NO, the wool is not being pulled over your eyes. These buildings, based on real ones in a Comet country village, have all really been handknitted.

And there’s plenty more where they came from, with residents in Pirton coming together to knit more than 20 buildings that make up their village.

The idea came from Helen Hofton, who wanted to do something to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee year.

So far, the village’s two pubs, its shop and the parish church have been knitted, as well as a number of houses.

“It’s such a silly idea – most people don’t knit houses, they knit jumpers,” joked Helen.

“It’s been good fun, and we’ve all been meeting for a cup of tea and a piece of cake to discuss what we’re doing.

“It has truly been a community effort knitting the three dimensional houses, with people sharing their skills of knitting, sewing and model making. Those involved will never look at the village buildings in the same way again.”

The effort began in May, with about 20 people getting on board. So far, 24 buildings have been knitted.

But there are plans to knit many more on top of than that.

“We want people to get creative with knitting,” added Helen.

“It’s been funny, because we’ve had to stand in front of the houses, and look at the positions of everything from the windows to the doors.

“It seems to have been well received.”

An exhibition showing the collection so far will be held in Pirton Methodist Church on Friday between 2.30pm and 4.30pm, and again on Saturday between 10am and 4pm.

There will also be the opportunity for people to register their interest in the project, and a display of old photographs, paintings and drawings.