Over the past few weeks I have acquired a number of cool knitting-related things.  Yesterday I asked Doug to photograph them so I could share them with you.  I am lucky that he enjoys this type of thing and strives to make interesting photos.  “Doug,” I said while watching him take 60 photos of a skein of yarn, “what would you call a blog post about spending money on knitting stuff?”  “How about…..spending money on knitting stuff,” he said.

I have a good collection of knitting books and magazines which I have gathered over the last 30 years or so and duly carted all over the world.  Since the arrival of Ravelry and internet knitting goodness, my knitting book purchses have slowed down.  I splurged recently and bought Alice Starmore’s Tudor Roses.

Oh my!  This is a gorgeous book!  If I get a chance I will write a book review post.  This is what they call a “coffee table book”.  It is huge and heavy with good quality paper and gorgeous photos.  If you are in the mood to splurge, you can’t go wrong with this one.

For a long time I have wanted to make something with the Madelinetosh colour called Tart.  The other day, while cruising through the online shop at Loop (something I do with ridiculous frequency) I noticed that they had four skeins of Madtosh Merino Light in Tart, just sitting there waiting for a good home.  I have been trying very hard not to buy yarn unless I have a specific purpose in mind.  What can I say?  I was bad.  I now have 4 skeins of Tart.  I suppose if I can’t find a good project for it, I can just take it out and stare at it; fondling will probably occur as well.

It turns out that Tart is a very hard colour to capture, but Doug put a lot of effort into it:

Just three days after ordering this delivery of Madtosh from Loop, I found myself unexpectedly in London for the afternoon.  What else can one do when in London for the afternoon except to have a coffee and a flourless polenta cake at Ottolenghi’s on Upper Street and then wander into Loop to ogle yarn?  I was determined not to buy any yarn since the 4 skeins of Tart where at that time winging their way to me in the post, but I could not resist buying a Knit Pro Symfonie Wood Double Pointed Sock Needle Set:

I love this photo where the needles look like shoots in the garden:

Last weekend we needed a new battery for the camera and went into town to buy one at John Lewis, where the camera department is located directly across from the yarn department.  I ask you, what’s a knitter to do?  I was relatively good and departed with just one skein of yarn, a luscious ball of Kidsilk Haze Stripe:

Isn’t is beautiful?  I love the way it shines in the sunlight.

Last but not least, I love Kate Davies new design for fingerless mitts, Ecclefechan.  Kate released them as a kit recently and I think they must have sold out in a few minutes.  She had a second release and again they sold out instantly.  I just happened to be online when she put up a third release and snagged a kit!  These black and cream mitts are really lovely.  The kit came with the yarn, beautifully printed pattern, a Kate Davies kit bag, and a recipe for Ecclefechan tarts.

That’s all my cool new stuff.  I have also been busily knitting something new and will have an FO (finished object) or two to show you soon. Now I’m off to sit in the sunshine.