A few things to update on. July of course is when I disappear from the planet to immerse myself in Tour World - all other things become secondary to that. This year's Tour finishes this Saturday so I will begin to re-emerge from my hibernation then. I'll start with some cross-stitch. One of Andrew's colleagues is expecting her first baby very shortly (approximately three weeks) so I decided to stitch a small sampler for her and her husband and the new arrival (sex unknown). This is a very pretty Joan Elliott design from a small supplement that came with the World of Cross Stitch some time ago - I like Joan Elliott's designs very much. As you can see I am stitching it on a pretty pale blue aida which has been dyed in a way to appear like clouds with little swirls of lighter and darker colours - very attractive. The design is predominantly in soft pastels and won't become distinctive until I add the backstitch at the end. There will also be beads to add which should add a very nice finishing touch. The sampler is small enough for me to feel as though I am making good progress and I am enjoying stitching it. Keeping my fingers crossed, I should have it finished, pressed, framed and a matching card stitched and made up by the time the baby arrives. I will probably pop down to Ikea for a simple frame, likely plain white wood.

Also pictured are some ATCs that I made recently for a Docrafts colour swap in pale blue. Following the wonderful day in May over at Barry, I have fallen in love with the technique of blending inks using cotton wool and in this case I started with two plain white cards. Both were coloured using pale blue ink and then a little bit of darker blue added round the edges to give an attractive shaded effect. On one, I stamped and glittered some birds, the word "Love" and some swirly motifs. On the other, I used some butterfly stickers, glitter glue, ribbon and a rose bud bow to finish the decoration. These were posted a couple of days ago, and I now have a list of other swaps waiting for me to get stuck into.