A few weeks before Christmas, my cousin Ben demanded a hat. An actual demand of “Knit me a hat!” When people ask for (or demand..) knits, I take this as a good thing – they want and appreciate handknits. Or maybe he just had a cold head and didn’t want to pay for a hat. Either way, I made one anyway, although not in a great rush. And I want to keep it.

Next up is a belated Christmas present for another family member – a much more patient and less demanding one! Organic, naturally-dyed wool from Greenfibres. I’m not too impressed by the patchy-ness of the dye, its not unavoidable. But it does give the yarn a nice subtle colour variation which will knit up nicely – and the recipient likes it, which is by far the most important thing.