Loving the Bay

I feel very Canadian some days.Yesterday I walked thru The Bay’s signature department.There’s something about those four colours that feel comfy and warm.They are called Queen Anne’s colours but I prefer the old First Nation’s folklore: green for nature, red for the hunt, yellow for sunshine and indigo for water.The truth is that those were the dyes that had the greatest colourfastness in the early 1800s.Now those lovely stripes are painted on everything and anything. Just look at these silly nutcrackers!The points, (those indigo stripes) woven into the blankets were used to measure size and weight without having to unroll, measure and weigh each individual blanket each time.The first blanket ever ordered was in 1798 and made by Thomas Empson in my very own market town of Witney, Oxfordshire. The order was for “three points to be striped with four colours (red, blue, green, yellow) according to your judgement.”The vintage Bay blankets are so collectible these days.I only own one vintage Bay blanket, circa 1945, but I’m always looking for more. The trick is finding one at a price I can afford. Mine is scarlet and has three and a half points. Right now it’s on C’s bed for the winter keeping her snuggly and warm.