yep, they got my iphone. Along with lots of credit cards, gift cards, driver's license, tiny bit of cash and my favorite readers :(. I'm pretty sure the petty thieves didn't know what to do with my readers! I'm assuming they were not geriatric car smashers. But darn...my favorite pair. And did I say my favorite lipstick and powder - double darn.

I must admit - sadly - that I felt a little panicky without my phone. Where to go/when to be there...it's all on my phone Calendar. SO MUCH info stored in that little silver technological device.

Long story short...Alan and I both spent the remainder of the day - ALL DAY until bedtime - cancelling credit cards, going to phone store twice, stopping by bank, on the phone with Apple help line, and visiting the scary Driver's License Bureau. When we stopped in at 3:45 it was a teeming mass of humanity and the estimated wait time was way longer than the remaining hours. Will have to face that reality later today after my Mini gets it's new driver's window. Sometimes it's good to be self-employed - really thankful for the flexibility.

Yes, I did file police report while at the gym. Called the non-emergency number and talked to super nice lady. She remarked on the fact that they didn't steal my Home Goods bag - clearly not a female thief - a little crime humor!

Meanwhile, at L*K headquarters in our absence, orders were rolling in for our upcoming Spirit of Christmas Mystery Sampler. The pre-order deadline for shops worldwide is tomorrow,  Thursday, August 10. We've got a spread sheet going and it's a busy form right now. Lots of catching up to do today.

Before the day imploded (or should I say "got bashed"), I got some early morning proofs from my printer. Here are proof press sheets for the Spirit of Christmas Embellishment Pack and Needle Nanny inserts. You can see bunches of them all ganged up on the pages.

Hoping for a "normal" work day today and trying not to concentrate on the fact that the creeps who smashed my beloved Mini, stole my purse, immediately disabled the "Find my iphone feature" and used my debit card 4 times before we could cancel it (and tried after that) have my ADDRESS....yuck.

***Special thanks to pal Doug who vacuumed about a zillion pieces of glass out of my car.

If you read this whole thing...bless you! And may you learn from my mistakes...

****MORE mystery sneak peeks coming SOON!

PS....after sleeping on it, I'm THANKFUL for several things:
1. I wasn't hurt.
2. The $1000+ in uncovered expenses (deductibles) on auto and home (my phone and purse) insurance is something I can afford, even if I don't like it.

"Spirit of Christmas" Sneak Peek Pic!

It's HERE! Our "famous" SNEAK PEEK MYSTERY collage photo!

Here's your first "clue" to solve the Spirit of Christmas Mystery Sampler. What do you see?

We've packed lots of little clues into one picture. Take a close look and put your "private eye" skills to work!

I spy with my little eye....

* Christmas Love Pin Pillow BONUS design - coming with Part 2
* Beautiful threads including our new custom color OYSTER, but which one is it?
* Holiday House 2 sided fob BONUS design - coming with Part 1 (wonder what the other side looks like?!)
* "Cleverly crumpled" Spirit of Christmas Mystery Sampler (unframed)
* "Artfully rolled" Christmas Is...Mini Sampler BONUS design - coming with Part 3
* A spatter of lovely mother-of-pearl heart buttons.
* Spirit of Christmas postcard
* A few of my brush trees - I love to collect these little buggers!

What did your "inner gumshoe" find? Anything else?

LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW if you find any other CLUES.

WANT TO JOIN IN THE MYSTERY SAMPLER CLUB FUN?

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

****Our pre-order deadline for shops is August 10. You can order after that (definitely), but if you want to receive Spirit of Christmas Part 1 and all the supplies at earliest possible date, ORDER NOW!

Here's our Spirit of Christmas Mystery Sampler shipping schedule:

September 1 - 

* Part 1 of Spirit of Christmas, including thread key and stitch guide

* Thread packs with 11 skeins of overdyed Weeks Dye Works thread including exclusive NEW color 

* Fabric precuts of Picture This Plus Heartland (NEW color) linen (28 or 32 ct.) and/or Aida (14 or 16 ct.)

* Embellishment Pack with goodies for main sampler and all 3 BONUS designs

* Spirit of Christmas Needle Nanny (to park your mystery needle!)

* Holiday House 2 sided fob BONUS design

October 2 - Part 2 of Spirit of Christmas and Christmas Love BONUS design.

November 1 - Part 3 of Spirit of Christmas and Christmas Is...Mini Sampler BONUS design.

***We'll be adding more blog posts with behind-the-scenes Mystery Sampler pics SOON. Check back often as the mystery excitement builds. 

Thanks for joining us on our holiday mystery journey - it's gonna be a great trip together!