Brr!

Brr, it’s cold!  The temperature has suddenly dropped this week and I’ve been eagerly watching the weather reports in case there’s any chance of the white stuff landing in Winwick.  Google is still being very polite and telling me “No, there is no chance of snow in Winwick” without adding “you stupid woman, stop asking me!” although I am sure that it’s robot-y mind is thinking that.

It was a Skipton Day yesterday and I headed up the motorway to Yorkshire to see my friend Lucy, well wrapped up against the freezing weather.  Turning out of our driveway, I had to stop for a moment because there, landing very gently on the windscreen, were snowflakes.  Snow!!  I resisted the temptation to shout “You know nothing, Google, do you hear me, nothing!” and instead grinned my way all the way up through Lancashire to Yorkshire whilst around the car the snowflakes danced and swirled.  I watched the snowflakes dancing and swirling all day out of Lucy’s Studio window, but they didn’t stick – perhaps just as well, but you can imagine that there might have been a little secret part of me that wouldn’t have minded being snowed in up there in Skipton.

If you’ve ever read Lucy’s blog then you’ll be familiar with the hill that she can see from her Attic window – this is what it looked like yesterday as I went to get back into my car … carefully disguised as a snowy cloud!

I came home a different way to my usual route which took me down small country roads and through a village with stone cottages clustered around a converted mill and then up onto the moors.  I’ve driven that way before but never in snow and there was a fair bit of it up there.  Luckily, the road was easily passable and I did stop before taking the photos …

You’ll know that I can’t resist a photo of a sheep and snowy sheep?  There was no way I was going to drive past these!  They were super-friendly (I think they thought I had food) and I did wonder if one of them thought it was coming home with me!

I had to say goodbye to the sheep as others from across the field thought they were missing out and started hurrying over to the wall – I didn’t want the farmer wondering what the stampede was if he (or she) was looking out of the window!

There was no sign of the snow back in Winwick although this morning it was still very cold.  The Heuchera outside the front door looked very pretty …

and it was one of those lovely bright, crisp mornings that are a pleasure to be out in (as long as you’re well wrapped up).

There’s something about walking on a frosty morning, the ground sparkling as if a million diamonds have been scattered under your feet and your breath steaming out in front of you, that makes it feel very special and these are some of my favourite times.  I’ll still live in hope that we’ll see some snow in Winwick this winter (we got snowed in one year so it does happen sometimes!) but for now, I’ll take the frosty mornings as compensation.

On to woolly things now … I got home yesterday to find a squishy parcel waiting for me.  Kate at Northern Yarn has just launched her brand new Zwartbles yarn which was spun from local fleeces. Zwartbles sheep originally came from the Netherlands but have happily made their home elsewhere, including Lancashire.  Kate is calling this her “chocolate yarn” as it’s gorgeously rich dark brown colour.  It’s quite rustic-feeling and fabulously sheepy – I don’t know how it will wear for socks but I’m keen to give it a go.  When I spoke to her yesterday, she’d sold nearly all of her stock but if you want to go and take a look to see if there’s any left, you can find it here.

I’d also like to tell you about a giveaway over on Helen Kurtz’s blog – she blogs as Josie Kitten and is one of the Stylecraft Blogstars so you may have heard of her before.  She is raising funds for the British Heart Foundation in memory of her husband who died very suddenly in 2016 and has a amazing range of gifted yarns and books – including a signed copy of Super Socks – to give away in return for a donation on her JustGiving page.  You can read more about Helen’s fundraising and the giveaway here and find her JustGiving page with more information on Helen’s fundraising to date here.

I think that’s about it for now – I hope you’re keeping warm wherever you are!