Yes, it has been a long time. And no, it doesn't mean I haven't been crafting - quite the reverse! Somehow, running my other blog over at Hound Mistress, my Twitter feed, Facebook, PLUS life - all the stuff that happens before we write/blog/tweet about it - just meant something gave, and this was it. Anyway, as part of my New Year's resolutions, I've decided to restart this blog for craft related activities.

So, here is what I have been doing over the past couple of days. Some time before Christmas, I picked up a gorgeous little box of loveliness over at Busy Bees (my local quilting shop). It's a Moda box of little Honey Bun rolls - essentially like a jelly roll but the strips are 1.5" rather than 2.5". The little box is a sweet thing, and I loved the pretty fabrics. So, home it came. Then of course the tsunami of Christmas related activity overcame me and every time I went into the spare bedroom the little box would look at me, I'd look at it, and I'd say to myself - not yet.

Now that Christmas is over, I was in the mood to have fun and make something pretty for me/the house, not for anyone else. I'd also been looking again at log cabin quilt blocks as I had thought about maybe making another log cabin chicken. Anyway, I ended up making three little log cabin blocks from one little roll of fabric. For the traditional red hearth centre, I found a charm square I hadn't previously used that was a bright cherry red - perfect. For a novice quilter like me, log cabin blocks are great. They are not complicated, and also they are very good practice for sewing straight and ensuring nice, square blocks.

So yesterday, I made the blocks and today I used some of the strips for sashing. A dig around in my stash found a very pretty fabric for the backing. I quilted it in the ditch, then used the last few strips to make the binding. With these little boxes - you get two sets of fabric, usually one pastel and one bright. This one was a soft pastel - the "Aviary" range from Moda. I think that over the weekend, I might make up a similar runner in the bright fabrics as a birthday present for a friend - I think she'd like it. The pastel fabrics I used with soft blues and pinks work wonderfully in our guest bedroom - the walls are a sky blue, and we usually have white and blue (or white and lilac) bedding in there for guests. It has also become a bit of a repository for various craft items - there's a cross stitched coaster beside the bed for drinks, a pretty cushion I stitched then had made up sits on the bed and a stitched, framed sampler on the wall. This now joins them. Guest bedrooms don't tend to get as much wear and tear as other rooms, and I think having home made items in the room adds a welcoming feel.

August seems to have been one of those months with a non-stop succession of visitors! All very welcome, but there has been a slow down in craft progress. However, I've managed to complete a number of things, so here's an update. Firstly, you remember the baby sampler I wanted to take to the show? Well, the weather meant the show was cancelled, about five days before the big day, as the ground was so wet it would have turned into a quagmire. Naturally, I was very disappointed, especially as the framer has done a really wonderful job (I went with the framer rather than simply putting it into a bought frame, at Andrew's suggestion ). From the same little book as the sampler design, I stitched a card to welcome the new baby. As you can see from the attached pic, I added a few green seed beads to the border, and mounted it into a little aperture card, with some adorable "girly" ribbon attached. Since I started the card, the baby arrived, and is a healthy little girl called Amelie. The sampler and card are being dispatched tomorrow after Andrew has carefully packed them.

Secondly, my dear great-aunt (92) has been in hospital with a foot problem, so I attach a get well card I made for her. A narrow pink base card,with pink and green papers layered above. Then some of the new die cuts added and a little bit of glitter added via some Stickles (glitter glue). Very simple but very pretty.

Thirdly, I have started out on Christmas cards for the greyhound shop. First batch, made and bagged up are pictured. There are about 20 here. I usually aim to make a couple of hundred.

Fourthly, I attach a pretty anniversary design (which would also work for a wedding) by Joan Elliott, that I stitched for Andrew's parents. Not surprisingly, I added some clear seed beads to the design, and it looks lovely mounted up in its card.

Finally, my auntie has been staying with us this past week, so we had a nice bit of "crafty" shopping. Went again to the new Hobbycraft and a visit to Inkspot, our local favourite craft store.

Firstly, I've finished the baby sampler. Photo attached. I am very pleased with it, and will be going down to Ikea to buy a simple frame for it later this week (we're fortunate to have an Ikea in Cardiff and I enjoy shopping there for homewares). It will also need to be pressed very gently before framing too. Then it will be ready for the show and then onward dispatch as soon as the baby arrives - which should be within the next ten days -although first babies seem notorious for not arriving on schedule. The sampler was a pleasurable stitch - small enough to make progress easy and an excellent compromise on blocks of colour. Enough variety to make it interesting but not so much that progress is painfully slow and makes you feel like you are stitching an outbreak of measles.

I also attach two cards I made this evening. Since we moved back to Cardiff, I've wanted to invite my friend Penny up for lunch and to meet the hounds - she lives down in Carmarthenshire with her two lurchers on a farm. Due to Penny's work commitments (medieval re-enactment with horses and weapons) she works a lot during the summer and it's always difficult to find time in her schedule to meet up. However, by great good fortune, I've been able to find a Saturday in about a fortnight when she's free and is coming up for lunch, along with another greyhound friend, Paula who lives round the corner from us. Paula and Penny know each other and get on well, so it should be a really lovely day. I thought it would be nice to confirm the invitation by post and so made these two cards. The beautiful die-cuts are from K & Co, I bought them yesterday down at Hobbycraft when I went there to top up on clear cellophane card bags. My annual Christmas card making will begin in earnest very soon, both for the greyhound shop and for selling on the greyhound stall.

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.

It's taken me a while to post this item, as the recipient's birthday was the week before last, but for a variety of reasons, I didn't give her the gift until the weekend. As usual I was originally stuck with the problem of what to buy for the woman who has everything and is celebrating a landmark birthday? I dithered about a quilt (and this is a reserve option for future birthdays and Christmas). However, I remembered that I often end up taking photos when we are out (as this is often with our respective loved ones and dogs). So, the idea of a personalised little scrapbook was born.

The little minibook was a set from K& Co that I bought way back just after Christmas - for just such an occasion. It's very attractive, in vintage colours of olive, dusty khaki and purple with a green buckled ribbon round it. The hardest part was selecting the photos to go in - I found I had lots of nice ones and it was difficult to narrow down the choice. Anyway, I eventually got my shortlist and then it was just a case of making up the pages with little labels and mounts - a lot of fun, and doing it brought back happy memories attached to each picture.

When it was finished, I photographed it, and then gift-wrapped it using some lovely paper from Ikea, some pretty purple ribbons, and a tag from K & Co that just seemed to work really well. Fortunately, when she opened it on Saturday, she really loved it, and I am very happy about that - it means a lot when a handmade gift is appreciated. Some photos attached.

A nice assortment of projects in this post.

First up, another colour swap on the Do crafts ATC forum. The theme was amber/tangerine/orange. For the first card, I covered it in a pretty orange floral print paper that was a part of my goody bag from the recent ATC day in Barry. Then I added a strip of yellow self adhesive ribbons covered in orange flowers, and then added some orange toned die cut flower shapes. Finally, I finished off with a couple of orange butterfly gems that I carefully glued on. For the other two, I took two ATC base cards, that I coloured using shaving foam at the Barry ATC event, in shades of yellow, orange and red. Thed edges were coloured with a red ink pad, then I stamped both with an Anna Griffin paisley stamp in red ink. Finally I added some pretty K & Co adhesive butterfly and bird stickers - in gorgeous rich colours. And off they went! Will be receiving my swapped cards early next week.

Secondly, a 30th birthday card for my friend Rebecca in Cardiff. I took two pieces of card from a DCWV box, one scalloped and turquoise, the other plain yellow and layered them up. On the card, I added a piece of Laura Ashley printed paper, with lots of bright turquoise and yellow in the mix. I then put a yellow ribbon across the card, and used my pokey tool to punch a hole, allowing me to add a yellow flower with blue brad. Finally, I used a bright blue ink to stamp Happy Birthday on a piece of yellow card and added that with 3d foam pads to the front of the card. It was Rebecca's birthday yesterday and she loved the card. We are going out with her to celebrate on Saturday night - about 25 friends all going for pizza.

Finally, a cross-stitched design for Father's Day, for my FIL. This is a Joan Elliott design, and is great. It came with a CD of designs that was a giveaway about two years ago with a copy of Cross Stitcher magazine, and is a reliable source of attractive designs for all sorts of occasions. I liked this cockerel - something so cheerful about the colours. It was a pleasure to stitch, the design coming together very nicely and with only a few fractional stitches. It was mounted in the card tonight and will be hitting the post first thing tomorrow morning.

In 1984, George Orwell referred to a characteristic called Doublethink - where a person could hold two contradictory ideas but not object. I feel rather like this about Christmas. Don't get me wrong - I absolutely adore the festive season. My already tenuous hold on taste is abandoned gleefully and I enjoy going wild with decorations, gifts, crafts, cooking, entertaining and general merrymaking. However, and this is the sticker, I loathe going into shops in August and finding the shelves filling up with Christmas puddings and cards. To me Christmas should be celebrated and anticipated at the end of the year - shopping and posting should be in darkness and cold, not sunshine. Now here's the doublethink - as a crafter, you simply cannot start too early. All that merrymaking means that it is without doubt the busiest time of the year yet it is also the time when you need to create things like cards and gifts. So to sum up, I am happy to start early for my own crafting but throw a major hissy fit if I so much as sniff something festive in a shop before the end of October.

In this Orwellian spirit, I illustrate the point with two little cross-stitched designs, just completed that will be mounted into cards. They are both by Margaret Sherry who designs frequently for magazines. For the little robin, I used a blending filament along with the dark thread for the backstitch - this gives it a nice twinkle. For the hedgehog, I used a rayon thread for the star - this gives a luxurious finish. On both, I used Thread Heaven for the first time. I have often seen it advertised in magazines as an aid to using metallics, rayons and so on. Having bought some, I tried it out on these small projects and I was completely blown away. It makes using these threads a breeze - normally the air would be blue as they got knotted, tangled, wouldn't thread and so on. Instead, I glided smoothly through - if you haven't tried it, I can recommend it.

I am hoping to build up a small stash of these little Christmas designs for mounting into cards throughout the year, thus avoiding too much late panic by the end of November! Well, that's the plan, anyway. I'll keep this updated as more are added.