As winter approached I was inundated with toque requests. While searching for patterns, I was pulled in a number of unexpected directions. The first path led me to Sylvia Olsen, a great Canadian writer, storyteller, knitter and designer. I have dedicated a separate entry to her incredible work and our West Coast First Nation knitters. Like thousands of other knitters on Ravelry, I happened upon the baa-ble hat by Donna Smith.