Yes, the Romney is different - it is a little finer than the Eider wool. Otherwise, though, I think they feel rather similar to spin, and I like them both very much.
The red and yellow thing is a special kind of stopwatch. Actually, it's a thing designed for gaming, with four timers for four players, and it can count up or down (so that everyone has the same amount of time for a turn, or a whole game). In my case, it only counts up - I really like it because I can use different sides for different tasks, and it is so easy and foolproof to stop by laying it onto the table instead of standing it up.