Hello Felix’s blog readers.

You might not know me but I am Monkl. I am a small brown monkey and I can usually be found wherever Felix is. I like bananas. I like accordion music. And I like things that are like bananas or about bananas.

My favourite colours are banana colours.

My favourite knitted things are knitted bananas.

My favourite books feature bananas and monkeys (and yarn is allowed as well, as long as it is banana-coloured yarn).

I also like Shetland because going to Shetland is an Adventure, and because I like playing in Jamieson & Smith with my friends Ella and Sandra. There are lots of banana-coloured yarns in there, and excellent things called “knitting belts” which remind me of bananas.

But shall I tell you one thing I don’t like? Readers of Felix’s blog, I do not like the KNITSONIK Stranded Colourwork Sourcebook. How can you have a whole book about taking inspiration from everyday things WITHOUT A SINGLE MENTION OF A BANANA? Bananas are the very best of fruits and in my opinion it was a serious oversight to write the book A. without consulting me B. without bananas.

You might think that I have kept quiet about this for the past year, but not a bit of it!
No, I have spoken endlessly of my disappointment at the lack of bananas in the book. But all my words and pleas seemed to be for nothing…

…or so I thought.

But then this morning a very exciting parcel arrived in the post! It was for me, MONKL!

I like unwrapping parcels!

There was a picture of my ancestors inside.

AND ANOTHER PARCEL! This one was golden!

Inside all the exciting rustly paper I found the greatest sweater of all time ever.

It is a banana-themed sweater. It was knitted for me by Deborah Gray who created colours and patterns based on the glorious bananas that I made everyone buy when we were in Shetland for Wool Week. Please observe the lovely yellow bananas around the bottom and the pretty pattern above it that is the same shape as my nose.

And I have yellow banana sleeves of power!

This is all very good because now I have something excellent to wear for when I am playing in the rustly paper fortress.

Dear Deborah, THANK YOU SO MUCH for my amazing sweater, it is the greatest thing ever! It reminds me of being in Shetland with Felix and you and Jeni Reid, and it reminds me of playing in Jamieson & Smith, finding the right colours for the bananas. The banana yellows are so peely! The browns so Monklish! I love it!

Now I am wearing my sweater and enjoying the banana-ness of the colours and the patterns and the shading and I wonder if perhaps I have judged the KNITSONIK Stranded Colourwork Sourcebook too harshly? Maybe it’s OK that it doesn’t have BANANAS IN IT if it can show you HOW TO SEE AND KNIT THE BANANA-NESS IN BANANAS? Just don’t tell Felix I said so, K? I do not wish to weaken my case for her next book to be called MONKL AND THE AMAZING BANANAS…

…and now, off to play in MY AMAZING NEW SWEATER!
THANKS AGAIN DEBORAH, THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER EVER EVER.
YOURS IN BANANAS MONKL XXX