another cold day ... I managed to snap these with my phone while I was out with dilly-dog this evening ...





I know they are not the best photos, but it really was pretty out there :)

It's nearly December ... really not sure what happened to November!

It's nearly time for AdvenTea ... it has totally sneaked up on me

I have a couple of packs left and I know this is last minute, but I am going to do a quick giveaway of one of them.



This giveaways only for a day and will be drawn tomorrow morning

If you don't know about AdvenTea you can find out about it :: HERE ::


To enter, just follow this blog and leave a comment saying which is your favourite cuppa tea ... mine is either bog standard tea or apple and pear green tea. - don't forget to leave a way for me to contact you (email, twitter name etc)

UK entries only for this giveaway, sorry

remember you can join in with AdvenTea buy buying your own teas if you wish ... here is the list of teas we are using. ... we will be meeting up on facebook and on our blog every day through Advent.

I will do the draw using a random generator tomorrow morning.
Good luck :)

update :: 29.11.12
Thank you both for entering, (Teri and Karen) I will send you both an AdvenTea pack :)
enjoy x

giveaway closed

This months challenge was to make an animal ... I have ended up making a few for my nephew and nieces for Christmas ... I can't show you all now as they may see! but this one I couldn't resist :)

its a little knitted Dilly-dog!

what did you make?

Mum and I were planning a shopping trip to Hereford today ... we got to the station only to be told that due to flooding at Shrewsbury the train wasn't running, so we had a little mooch in town instead.

I found a few of books in the YMCA charity shop ...

This lovely victorian flower album book is very similar to The Country Diary Of An Edwardian Lady ... the pages are full of gorgeous watercolour paintings.


these sort of paintings always inspire me to pick up my paintbrush


the pages are really thick and I am so pleased to have found it. it was only £1.99 too!


These were the other 2 book ... World of herbs (49p) ... full of recipes, remedies and decorative ideas ... the other is Good Housekeeping book of embroidery stitches (99p) ... I have many books of stitch ... I can't resist them ... they are my one weakness ;)

Please pop over to MissieLizzie's blog to see more great bargains and links to other MagpieMonday's.

this month I have ... well taken lots of photos of me and the wooflet ;)


you can follow me on instagram @mariainthewood
ps. loving the new profile pages instagram have now

happy day today ... a day off ... and some nice post :)
first, pet insurance letter arrived today ... addressed to 'Maria Hogan and Dilly' !! it made me smile ;)
second, my cute little felted owl from Riamelin arrived :)

... isn't he cute ... I just love his eyes and the little heart on his tummy and under his wings.
he is called Ori (after one of the dwarfs in The Hobbit)
little owl and Ori are now looking for a branch to perch on
Sharon makes all sorts of animals and cuteness, so please if you fancy your own little felted friend please check her out :)

I am enjoying a day off today and am about to settle down to an afternoon of making Christmas presents for my little nephew and nieces :) ... I am determined not to get distracted by my patchwork which is calling to me ;)

Also don't forget if you want to join in with AdvenTea, there are a few packs left :)
whatever you are up to today, have a good one x

Mum and I had a mini-adventure over the weekend. After work on Saturday we hopped on a train and headed for my Aunties ... had a very comfy night and then yesterday morning headed off the the NEC to the Hobby Craft and Crafts for Christmas show.

We had a lovely day with my Auntie and cousin, Liz ... spent lots of money and bought some lovely bits ...

These pretty woodland pendants were from Mosaic Creativity and I am really looking forward to making something with them. My mum also bought some and plans on making a wall hanging woodland picture and sewing these pendants on to it :)
This lovely wide voile has holes all along one edge so you can knit it ... it makes a really pretty summer scarf ... it wasn't that cheap ... £9.99 for one pack, but I can't wait to have a go with it.
These gorgeous paper is designed by at The House of Zandra ... she had some really sweet designs ... check her out!
I did succumb to my one weakness ... no not wool ... that is my other weakness ... I mean beads ... these were from The Spellbound Bead Company ... I have bought online from them before, but it was lovely to see everything rather than just photographs :)
A while ago I bought some lovely wooden stamps ... little ones ... one of the stands at the show yesterday, Colouricious,  had LOADS ... so I bought a few more ... The lady on the stall told us that she designs them, her business partner finds out of work carpenters in India and they carve the stamps and get all the money for them ... she does it for love ... the stamps they sell supports 40 families in India :) These stamps are great on fabric too ... I really love the flower one.
While we were at her stall, she need tissues as she had a cold, I had some on me but while we were talking my mum went to the cafe and grabbed some paper napkins ... she was so thankful, she gave us a pack of papers for free!!
... I have been looking for a nice chunky hooded jumper pattern for a while ... so I grabbed this one as soon as I saw it ... I say grabbed ... I did pay ;)
One of the stands was full of beautiful braiding ... rolls and rolls of them ... my mum picked this ... she doesn't know what she will do with it yet, but it is really pretty :)
Next to the Hobby Craft hall was the Crafts for Christmas hall ... a hall full of gifts and ready made crafts ... I parted with more money in this hall ... I can't show you everything as some of my purchases are Christmas presents ... but I did by a few bits for myself ...

This magical painting was on a stand full of fairy tale magical paintings similar to this one ... I found it very hard to pick one ... they were all so special ...
This one is called The Glade.
They are by Glyn Matthews and I would love to save up and get another sometime ... maybe {{this one}}
These sweet little felt animals are brooches, apart from the robin, which is a decoration. The sweet little owl was bought for me by my cousin :)
Hedgerow Designs had some lovely nature jewellery ... I just bought this sweet little ladybird on a stone though.
One present I bought that I can show you is this jug for my mum ... she picked it so she knows she is getting it ... The stand was so pretty and full of hand painted ceramics by Jenny Bell.
My cousin has been busy making lots of hanging birds for Christmas ... I love Christmas decorations that mean something ... I love looking at my Christmas tree and seeing memories and special times.
here are some of my phone pics from the our little adventure ...