Introducing Sir Winston...in crochet form:

I thought it would be fun to have a mascot for my Churchill Fellowship travels - someone (or something) to add a bit of character to the journey!

An internet search for Winston Churchill mascots brought up a few...let's say 'creative' options, including a Sir Winston rubber duck, some alarmingly pricey teddy bears and figurines that looked more haunted than inspired. None of them quite hit the mark. That is, until I stumbled upon a Winston Churchill crochet pattern.

Lacking in any form of crocheting ability myself, I reached out to a surprisingly large crocheting community for assistance.  Enter Janet Harris, an accomplished crocheter from America, who happened to have a ready made Winston Churchill just waiting for a new home. After some complicated logistics, Winston was on his way to England. Ironic, since the first stop on my travels was America!

When he arrived, Winston turned out to be a little...larger that expected. He was too big for carry-on and threatened to push my already overflowing hold luggage into the 'excess baggage' category. However after some impressive suitcase reshuffling, he made the journey and I couldn’t have a more fitting ‘companion’.