Plotting and scheming

My favourite LYS ever, This Is Knit has opened a second branch. Which I've been to twice already this week. It seems that having a yarn store close enough that I can walk to in my lunchbreak is going to be a dangerous and expensive thing.

Some of the goodies that I picked up there can't be photographed yet, as they're for yarn swap things. I hope the recipients like them, as it's going to be a tough job to put them in the post!

I also picked up a ball of Kilcarra aran tweed, which is one of my favourite yarns in the world.



It's really good value, comes in a fabulous range of colours, and is spun up the road in Donegal to boot. It's great to knit with, but really comes into its own after the first wash - it just comes alive, and is soft and durable.

Aaaanyway, this particular ball is to become a square. It's more exciting than it sounds, honest.
I'm heading to Galway in October for the first Irish Knitters Retreat. As a thank you for the wonderful lady who is letting us take over her B&B for the weekend, we're each making a square, which will be sewn together on the Friday evening.

It has to be 15cm squared. After that, it's anything goes.

I'm thinking cables. Or cable, at least. Something like that. If I was more talented (and less chicken) I'd do something in fair isle. I'm going to have a rummage through some books for inspiration this evening, and hopefully get a good start on it on Sunday when - if all goes to plan - HusBeast will be putting together a chest of drawers for us.

The weather here is changing rapidly. A rather blatent sign of this is the postman making his door to door journey in a car, instead of on foot as usual. The evenings are getting darker too. The clock isn't going back an hour for more than a month, but the light is starting to fade much faster, and it will be well on the way to getting dark when I get off the train at home.

I love autumn.

October is probably my favourite month, and not just because it's got my birthday involved in it. The weather is generally dry, the nights are properly dark, and some of my favourite things are wheeled out again for another year; open fires, hot whiskeys, scarves, jumpers, stews, things with cinnamon in them. It's all warm and comfortable and reassuring, like a well used pair of slippers. There's a much more settled feeling than during summer, and the frantic feeling of having to be in many places at once seems to relax for that short period before the Christmas merchandise hits the shops.

Having ample opportunity to wear big, thick handknitted socks is also an incentive!




On an entirely unrelated matter...is there anyone out there who pays for Flickr?
I'm getting the "you have x photo's left" line off them at the moment, and am not sure if I want to pay the $25 a year, or if I should be stingy and just set up another account.

Recommendations?