Pigeon Forge - We're comin'!

Arrggh - I can't wait for this day to be over. Tomorrow morning I am going to hop in the car, meet my friend Jacquie at 7:30 am (yes, we are morning people) and drive up to Pigeon Forge, TN, for three days of knitting, chatting, food and drinks, and watching chick flicks. But - we are going to be good - we both are bringing hiking boots.

The daughter of one of our knitting friends has a cabin up there. He and his wife are hosting a knitting weekend for us. The cabin sounds fabulous - 6 bedrooms, each with a bathroom, high-tech everywhere, a hot tub that fits 12 people. So, we will be ten knitters and one reader. ;-) I can't wait. My mind is already churning... What knitting should I bring - maybe all my current projects... YIKES... How does that look? I guess I will call it prepared. What if I get tired or stuck or finish one?

I'll also start the cutest thing I have seen in a long time. Pixie directed me to this Knit-A-Long. I signed up yesterday. I gotta make one of these...


Hubby helped me decide on colors last night - green body with red hat, mittens and boots, and a greyish beard. Thank goodness for stash. ;-)

Also, I got some really cool knitting books in the mail this week:


Franklin mentioned on his blog that he bought these German books at Stitches Midwest. And I realized that I am missing them in my German knitting-book collection - I know my mom has a set. She uses the patterns for traditional Bavarian vests and socks. And Franklin is right - some of the patterns "will make you rip off your eyebrows in frustration and eat them". At least I don't have to deal with the language issue. ;-)

Besides the patterns, the books also contain a wealth of information about the tradition of this knitting style - Bäuerlich means "from the farm", something along the lines of country-style knitting. I remember my mom used to knit these heavy cardigans. She got the wool directly from one of the local sheep farmers and it stank - ahh, those childhood memories. I also remember that the wool was very rough. Anyway, Mom used to knit them for a LYS for peanuts and they would sell them to tourists for a ton of money.

When I glanced through one of the books, I came across a chapter that describes an ad from September 10, 1840, about the foundation of a Catholic boarding school at the Benedictine Abbey for Women in Frauenwoerth. Interestingly that abbey is on an island in one of the biggest lakes in Bavaria, about an hour drive from where I grew up. The nuns produce some famous herb liquors. He-he-he... those Bavarian Catholics. ;-)

So - this is what the ad said:
Girls from the ages from six to twelve can apply at the boarding school. The following classes are offered: crafts (sewing, embroidery, knitting, spinning), sketching, music (singing, playing the piano), religion (catechism, gospels and epistles), the German language (reading, grammar, essays, orthography), calligraphy, arithmetic (written and orally), geography, biology, natural history, history of the fatherland, German history, gardening. Boarding and classes cost 115 Gulden per year.

The school started in 1840 with 6 students - ages from eight to seventeen. They came from Bavarian families and some of their fathers were innkeepers, merchants, teachers, beer brewers, doctors and foresters. The number of students increased gradually, and by 1850 forty girls were registered at the school. Around 1900 they had ninty girls boarded.

The daily routine for the girls was pretty grueling - now remember some of them were just eight years old. Here is their schedule:

1. During the summer the older girls would rise at 5 am, the younger ones at 5:30 am. During the winter they would get up half an hour later.
2. One hour for getting dressed and morning prayers, the rest of the time until the Holy Mass was for studying.
3. At 7 am, Holy Mass
4. After Holy Mass, breakfast and preparation for classes
5. From 8-10 am, classes
6. From 10-11 am, music and crafts
7. Lunch at 11 am, reading at the same time.
8. 12-1 pm, recreation
9. 1-2 pm, German language and crafts
10. 2-4 pm, elementary classes (twice a week a free afternoon), recreation until 4:30pm
11. 4:30-5:30 pm, classes in German language, music and crafts
12. 5:30 pm, a short Holy Mass
13. 6 pm dinner, then recreation and crafts, during the winter until 7:30 pm and during the summer until 8 pm. Then half an hour repetition, night prayer and then the pupils went to bed silently.

Some of the reading was phrased very oddly - in old German style. I hope it translates well enough. I thought it was interesting that the school focused on crafts. Reading on I found out that the students were training to become nuns. They focused strongly on crafts, and the abbey became famous for their knitting and embroidery.

I hope I didn't bore you out of your mind. ;-) I'll be back next week with stories from the knitting retreat. So long - have a great weekend! Oh, before you go, let me show off some of the beautiful roses that grow in our front yard without any special care - I don't have time... Too much (and more important) knitting to do! :-)