at the sheep and wool days

Last weekend I went to the sheep and wool days at Middleton Place - it was pretty cute. I went on Sunday and it was much quieter than I expected - I was expecting a bigger crowd I guess. I did get to meet some great people from the Charleston Spinning guild:




and they kindly let me take their picture.

There were some women shearing sheep by hand:



And I met some others who I didn't catch on film, but were great to talk to. It makes me want to learn how to spin, but I must resist. I know it can only handle one hobby at a time.

There were also some cute cashmere goats:



Alpaca recently sheared - they really didn't want their picture taken, and kept shying away, but I finally got a shot:


And some very proud peacocks:



Middleton Place reminded me a lot of my outdoor drama days at Blue Jacket, and my theatre days were definitely calling to me. Perhaps I should look into what options are here in Charleston in the theatre world.

Overall it was interesting, but I think next time I'd really like to go and take the tour and see the rest of the grounds with The Plasterer. I think he'd really enjoy it. He was finishing up papers and studying for his finals which are this week. Just a little bit longer and he'll have some time to do some exploring and playing. Our 5 year anniversary is coming up, and it'll fit in perfectly for when this school year ends but before his summer internship begins.

with a finished gown

I did it! I finished the gown in time for the christening, and it looked and fit beautifully! I added a few stitches in the back to make it a bit looser, and didn't put the collar on it, but I'm really proud of how it turned out.

The dress:

Here's one of my favorite pictures:



Gabriella wearing it:



After I added the ribbon:

It was a really nice weekend - and not only did I get to see my beautiful niece, I also got to hang out with my aunt, uncle and cousins that I don't see very often. Since I stayed till Monday, we took a whirlwind tour of the Smithsonian museums and ended at the zoo. Pictures of that to come.

I also .... drumroll..... got hired full-time at my job!! YEAH!!! It was a great feeling to have that settled. I like the people I work with, I believe in the product, I feel competent at my position and there is room for growth - I can't ask for much more. :) I'm definitely counting my blessings.
This weekend I'm planning on going to the Sheep and Wool Days at Middleton Place. It'll be my first fiber festival! The Plasterer can't go, he's got to work an open house at school and finish his projects and papers for the end of the semester, but I know there is a group going from Knit and from Ravelry. I think I'm going to try to pull together a net-meet meet-up for the online folks so we can all see what we look like - but with it being tomorrow, we'll see how quick I can get that done.