Thursday, November 3, 2016

VMI, A Stop Along the Way

Hello from the hills!   The weather is fairly pleasant, and the trees are turning.

We recently embarked on a trip to see a few places in Virginia.  This wasn't our main destination, but we stopped at Virginia Military Institute to tour the museum and grounds. 
Click to view fence for Good Fences.

Our tour guide was an amiable psychology major from Taiwan.

 The cadet barracks reminded me a a sprawling castle.

We saw tributes to great men who had led valiant troops in battle...

And of "Virginia" mourning her dead.

In the museum... relics of the past.





In the chapel is a painting depicting the Battle of New Market.   

A closer look at the painting.  If you're interested, the heartbreaking story of young cadets thrust into a civil war was told in the 2014 film, Field of Lost Shoes.  

In my next post I'll share pics of our trip to Mount Vernon.  
In the meantime, I've been knitting a few hats.  This is the Sunset Hat, a free pattern on Ravelry.  It's a good pattern for using up small amounts of yarn leftover from other projects. 

I used self striping yarn with sequins for this one.

Hope you're having a great fall!
Shared at Good Fences
at

31 comments:

  1. eileeninmdNovember 3, 2016 at 12:43 PM

    Hello, wonderful tour and photos from the military institute. wow, the cadets barracks are beautiful. Your hats are cute. Happy Thursday, enjoy your day and the weekend ahead!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. magnoliasnteaNovember 3, 2016 at 7:05 PM

      Thank you, Eileen! Hope you have a great weekend, also

      Delete
  2. Buttons ThoughtsNovember 3, 2016 at 1:09 PM

    LOVE love your hats. Nice photos from your tour. B

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. magnoliasnteaNovember 3, 2016 at 7:07 PM

      Thank you, B, and I enjoyed your photos today, also.

      Delete
  3. JaneNovember 3, 2016 at 1:44 PM

    Glad you are getting out and enjoying yourself, Toni! And thank you for taking us along. Love your hats, I'll have to check out that free pattern and the movie too. Never heard of it. Sounds like something I'd be interested in. Looking forward to Mt. Vernon!

    Hugs
    Jane

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. magnoliasnteaNovember 4, 2016 at 9:03 AM

      Thank you, Jane! I had not heard of the movie before, either, and I don't know why because it looks to be pretty well done. It's based on a true story and from the trailers I've seen, very poignant. We're planning to watch it as soon I can borrow our daughter's copy. ;). One quote from the movie, an order from an officer for cadets from VMI, "Send the boys in...and may God forgive me." That gets me and makes my eyes sting.

      Delete
  4. IdaNovember 3, 2016 at 3:21 PM

    Very interesting place your visited, I like historical stuff like that. Nice knitted hats too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Aritha V. November 3, 2016 at 5:10 PM

    I like your HATS! Wonderful. Is it hard to do?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. magnoliasnteaNovember 3, 2016 at 7:18 PM

      Hi Jedidja! No, the hat isn't hard really. You do have to hold two strands of yarn part of the time, but it's fun to make.

      Delete
  6. ChristineNovember 3, 2016 at 5:11 PM

    The museum is really special and the painting is amazing.
    Love the sunset hat and its bright colours!
    Happy November!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. magnoliasnteaNovember 3, 2016 at 7:22 PM

      Thank you, Christine! We enjoyed the tour and loved the painting.

      Delete
  7. TexWisGirlNovember 3, 2016 at 6:54 PM

    wow. a sprawling castle, indeed! a neat place to visit. love your sunset hat!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. magnoliasnteaNovember 3, 2016 at 7:25 PM

      Thank you, Theresa! Hope you have a great weekend!

      Delete
  8. LVNovember 3, 2016 at 6:59 PM

    Thanks for this most interesting and a portion of history.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. magnoliasnteaNovember 3, 2016 at 7:26 PM

      You're welcome, LV, and thank you for stopping by. :)

      Delete
  9. Linda at To Behold The BeautyNovember 3, 2016 at 8:50 PM

    What a nice stop on your trip. Those barracks really do look like a castle. I looked up the movie on Amazon, and it does have good reviews. It's probably hard to watch, but it looks like a good one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. magnoliasnteaNovember 4, 2016 at 8:34 AM

      Linda, we've always been sympathetic towards our soldiers, especially the young ones, so this stop was full of mixed emotions. And then in light of our present military situation, seems it was eventually all for naught. So Sad.

      Delete
  10. kathyinozarksNovember 4, 2016 at 7:19 AM

    I love your hats too-especially the colors in the first one. Enjoyed all the photos from your tour-have an awesome weekkend

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. magnoliasnteaNovember 4, 2016 at 8:53 AM

      Thank you, Kathy, and I hope you have a great weekend, too.

      Delete
  11. JESNovember 4, 2016 at 7:34 AM

    What a neat trip! Thank you for sharing the photos. I have never heard of the Field of the Lost Shoes. I will have to look into it-- but the word "heartbreaking" already makes my heart hurt for those boys... On a lighter note, I really like the sparkles in your hat!!! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. magnoliasnteaNovember 4, 2016 at 8:57 AM

      Thank you, JES, I loved knitting with the sequined yarn, and the self-striping saved a lot of work weaving in the ends of different colors. About the movie, our daughter bought the DVD at the museum so we plan to borrow it from her. I just hope there were no scenes that would disqualify it for family viewing. I'll ask her and get back with you on that.

      Delete
  12. KerrieNovember 4, 2016 at 9:33 AM

    Loved the piano in the Museum! Your hats are beautiful! I just bought some of the self-striping yarn. I hope I have good luck with it. ♥

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. magnoliasnteaNovember 4, 2016 at 10:29 AM

      Hi Kerrie! I'd love to see what you make with your new yarn. :)

      Delete
  13. Cheesemakin' MammaNovember 4, 2016 at 9:47 AM

    If I ever get back to Virginia, I will have to make this a priority to see. It is such a sad tale. So many young men lost. Makes us appreciate our freedom even more. Thanks for sharing your photos!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. magnoliasnteaNovember 4, 2016 at 10:34 AM

      It is really sad story, Jackie, like so many others in wartime. I wanted to do the tour justice with more information in the post, but it was too sad to dwell on any longer than I did. There's more to see and more stories so, by all means, go if you get the opportunity.

      Delete
  14. SandraNovember 4, 2016 at 3:14 PM

    My husband loves history and enjoyed the museums we visiting in Virginia several years ago.
    Love the hats :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Carola BartzNovember 6, 2016 at 5:34 PM

    Your knitted hats are beautiful. I think self-striping yarn is a great invention!

    ReplyDelete
  16. AlhanaNovember 7, 2016 at 1:22 PM

    What a interesting trip! (or at least, to us interested in history). ;-) The building resembles a castle indeed. On the crafty side, your hats are beautiful. I'm always looking for patterns where I could use those yarn leftovers and the Sunset hat looks perfect for it.
    It's chilly now. Summer is finally over. Perfect time to knit!

    ReplyDelete
  17. DebNovember 9, 2016 at 9:23 PM

    Awww Toni. I am right up the road from Lexington and would love to have met up with you. Glad that you enjoyed your trek to VA!

    ReplyDelete
  18. handmade by amaliaNovember 23, 2016 at 3:09 AM

    Looks like a nice day out. And I like the hats as well.
    Amalia
    xo

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comments!