Words and Wool

It's very much feeling like a different season of life around here. I'm not sure where the boundaries of this stage began. I think one never knows. At each stage of my children's lives my crafting has taken on a different look. 

When they were babies I only dabbled in knitting and once in awhile sewed something. The elementary years proved to be a boon for me. I managed to find a lot of time for hand sewing felt flowers by the dozen and cranking out knitting projects by the basketful (well, not quite). 

By the end of this summer I will have two teenagers and only two children left in elementary school. 

The crafting has again taken a turn. There is less hand sewing, less knitting, a bit more machine sewing, and more tea cozy crochet (which requires little thought and can be done nearly anywhere). Mostly there is more reading because I'm finding that to keep up with the energy demands of these busy teens/older youngsters I have to do nothing but read when resting rather than just taking time for me to go and do my own projects. 

I have a number of crocheted tea cozies waiting to be finished. I did complete this one as a wedding gift for my cousin.

And I sewed up a few of these cute bunnies for other gifts.

I've had these quilt squares cut out for years but this summer I pulled them out, laid them out, and collated them into piles for sewing. This quilt is based on one of Jane Brocket's.

I'm also hard at work trying to finish up a quilt for David's birthday using these vintage star pieces I found at Goodwill by the Pound last year. I have the top all sewn! I hope to put the quilt together this week so I can start tying it as soon as possible.

Gift-giving is a big motivator for me to get into crafting mode. Here is another gift I made this past month, modifying the pattern for Maggie Rabbit from Posy Gets Cozy. I used a felted sweater instead of wool felt.

I made this in May for a baby shower gift. I loved utilizing bits of my Harris Tweed stash and other pieces of wool I have as well as some very soft corduroy. The pattern came from a library book.

As for reading:


A Glass of Blessings: A Novel by Barbara Pym was a book on my "wanted" list that I picked up in New York City. However, it did disappoint. I think the idea of a glass of blessings sort of showed up on the last page or two, maybe? Anyway, the book didn't appear to have much plot but rather just told about the life of an earlier 20th century middle class English woman. I've read better Pym.

Beyond Codependency: And Getting Better All the Time by Melody Beattie. I read Beattie's first book "Codependent No More" last year and loved it. This one, if possible, is even better. I learned so much.

The Castle on the Hill by Elizabeth Goudge was a good story of countryside England during World War II.

  The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry. Now this was a GOOD book! So good, in fact, that we listened to it on the way to North Carolina and then again on the way back!! At first glance you might be horrified -- there is talk of parents disliking their children and children trying to get rid of their parents. But, if you can take this as a comedy, the author is a genius at capturing the sort of everyday things that happen in families. There are also illusions to probably 15 other classic children's stories in the book, which makes it even more fun. And there is a happy ending for this "old-fashioned family".

Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Velchin was a short book that gives a helpful look at the realities of communism from a child's perspective in the midst of an engaging story.

When Books Went to War: The Stories that Helped Us Win World War II by Molly Manning was a fascinating read. Did you know that there was an organization set up during World War II to print and distribute hundreds of thousands of books to our soldiers? This book talks about how it was done, which books were chosen, and the incredible boost to morale this created.

  All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr is a novel that is popular right now. Again, a World War II story that alternates between a child in Paris and a child in Germany. It took me awhile to get into the story (more than 100 pages) but I ended up really enjoying it. And, it is so easy to read because all the chapters are 1-3 pages long!

In My Father's House by Corrie ten Boom. I wanted to read more about Corrie's childhood and the influence her parents, especially her father, had on her. This is a beautiful glimpse into a family from 100 years ago.

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith was on my special list of "classic" books that I want to read. It's a coming of age story set in the English countryside (where else?!!) and is written in the manner of a diary (except without dates). The book was surprisingly on the cleaner side though the movie trailers I see have taken liberties and I'm thinking I need to just stick with the book! The ending was not what I expected but on further thought decided it was a good ending.

And that's it for now! Time for me to log off and get to work on what needs to be read this week!

For more ideas on crafting and reading, visit Ginny's Yarn Along.

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Mondays are for Grace

"We may pass violets looking for roses. 

We may pass contentment looking for victory."

-- Bernard Williams

Scotland: Dunning

It's that 4h time of year again and for the fourth year in a row Andrew is working on genealogy. I couldn't be happier with his choice because it gives me the chance to delve into this family history study with him. (And it provides large quantities of time for the two of us to spend together!)

Genealogy has always fascinated me. As a young child I loved being with my relatives and even kept an extended family newsletter going for several years, wanting everyone to stay connected. I find it fascinating discovering new ancestors and little pieces of history. 

My Scottish relatives are probably the ancestors that I've heard the most about -- from my mom, her brother, and my great-uncle. 

Here is a picture of my great-grandmother, Christina (far right), with her parents and siblings. Great-great-grandfather Winton was station master at Dunblane, Scotland around the turn of the last century.

In the year before our trip to Scotland several letters we had never seen before from William Winton to his daughter, Christina, surfaced. Talk about real treasure!

In this letter William describes a "honeymoon" he takes with his wife, Georgina, after they had been "22 years in double harness" since they had never had a proper honeymoon to begin with.

William mentions visiting Dunning and the Dragon, walking both from and to the station, calling up memories from his boyhood. This gave me new territory to explore on our trip. We had been many times to Dunblane, but this time we could visit Dunning.

William waxes eloquent on their various walks and enjoyment of nature on this honeymoon. I love what he says on this page: "Under the inspiring influence of such a scene, we might well be pardoned for banishing dull care for a time, and directing our thoughts from nature up to nature's God."

On this page William mentions the death of his uncle and talks about it being mentioned in the "Dragon." (More on the dragon later.)

I love his description of the end of this uncle's life: "He had passed the allotted span of three score and ten, and feeling that his task was finished he cheerfully laid down his pilgrim's staff and placing his trust in the omnipotent hand that had so wonderfully guided him through all his earthly pilgrimage, he without any struggle, pain, or pangs of remorse, fell peacefully asleep at the ripe age of __? A fitting consummation to a pure and useful life." What a beautiful way to pass from this life.

By the time I had read all five or six of these precious letters I was quite smitten with my dear great-great-grandfather. It seemed fitting that we would visit his boyhood stomping grounds of Dunning.

 Dunning at one time had been a bustling, prosperous town. But, when the railroad was laid, it passed by Dunning a few miles outside of town and thus the fate of the town was sealed. Today it has a population of about 1,000.

 The town's claim to fame is that St. Serf purportedly killed a dragon in this area sometime around the 8th century.

Here is St. Serf's Church in the middle of Dunning. It houses a very historic treasure: the Dupplin Cross.

The Dupplin Cross is a Pictish stone from the 8th century that was found on land near Dunning. It's detail is amazing. Michael was fascinated by its illusions in the carvings to King David of the Bible.

Outside in the graveyard the name Winton popped up all over the place.\

 Here is Andrew posing with one of the Winton stones, thinking of genealogy and 4h projects.

We wanted to have a cup of tea at the Kirkstyle Inn but they weren't open for afternoon business.

The signs here show another name that popped up in the letters: Auchterarder.

 I started in the post office asking about the "dragon". (It took them awhile to get past my American accent. I guess I needed to say "dray-gun".) Then I was sent up the street to a member of the historical society who kindly came to his door when I knocked and asked about the "dray-gun". Then he couldn't understand me since I wasn't saying "drag-gun". Eventually he pointed me up the way and said that the whole area up the hill was known as "the dragon" because that is where St. Serf killed the dragon.

Up the hill (or, rather, "up the dragon") we drove until we came to a line of houses which is known as "Newton Pitcairn". This is the tiny village in which William Winton was born and grew up.

More views of Newton Pitcairn:

I saw that this house is known as "The Dragon House". That left me to wonder if "the Dragon" William's uncle's death was written about in was some sort of newspaper common in this area.

I believe William's relatives had been weavers at one time and then his father may have worked as a laborer on the railroad. They were simple folk but evidently had a great regard for family and for God.

Here is the official sign. I find it interesting that when William Winton built a house in Dunblane he named it "Pitcairn." I think he was sentimental.

We continued up and beyond "the dragon" to get a look at the surrounding countryside.

Just beautiful!!! William must have loved it here!

And then we had to take a quick jaunt down the road to view the ruins of the Roman fort that probably gave Dunning its name (Old Irish "dunan" -- little fort). All that is left is a very visible ditch. But it's fun to think about what was here so very long ago.

And that was our visit to Dunning. It was quite special to get a glimpse into William's life just a bit more and to imagine him walking from the town all the way to the train station (several miles). Next time I'll take you to Dunblane, the Cathedral, and the family home.