A bundle of wooly goodness has made its way to me in the form of my latest order from Woolyknit plus a couple of pairs of knitting needles from Hobbycraft.

I’m generally very happy with the new cones of wool. First off there’s the additional cone of Merino in the smoky blue Cadiz colour so now I’ve got everything I need to make the Vintage Waffle Cardigan Jacket. Then there is the British Wool in the Heather colour; I ordered a 500g cone plus an additional 125g cone to make sure I have plenty to complete the lace-panel v-neck jumper. I’m pleased with how it looks with the skirt and hopeful that it will be a pleasure to knit after the incredibly dark navy I’m currently using.

I rounded out my order with the pink wool which is a perfect colour to re-create my first ever jumper, but I have reservations because I am not convinced by the hairiness. It’s from the same range as the Heather wool, which is also hairy but in a more fuzzy way. The pink has long straggly hairs which I associate with blends I have used in the past that include Alpaca. From the sample cards I expected this wool to be hairy and that’s the reason I have dipped my toe in by ordering just the small 125g cone which is enough for me to have a play, knit samples, wash it, see exactly what I think.

Even if the pink wool doesn’t end up being quite to my taste, I now have my next three projects “needle adjacent”, and only need to decide which one to start. The third project, in case you’re wondering, is probably, almost definitely, or even quite possibly, a skinny scarf using the Noodle Soup Yarns wool which I have finally wound into a ball and which is proving a strong enticement.

Now, needles. Do you remember me complaining about using dark wools with dark needles? Do you remember me mentioning that I was going to get some paler wood needles? Did I at any point give you the impression that I was looking for something with lurid stripes? No? Well, you’re not wrong, I don’t recall ever thinking flourescent striped needles would be a good idea, until I saw them. Thus, my needle collection has now been expanded to include these:

They are so tasteless that the fact it’s a rubbish photo makes no difference.

Have you been treating yourself to anything new for autumn? Would you allow flourescent striped needles into your carefully curated, minimalist interior? Will I ever need to ask “Where are my needles?” again? And if I do, will someone phone me from the International Space Station to say they can see them?