Spinning, knitting.... winter has arrived.

Winter arrived very suddenly.

I missed late summer and the warm autumn days because of my cancer treatment in Christchurch and seven weeks away from the cottage and the garden is a long time.

Now winter is here and the first frosty nights were a bit of a shock, so cold outside, but amazing starry night skies.

Waking up in the morning to a white world,even the pond is frozen and my goldfish are swimming under the ice till the morning sun comes out and melts the ice away.

All the growth in the garden has slowed down and` the winter vegetables are not doing well in this sudden cold snap.

I have planted the last spring bulbs and Henk is pruning the fruit trees in the orchard.

When the afternoon sun is warm enough I sit outside on the deck with my spinning wheel and spin away for a hour or so.

Handspun wool

My wool is not finely spun, I spin a bit more chunky, but I like a textured look and feel in my knitting,also I spin different yarns together.
Black Alpaca wool with grey Romney wool and some dyed fleece to create a burst of colour.

The first frost of winter.

Different fleeces spun together.

I can't wait to start knitting my next slippers.