Oh dear, oh dear! There I go bringing back Nerd Thursday and I manage to only last a week. I'm so sorry! I wasn't feeling too peachy last Thursday so spent a lot of the day either in bed or on the sofa. Then we had family come to stay at the weekend and it completely passed me by. So....here it is.......NERD THURSDAY!

I would like you to meet, the newest member of my smiley planet set. URANUS! You can read all about him, Look at him or even buy him if you feel so inclined!

I shall be back this Thursday (and probably before then too!) with a better class of nerdy facts for you!

I'm such a bad girl. I've not blogged or made anything new since last week but I do have a genuine excuse and not just a pregnancy excuse this time! Friday while I work I was attaching a piece of right-angle glass tubing to a side arm test tube and it snapped in my hand. Quite literally IN MY HAND. So I grabbed a few paper towels to soak up the blood, went to find a first aider. I got plastered(!) and sent off to A&E to have it checked out to make sure there wasn't any glass in the cut. They had a good prod and a poke, and didn't want to X-ray me due to only being 23 weeks pregnant. It's not a huge cut and didn't need stitching but due to where it was they had to put a bandage on it. J said I wasn't allowed to do any knitting or sewing for a few days as I looked like this...

....I didn't even do any baking for my Mum visiting. My family had to make do with a shop bought fresh cream victoria sponge - but it was very nice! I gave mum her mother's day presents (nice plant and lots of daffs) and she had brought me the little cardis she's knitted (so far) for Bunny (don't worry, we're not really calling our baby Bunny. She's just Bunny till we decide what she looks like!). They are so sweet. I had to get the twins, George and Georgina, to model them!

They look much better in real life. The right one has flecks of blues and greens in it. My hand is starting to feel better today, I've not had a plaster on at all and it's got that tight, healing would feeling about it. I've managed to finish my first ever knitted item of clothing that isn't a hat or a scarf! It's a simple little boat-neck jumper and even though it's the 0-3 month size it seems MASSIVE!

The wool was chosen before we knew if we were having a boy or a girl. I think I may have to find out a nice pink colour and sew some lazy daisies around the bottom......OR.....get a nice pink flower or two crocheted for it. There's a plan! Here it is being modelled - this time by Mr Snow - but he's only got little arms!

I'm not sure which one I want to keep now!

Update: Sardines are now available EXCLUSIVELY in my etsy shop!

Sardines, or pilchards, are a group of several types of small, oily fish related to herrings (family Clupeidae). Sardines were named after the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, where they were once in abundance. As an aliment, sardines are very rich in minerals. They can be consumed in a variety of ways (i.e. grilled, pickled, smoked) though canned sardines are very popular worldwide.

There are many varieties of sardine and I like to think that these brooches are the Rainbow Sardine - Dussumieria acuta. The green one is my favourite so far and I may just keep it for myself. I've got 3 more in the making and will show them all of tomorrow once they are finished! In the mean-time here is some nutritional sardine information!

Nutrition: Sardines are healthful and considered a "brain food." These fish are rich in omega 3 fatty acids, which can help maintain a healthy heart. Recent studies suggest that omega-3 fatty acids slow the progression of mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. These fatty acids can also help control blood sugar level. Not only are sardines high in omega-3 fatty acids, but they are also a good source of vitamin D, calcium, B12 and protein. (maybe I should eat more fish??? hmmmm....)

(Fish facts from wikipedia)

I've been keeping myself out of trouble this week. Yesterday I finished off the batch of lion brooches I started after the first one turned out so well. Only a small batch mind. I want to get into the habit of making a few of each once the prototype meets my strict approval, mainly so I can keep my shops open without feeling under too much pressure to make things once Bunny arrives - here they are all on their cards ready to sell. I've also made a batch of Mothers Day cards for a few people at work.

Today I had a request to see how a lion brooch would look as a birthday card. I got to use my mini stamp set which has been lying around un-inked for months. I love the way it's turned out. I may offer these as an option in my shops...what do you think? AND I've made a start on a batch of Sardines, I'm sure I was going to try to make a whale but felt more fishy today and also I get to play with my sequins for the sardines! Tomorrow watch out for the return of Nerd Thursday!

Finally, for anyone who fancies having a go at a little hand sewing, the lovely Sarah has put a tutorial on her blog to celebrate her 500th post. You can have a go at making a cute felt zippy purse! I'm going to wait until the weekend to try it, but hers certainly look delicious!

I'm back to normal crafting now after a lovely weekend in York. I went to visit Joy and she made me go into a nice wool shop and buy some wool! It wasn't for me, 'onest guv. It was for my mum - well for my mum to knit Bunny a little cardi she liked the pattern of. So I bought her the wool, buttons and needles she needed to make it! It's some lovely Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino - lovely to knit with, it's the same stuff I'm knitting my striped blanket out of. Speaking of which I'm just over the half way mark and I still plan on completing it before Bunny's arrival - she's due on the 17th July!

I always find it nice to bounce ideas off of other people. I'm sure J gets thoroughly bored of me asking things like "do you think this would make a good brooch?" or "what if I made it in yellow?". I bounced a few ideas off of Joy and we decided I should make more animal brooches, the Lion here was one of the ideas I doodled. I think he's turned out alright really! He's got a little bit of stuffing in his face to give it a little shape and he'll be up in both shops later this evening.

Thank you to everyone who had lovely things to say about my brooches appearance in Country Living. I still can't quite believe it. The magazine was only out in the shops last week and I'm hoping it will generate a few sales and a bit more interest in my work. Thank you all!

...Country Living that is, and with a little help from a bunny too!

Look at me! I'm item number 7! This has got to be one of the most exciting things in the whole world - I've not been featured in a magazine before! I have to say a HUUUUUUUUGE thank you to the very lovely lady who organises the Emporium pages for getting in touch way back in November and asking for Easter items after seeing one of my robin brooches. It was probably the kick up the bottom that I needed! Thank you ever so much!!! It gives my folksy shop as the contact where you can find both brooches and a few other eastery items too.

For lent I decided that this year I would give up buying new supplies. I've done well so far, but mainly due to avoiding going shopping (it's soooooo hard to resist going into John Lewis!) or looking around my usual internet haunts. The main reason for doing this is to get though some of my stash so that I don't have to move everything in the whole world down to the new craft/utility room once we get the work done by my lovely dad in the Easter holidays. I'm finding it quite fun going through what I do actually have lying around (and it's a lot of craft stuff!) and also finding lots of projects that I'd started and completely forgotten about. Some of which are here...

This picture is cheating a little bit as the strawberry tea cosy I actually finished yesterday! I've had two tea cosies knitted up well before Christmas all ready for the ends to be sewn in and lined with some nice fleece. It's been so long in-fact that I can't even remember who the aubergine one was meant for! I'll blame that on the pregnancy hormones(!!!). The aubergine is now finished and the rocket just has to have a bottom sewn on then it'll be ready to blast off to my shelf.

Here are the finished cosies. The aubergine is quite small once it's finished. The wool I used (crepe) wasn't very nice to knit with (it felt funny) and wasn't very stretchy either so only fits on my small (3 mug) pot. The strawberry still has a bit of give so should (fingers crossed) still fit on Joy's teapot! I'll have to let you know after the weekend when I take it up to York for her.

Today I have mostly been drawing beetles.

It's something I've wanted to make a start on for absolutely ages. I had the idea months ago that I really wanted to make something bug themed. I enjoy spending time in our garden and also spotting what bugs and wildlife I can find around it. Today I made time to sit and have a  bit of a draw. I generally think if I can draw a picture I'm happy with then I can usually sew it. I haven't decided if these are going to become brooches (possibly) or maybe even a few embroideries for my new sewing room which will look out to the garden?! (i make it sound fancy don't I? Really I'm just getting half of the utility room which leads out to the garden!) Either way I'm happy with what I've drawn - although I have just spotted that the green tortoise beetle appears to only have 4 legs...!?!

I've also manged a little sewing after work. A few little birthday presents and I've made a start on a small pile of knitting needle cases that have been waiting in the wings for a few weeks now. Easter items and Mother's Day cards are now available in both shops - I have a few more things to add. And watch this space for a bit of a blog revamp.....!