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!