Chapter I
My name is Penelope Hudson, I am an apprentice to the weaver here in Jamestown. I get up with the sun every morning, and head straight to my teachers home, she normally has something warm for us to eat before we walk through the already busy and aroma-filled village. When we finally get to her shop, I am relieved. I have never been anywhere that makes me feel so at home. It’s a small shop, tools and yarn lining the walls, and the loom pushed into a small corner. I have not been coming here for very long, but already I have so many memories, it’s a part of me. I am three years into my apprenticeship, but I have learned a lot. Because I spend so much time in the weavers shop, my master teaches me manners and trade as well as running the shuttle. I am sometimes sent to the market to trade some of our products for supplies and tools that we might need.
Today as a celebration of my birthday, she allowed me to go to the bakery to get some cake. I usually work at the loom, I can work faster than my teacher, and it speeds up business. The usual amount of time that you would be an apprentice for is seven years, but I wish it was longer. I don’t like being at home so much, my father is a drunk, and my mother tries to stop him, but he won’t listen. I am very lucky to have a good teacher, she is kind to me, and let’s me eat with her, she understands my situation. At first I was nervous about my apprenticeship ending, where will I go? After all, you can’t have two weavers in one town. So I decided that I will go to Henrico. I long for something different, and I have heard that the landscape there is beautiful. I will leave as soon as I am finished with my training.
Chapter II
What will it be like? Out in the world, all on my own? I suppose I’ll need a husband. Do things look different in the eyes of an adult, will I have to follow my husbands orders like my mother? At least I will be able to produce clothing and blankets for my family….. “Pene?” Miss Lenburg says, “are you alright?”
Miss Lenburg is my teacher, “Yes Miss Lenburg. Oh I’m so sorry, I messed up the color pattern,” I respond.
“Easily fixed- Day dreaming again? We’ve had a long day, I can clean up the shop. Go home and get some rest,” she says.
“Alright. Thank you Miss Lenburg, see you tomorrow!” I say as I leave the shop. I step out of the shop and the cold rushes towards me. It is dark outside, the same dark blue as one of the blankets I wove today. As I rush down the street I see the statesman, and nearly trip on the cobblestone street. “Uh-uh-uh, hello mister statesman,” I stutter.
“Hello, is the fabric for my jacket almost finished?” he asks.
“Um, what? Oh right, yes, it should be ready in the morning,” I answer. I continue to walk down the street, looking back to see him jump into a carriage and ride away. When I get home, I can smell the alcohol and disappointment wafting around my father- he has been gambling. I plop down onto a seat at our scratched-up old table, and my mother places a bowl of grits in front of me. We are not wealthy, my mother is a teacher, and my father- he no longer works. I have two younger siblings, they have both gone to bed I assume, but I wish they did not have to be raised into this life. I am sure that things will get better, but most say that I am optimistic.