We headed out on Friday after deciding last minute to spend the weekend in Maryland attending the Sheep and Wool festival. I've been to Rhinebeck for the last 3  years but this was our first time at Maryland. I had 2 fellow fiber lovers with me.....Christopher and Hannah Grace were just as excited as I was to meet some new fibery friends!




The weekend was simply gorgeous.....the weather was perfect and the Festival was amazing! Our plan was to get what was on our list on Saturday and then on Sunday just wander and enjoy with out any agenda.

First up was the fleece sale. I wanted a cormo and stood in line with some wonderful people as waited for the sale to start and chatted about fleeces. I love fiber festivals......everyone you meet is friendly and loves to talk fiber! Nothing can be bad about that!! After wandering through the piles of fleeces I found one that spoke to me and ended up with a lovely cormo cross. Saw some famous faces in the sea of others looking at fleeces and nearly took out Laura from "The knitgirlls" with my stroller!  I can not wait to start processing this one! I will be documenting it on the blog here as I learn the in's and out's of processing. And please if you have any great sources that you love pass them along! I'm so looking forward to the experience!

fleece sale

my cormo cross

this was our favorite sheep.....we kept coming back to him. He loved being petted!

rainbow sheep are the best

weaving a bookmark

We meandered through quite a few sheep barns meeting fibery friends as we went. And then headed over to the Family Activities tent for Christopher to take a class and make a tapestry book mark. While he was busy there Hannah Grace and I hit Solitude Wool and bought some squishy corriedale wool yarn for a future fair isle sweater vest I want to make. I can not say how much I love this company! All fiber is grown and processed in the US. I also snatched a bag of tunis fiber to spin. I was really trying to find fibers I have not worked with before for spinning. Clun Forest  was on my list! I also let Hannah Grace pick out some yarn for a new hat and mittens. She got a skein of mulitcolored Tunis! The lady at the booth was so informative and we talked spinning for a while and she offered me a bit of a Karakul fleece that she had purchased for a sample spin. What a sweet lady and so generous to offer me a way to try a breed I never even heard of before.









We watched the border collies  and their amazing herding skills for a while. After while we were just resting I got to meet an instagram friend! I only know her through instagram and knew she would be there and told her to look for Hannah Grace's wild hair......and that is exactly how she found me! She saw Hannah Grace peeking through the fence watching the dogs! We sat and chatted like old friends and it was so neat to meet her in real life!!

Hannah Grace had a captive audience and entertained the sheep with her drawings of them and some stories as well.

Sunday was another perfect day! Christopher had another class, this one was needle felting and he made a sea horse! He really liked this class. He also got a chance to sit at a floor loom and learn how to use it. He told me he really wants a floor loom now.....hmmmmm.....another fiber craft to delve into! We watched some of the show judging today and saw some more bunnies.




 Christopher picked out these buttons from Jenny the Potter for my fair isle sweater I will be making. I think he did a good job! I also hit into the whirled for a braid of Rambouillet......keeping with my plan of wanting breeds I have not spun. Another must have was a bag of battlings from Hobbledehoy fiber! I did also find a cute mini Turkish spindle for Emily.


We were able to cheer on some friends from our fiber guild as they competed in the sheep to shawl event. They ended up taking a third place and won the spinning award so that was exciting!


We really enjoyed the weekend and I can see this becoming a yearly event for us! Now to go rest and decide what to dive into first!

Wow, I can't believe I have not posted here since January! Thanks to all of you that have kept me in your prayers and thoughts.....I have much to catch you up on.

My last chemo treatment was the end of February and in March I got a clean PET scan and so I finished my treatment for non hodgkins lymphoma. Phew......it's over but it still lingers in the form of doctor check ups and side effects from the intense chemo. But I am doing my best to ignore all that and just LIVE. And so as you will see in this blog post I have taken the LIVE thing to the limit and have been doing it to the fullest of my ability! I give you fair warning that this post is photo heavy as I catch you up on the last few months.

My first celebration of life came with my oldest daughters engagement. Such an exciting time for her and our family absolutely adores her fiancee. She met him while in Canada and so she will be moving there after the wedding in September of 2016.

Emily and Allan

After getting the clean PET scan I decided to attend the Daily Audio Bible Womens Conference in Georgia. I needed this time so badly. Just me and God and a place where my heart could begin to heal and be made full again. The chemo sapped the life right out of me and I really needed to get my joy back. the retreat was amazing. Words can not describe how God met me and ministered to me during those 4 days. The women I met where sincere and real and although we came from different places in life instant friendships were made. Not only was the retreat refreshing spiritually but also physically. I walked daily, climbed Sharp top Mountain, zip lined into the lake and swung on a huge swing 40 Ft. up in the trees. I made sure to get photos and videos so my kids believed me! I was so blessed here and so thankful for my family at home that made it possible for me to attend! I am making plans to attend next years conference already and want to bring all my daughters with me!

the gorgeous retreat center

getting ready to be pulled up into the trees and swing

at the top of Sharp Top Mountain

Since the retreat I have been getting stronger and the kids and I have been doing so many fun things! Last weekend was Connecticut Sheep and Wool where a new furry friend might have hopped into our car to join our family! Mister Happy Jackales......a German Angora......can't wait to spin his fiber!

our new baby

a beautiful Shetland fleece to process and spin

Hannah Grace and the cutest one week old lamb in diapers!

Emily, my oldest daughter, and I also have been spending Saturdays at American Needleworks Studio
I have been teaching drop spinning and wheel spinning there. It is a lovely studio full of all kinds of fiber and the people that love it. Spending time there has been so good for my soul. I met the owner Jim, right after my clean PET scan......perfect timing! God is so good about giving us just what we need.....I have to remember His timing is always right. Being able to share my passion for spinning with others has been so healing for me. After not feeling very productive for the last 8 months it is amazing to teach!

And  through all of this there has been knitting and spinning! I am spinning more now that I am stronger and I am so happy to be back at my wheels! My bits and pieces blanket is growing and I have a lace shawl on the needles that is taking all my concentration to work through. But I am so thankful I can do it!!

bits and pieces blanket

merino and silk 3 ply

polwarth ready for plying

Josephine Shawl

falkland

knitting socks from a sock blank from Gale's Art

enjoying spinning on my new turkish from Thomas Creations The fiber is polwarth from into the whirled

 Even though I have not posted in the Yarn along for months I have been keeping up and reading many of the posts each week. Your projects and posts inspired me when I could not knit myself. I look forward to jumping back in here and keeping this space dust free now!

This weekend I have decided to head to Maryland Sheep and Wool!! Two of my younger kids will be coming with me and we are so excited! Are any of you venturing that way this weekend?

I'm excited to grab my cup of tea today and sit down and be inspired by everyone's
links at this weeks Yarn along........Happy Knitting!!

It's been a while since I was able to come here and write.....and I am so thankful to feel well enough today to do so. My chemo treatments have been hard and the side effects rough but we have learned to manage them some what and I am surviving. I have 2 more treatments to go and then the cancer should be gone. My last treatment will be mid February......I can not wait to be done! God continues to hold me and give me the strength I need to do this.....He is the only reason I have been able to do this. The hope we have in Him keeps me going!

Another thing that keeps me going.......knitting! Yes, there has been knitting.....quite a lot actually! I am so thankful for my knitting. Not being able to get out of bed much can be pretty frustrating but if
I am knitting I can feel productive. It is also helps to take my mind off the pain. So I am living proof of the therapeutic value of knitting!

I knit a lot for Christmas presents......cowls, socks and hats mostly. But today
I want to share my first FO of 2015!  My daughter Claire picked out fiber at Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool this year and I spun it up into this fluffy yarn.


Then she picked out  this great pattern so I could make her fingerless mitts. The pattern is Cancans and it is free on Ravelry. Such a cute and fast knit!

Ravelry Notes

When I am too sick to knit I sit here and scroll through patterns on Ravelry. My queue has gotten quite full with all the things that I want to knit! I just ordered some yarn for a new sweater project and while I am waiting for that to arrive I cast on for another pair of socks. I am using the Vanilla Bean Pattern and yarn from Tumbleweed Yarns. Such an enjoyable and easy knit! This self stripping yarn is so fun!

Ravelry notes

There is one project I will show you from Christmas......Hannah Grace's Christmas Sweater. It's the Cove Cardigan and she picked out the cute little pewter bunny buttons herself!



I am still listening to the second book in the Outlander series. I only have 3 more chapters and then I will dive right into the next one. I am also still reading Beside Still Waters by CH Spurgeon on a daily basis......the words in this book truly due comfort your soul and I am blessed by it daily.

 I am joining Ginny over at Small Things for this weeks Yarn Along and I can not wait to see what everyone else is knitting and reading in the New Year!

There has been knitting! I am happy to say there has been knitting! One row here and one row there but I am slowly gaining back my momentum and making progress. I can't remember a time when I could not knit and I must say it stinks! My first treatment really through me for a loop and for two weeks all I could do was look at my knitting. My focus was gone and so was my strength. (the story of my cancer here and here) But I slowly started to knit a stitch here and then a row here. It's not a lie knitting is pure joy for my brain. I might not be able to get off the couch but if I am knitting I feel productive and I am thinking about something other then how miserable my body feels.  Kniting is the best therapy.


So I finished these beautiful socks......a Christmas present! I just did toe up 2 at a time and I used the OMG heel. I love this heel! so easy and the fit is perfect!! I used a lace stitch pattern and I am really happy with the outcome! (grey day today so sorry for the not so great photos)

I cast on for another pair of socks right away! These are socks on a plane and another Christmas present. They are  flying along!


I am also working on the Mont-Royal Hat in yarn that I picked up at Rhinebeck this year. I will be needing lots of hat options as I am already losing my hair. This is a fun pattern with just enough challenge to keep me going.


I am still listening to the second book in the Outlander series. Only a few chapters to go! And I have been reading Beside still Waters by CH Spurgeon it is such encouragement to my spirit.

I am excited for the upcoming weekend as Hubby and I will be heading to Canada to pick up our oldest daughter. Her internship is over and she is coming home at the perfect time to help us here as I continue treatment. I was worried about being able to go but my white blood cells are back up and I was given the clearance to travel.

There is another reason I am excited! I will be going to the Raimer's Spinning Wheel Workshop on Sunday to bring home the wheel I bought in September. I can not wait to meet them and put my hands on my wheel!


And then next Weds.Thurs. and Fri. will find me back at the cancer center for my second round of treatment. I can not even think about it. So I am going to knit on the couch and cuddle my kids and let God handle the rest.

I woke up Wednesday morning....my first round of chemo starting in just hours to find this first up on my FB wall. And so that became my verse over the course of the past days as I struggled through. Cause all I really could do was be still.....it hit me pretty hard.



Weds. treatment went ok with only a minimal allergic reaction and I went home feeling groggy but ok. Thursday I actually was able to knit my way trough the whole treatment and I was told it would be an easy day but that the days to come would be uncertain and side effects could range from severe to mild. Well my side effects started the moment I got in the car to head home....intense nausea and pain that I can not even describe. I took nausea meds as soon as we got home but they did not touch it all night and Friday morning found me back at the doctors for fluids and an IV of nausea meds.I slept the morning away there. Poor Brian I think he was worse then me.....so worried. I was able to get my shot which was the last part of my first round and we headed home feeling horrible. I barely lifted my head all weekend of the pillow. Waves of nausea and pain that came and went all over my body....I took every med they sent home with me.....no hero here. One put me to sleep for a few hours and that was my favorite.

Monday I actually sat on the couch for a while while my Mom and friend visited. They brought so much food from friends that my freezer is filled to overflowing and I am humbled that my family is being blessed and taken care of when I can't do it. God's people are truly amazing.....really.

Sleep is a problem .....I take a nice long Epsom salt bath with lavender at night and then get about 4 hours but then I lay there.....achy and uncomfortable but no sleep will come. So here I am early Tuesday morning sitting on the couch......feeling ok enough to post which is saying a lot.

One of the worse things is just not being able to do anything.....not even knit. My fibery friends will understand......at least if I could knit I would keep my mind busy.......but I just don't have the focus.

early morning snuggles from my littles

I lay here an listen to my audio bible and let God's word wash over me. I won't lie to you I wanted to curl up and die several times this past weekend and I was mad that God would allow this to be my path......I was screaming I am just not strong enough. I should be pumpkin picking with my kids and teaching math lessons and baking apple crisp and laughing with my family.....not this. But yesterday morning Hannah Grace came into my room and climbed into my bed and told me Jesus had sent her to take care of me and make me feel better.....and then I knew I would fight and the enemy will not win! I have babies to kiss and love and a life that God has called me to live and He is fighting for me so I know all will be right when this is over. His plan not mine.....but that is what I signed up for.

The kids have really stepped up they run the house better then me. And Brian is even getting up and making me my green smoothies every morning......I need to snap a photo of that. We have 5:00 am green smoothies every morning now. He knows all about the goat's milk kefir and the greens plus blend and all the things he tries to stay pretty far from! Love him so much and am so blessed he is mine.

I will tell you I am worried about how Brian will get me back in that infusion room in two weeks......the thought just makes me sick. But I will just take it one day at a time. Tomorrow is blood work day and then no doctors visits unless something is wrong. So 2 weeks of recovery.  But for today I will sit back and let God do His thing........and maybe just maybe I'll be able to knit a few rows.....just maybe.

Resting in Him........Alisa

I have been putting off coming here to write. Trying to figure out the words and how or even if I would share. This is my happy spot where I share about my love of Jesus, my family......my fiber....my knitting....my life. I think writing about it will make it more real.....something I have been trying to not do.....cause it can't possibly be real.

I have a new pinterest board.....the name of that board is cancer.  It's a place where I am collecting remedies, recipes and all the things I have found over the past three weeks that will help me get through and beat my diagnosis of non hodgkins lymphoma. I have decided to journal here as we go down this path, I think it will be good for me and for my kids to have my writing in the future.

The past 3 weeks have been a flurry of tests and doctor appts. and lot's of waiting to see what was happening.  And here we are on the eve of my first round of chemo. The unknowing could eat me up....it could. But in the unknowing I have a knowing that can not be taken from me. I have a God who loves me and has always wanted the best for me and He is still sitting on His throne.....the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. And I know He has a plan in all of this. I might not understand it or like it or even want it. But I am not the author of my story. That changed many years ago when I accepted Him and allowed Him to lead me in this life. So He is writing my story and I am praying for grace to be able to step back and trust Him as I never have. It's a hard place.

I am a Mom I have 8 kids to raise still and a husband to love  and a life to live. I decided from the start that we would not let the enemy steal our Joy. I have such joy in my husband......my kids.....my life. My Jesus has promised me greater joy then I can  ever imagine and that is what I cling too.

The Lord is my strength and my shield;
    in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults,
    and with my song I give thanks to him. Psalm 28:7

And so I have decided to only knit the fun things and spin the fibers that make me most happy. And I have been knitting up a storm......waiting room knitting is great for keeping my hands busy! Knitting is the best therapy!  These socks are going to be a Christmas present.


and knitting up projects that make little girls smile is also great therapy! I spun this yarn and then knit up a hat and mittens for my youngest.

 So I am hoping to keep writing here as I feel up to it. And I will leave you today with a verse I am holding tight too.

 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11