My wife gave me a couple of books on knots, Brion Toss' eye splicing DVD and, best of all, a canvas ditty bag she made herself
(She included a couple of "wallets" she made for neatly stowing fids, scissors, needles, etc., and a length of double-braid, some grommets and a grommet tool so I can design a closure to my liking, using my own rope work.)
Jim