Why its good to shop for yarn even when you're on a yarn diet

Yesterday I went into John Lewis too see if Anne had put anything new and fun into the sale bin... I had forgotten that it was Thursday, so was pleasantly surprised to look up from my contemplation of said bin to see Anne coming toward me carrying more yarn (alas, not stuff for the sale bin)!
Then, just as we were checking to see if this 250g pile of half-price wool cotton (there's another grey skein in there somewhere) would be enough to make a pint-sized stripy jumper for a certain munchkin I know (its a gift, so it doesn't count against my yarn diet - really, it doesn't!), who should turn up but Jen and darling little Isabella, on their very first trip out of the house.... how appropriate that it should involve a trip to the yarn section of John Lewis - we'll have that kid using the needles before you know it! :)

It was really great to see you Jen, and the little one was just gorgeous, all kitted out in an adorable cardigan that Anne made for her!

In other news, I realised this morning that I had forgotten to blog these fun needles that Tiffany gave me when I was back home in early March:
They're 5mm Knit-Lite needles - the ones with the lights in the tips so you can knit anywhere you want! :) Here's a close up of the tips, with their lights on:
These needles are a fun idea, but not so practical as one could hope. When I first saw them, they looked really long, although they're actually about average length - I think its the battery bit on the end that makes them seem a bit awkward, because it makes them look very back-end heavy... The weight of the rest of the needle is a bit light, but they're not so difficult to work with. The light part of the needles is pretty good - I'm not really one to take knitting to the cinema, but the lights definitely help you when knitting in a room that isn't very bright - especially if you're doing something fiddly or using a dark yarn or something. I have to say though, the clear part of the tips could be a little bit longer - the clear part only makes up the curved tip of the needle - all the straight part is regular plastic... since this is where you work most of your stitches, this is where the clear part should be, even if it was only an extra few centimeters of lit-up section. That way, you'd get the full benefit of the lighting behind your stitches, to help you see what you're doing. For that reason, I'm tempted to think that the other light-up needles, the Needle Lites, might be the better product. But then again, do I really want to pay £20 for one pair of needles?!! (compared to about £8-10 for these ones).

I'm off to Ireland tomorrow, so I'll see you all after Easter!