Now the 10,039th. design registered with the Scottish Government's Register of Tartans, I am proud to present the new "Kennewell" tartan.
I have been asked the inevitable questions "How?" and "Why?", although usually in the reverse order, so the following may provide some answers if you are curious.........
In June of 2004 my father died and following the funeral the three (of four) siblings who attended agreed that if we didn't commit to having a regular get-together then the next funeral we attended would be for one of us.
We aren't kids any more: I'm 64 this year, my younger sister is in her late 50's and my young brother is in his mid-50's.
Following our first reunion, in July 2005, I was contemplating the fact that there was really no family legacy to pass on to our children, grandchildren, ad infinitum. I thought it would nice to leave something behind that would have a permanent link to "Kennewell". Nothing came to mind at the time but the seed had been sown and sat in the back of my mind, germinating away in my sub-conscious.
Back in my boarding-school days I was provided with a travelling rug (part of the mandatory "kit" that we had to have). My parents - most likely Mum - chose a pure-wool Onkaparinga item, blue on one side and a predominantly-red tartan on the other.
I used this rug between 1956 and 1963, taking it with me when travelling on the North Coast Mail train between Sydney and home on the north coast.
After I finished school at the end of 1963 the rug simply became part of the accoutrements at home. In fact, my mother used it as a cover on the dining table for games of cards - the blue side provided a lovely baize surface.
When we (young sister, brother and I) cleared the old family home in 2003 after our father went into nursing care, I brought the old rug back to Canberra with me and put it away in a wardrobe, where it sat for a couple of years.
After our initial reunion in 2005 I decided to have the rug dry-cleaned, probably the first time that had happened in its lifetime!
Apart from a couple of permanent stains and a couple of cigarette burns (my mother and her card-playing cronies, no doubt), the rug came up beautifully, the colours bright and clean.
It was then that I became curious as to the design of the tartan and with the auspices of Google and a small book I had on Scottish "stuff", I was able to determine that it was the Princess Elizabeth tartan.
It was when I visited one of the web-sites I learned that it was NOT necessary to be of Scottish descent in order to have a tartan. In fact, I was amazed to discover that businesses, towns, and families without any connection to Scotland had tartans.
It was then that I thought what a wonderful legacy to leave the descendants of the Kennewell family - or families, if other Kennewell's so desired.
I was able to use an online utility to design the tartan and, after several patterns were done, I sent images to my siblings and the final design was chosen.
However, it took another six months to get around to having it woven, and this was accomplished in 2007 when a local weaver, using wool yarn, wove a sample about three metres x one metre in size.
Another year was to elapse before I finally got around to registering the design in Scotland, but in hindsight, that delay was probably a good thing because in the meantime the Scottish Government had taken on the role of managing the tartan registry - a function that had previously been done by two separate private bodies, leading to some confusion.
So in June of 2009 I was able to submit the design to the Registrar and have it approved and included in the list - at No. 10,0039.
In due course a sample will be posted off to them for their archives. (Actually accomplished in 2011).
This is the culmination of a project about which I became quite passionate and it gladdens my heart to know that, with the agreement of my sisters and brother, there is a permanent legacy for our children and their children, ad infinitum.
And it also means that my mother, who had a Scottish ancestor (Kyle), has her Scottish ancestry perpetuated in a tartan.
That gives me a nice feeling.
I have been asked the inevitable questions "How?" and "Why?", although usually in the reverse order, so the following may provide some answers if you are curious.........
In June of 2004 my father died and following the funeral the three (of four) siblings who attended agreed that if we didn't commit to having a regular get-together then the next funeral we attended would be for one of us.
We aren't kids any more: I'm 64 this year, my younger sister is in her late 50's and my young brother is in his mid-50's.
Following our first reunion, in July 2005, I was contemplating the fact that there was really no family legacy to pass on to our children, grandchildren, ad infinitum. I thought it would nice to leave something behind that would have a permanent link to "Kennewell". Nothing came to mind at the time but the seed had been sown and sat in the back of my mind, germinating away in my sub-conscious.
Back in my boarding-school days I was provided with a travelling rug (part of the mandatory "kit" that we had to have). My parents - most likely Mum - chose a pure-wool Onkaparinga item, blue on one side and a predominantly-red tartan on the other.
I used this rug between 1956 and 1963, taking it with me when travelling on the North Coast Mail train between Sydney and home on the north coast.
After I finished school at the end of 1963 the rug simply became part of the accoutrements at home. In fact, my mother used it as a cover on the dining table for games of cards - the blue side provided a lovely baize surface.
When we (young sister, brother and I) cleared the old family home in 2003 after our father went into nursing care, I brought the old rug back to Canberra with me and put it away in a wardrobe, where it sat for a couple of years.
After our initial reunion in 2005 I decided to have the rug dry-cleaned, probably the first time that had happened in its lifetime!
Apart from a couple of permanent stains and a couple of cigarette burns (my mother and her card-playing cronies, no doubt), the rug came up beautifully, the colours bright and clean.
It was then that I became curious as to the design of the tartan and with the auspices of Google and a small book I had on Scottish "stuff", I was able to determine that it was the Princess Elizabeth tartan.
It was when I visited one of the web-sites I learned that it was NOT necessary to be of Scottish descent in order to have a tartan. In fact, I was amazed to discover that businesses, towns, and families without any connection to Scotland had tartans.
It was then that I thought what a wonderful legacy to leave the descendants of the Kennewell family - or families, if other Kennewell's so desired.
I was able to use an online utility to design the tartan and, after several patterns were done, I sent images to my siblings and the final design was chosen.
However, it took another six months to get around to having it woven, and this was accomplished in 2007 when a local weaver, using wool yarn, wove a sample about three metres x one metre in size.
Another year was to elapse before I finally got around to registering the design in Scotland, but in hindsight, that delay was probably a good thing because in the meantime the Scottish Government had taken on the role of managing the tartan registry - a function that had previously been done by two separate private bodies, leading to some confusion.
So in June of 2009 I was able to submit the design to the Registrar and have it approved and included in the list - at No. 10,0039.
In due course a sample will be posted off to them for their archives. (Actually accomplished in 2011).
This is the culmination of a project about which I became quite passionate and it gladdens my heart to know that, with the agreement of my sisters and brother, there is a permanent legacy for our children and their children, ad infinitum.
And it also means that my mother, who had a Scottish ancestor (Kyle), has her Scottish ancestry perpetuated in a tartan.
That gives me a nice feeling.
