Widdicombe Fair

Tam Pearse, Tam Pearse,
Lend me thy old grey mare,
All along, down along, out along lee.
For I want to go to Widdicombe Fair,
Wi' Bill Brewer, Jan Stewer, Peter Gurney,
Peter Davy, Dan'l Whiddon, Harry Hawk,
Old Uncle Tom Cobley and all, and all,
Old Uncle Tom Cobley and all.

(Anonymous, 19th Century)

This project is intended as a baby blanket but it is just as effective for adding a touch of warmth and interest to any family room.

Most children enjoy a visit to a swing park or fairground. For parents confined to a bench while their children rampage, the experience can be less enjoyable. As most of us are not brave enough to throw dignity aside and mount swing or roundabout, I have devised a more sedate pastime for the adult. This design is highly portable and also very pictorial, so it is easy to keep your place on the chart even if swing duty intervenes. It is based on the merry-go-round rides which continue to captivate children despite the appeal of more modern entertainments. I have no idea if they had such things at Widdicombe Fair, but whenever I hear the old song, I have a vision of Bill Brewer & Co whirling around in merry fashion.

For the main horses in both colourways, I have used Corncrake, Fulmar and Pebble Beach with a touch of Driftwood to give a hint of pink. The canopy above is worked in rich Golden Plover blending into Corncrake, which adds life to the tiny dancing horses racing up and down above the main pattern. The red colourway, with Red Deer, Red Rattle and Poppy produces a lively vibrant mood while the blue colourway with Mara, Storm Petrel and Shearwater has a soft and dreamy quality. JS

Available in Hebridean 2 Ply in Red or Blue Colourways as shown.

Moon & Stars

In winter I get up at night
And dress by yellow candle-light.
In summer quite the other way,
I have to go to bed by day.

I have to go to bed and see
The birds still hopping on the tree,
Or hear the grown-up people's feet
Still going past me on the street.

And does it not seem hard to you,
When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play,
To have to go to bed by day?

(Bed in Summer, by RL Stevenson)

The long Hebridean summer nights mean that there is rather a lot of going to bed by day for a three year old who sleeps solidly from six to six. My son Thomas is finding this rather hard to come to terms with as he has spent the last winter fascinated by the night sky and has especially enjoyed watching the moon rise. The news that it will be back sometime next October has not consoled him very much. I sympathise with him greatly on this point as I did not enjoy having to go to bed by day when I was a child. Since I cannot conjure up the celestial heavens to coincide with his supper - as he occasionally asks me to do - I decided to make him a waistcoat of moons and stars that he can wear even on the brightest of days. For the background I used the deep and magical colours Kelpie and Selkie, together with Limpet which adds a touch of night purple. To bring the moons and stars to life I have used Solan Goose and Whin, with a touch of Poppy to echo the red glow of Mars which we see clearly throughout winter. The resulting waistcoat is a sophisticated statement for any child, while still being fun to wear and easy to knit. JS