Last Christmas, I saw a meme that said “It’s the time of year when I put away my regular anxiety and take out my fancy holiday anxiety,” and, man, do I feel that. The holidays are always a challenging time of year for me (and a lot of other people). The season can come with a lot of obligations (family, social, work, school) and it’s easy to get burned out.
For the past few years I’ve treated myself to a holiday advent calendar as a way to make sure I take some time each day to take care of myself.
A knitting advent calendar, and there are many, sometimes contains all the items necessary to make a project one day at a time or might contain items or tools that are useful to a specific craft. They can be twelve or twenty-four days long depending on what you buy.
One of the most popular advent calendars, and the one I get every year, is by Jimmy Beans Wool. They offer a knit version and a crochet version. Each calendar is 24 days long and contains all the items needed to create a shawl or wrap. There’s a photo of the final version of the project before you order, which can be a bummer if you love surprises, but since each calendar costs $130-150 it’s also nice to know what you’re getting.
Items included in this Craftvent include yarn (of course), needles or a crochet hook, and in past years, stitch markers, Soak, and a project bag. I’ve been very happy with the quality of the yarn, which last year included Hedgehog Fibers, and with the quality of the needles. These advents aren’t cheap, and I think so far the Jimmy Beans Wool version is the best quality for the price.
The reason I love this particular calendar is that it creates the opportunity for a little knitting every day. I’m working on being better at self-care, and this calendar helps me focus on that. There’s the excitement of getting to open a new box every day along with a small bit of knitting that encourages me to take some time to relax and do something I enjoy.
Jimmy Beans Wool isn’t the only company that offers an advent. Miss Babs offers advent yarn sets that offer twenty-five 80-yard mini skeins. These skeins are meant to work up into a single project, and the site offers pattern suggestions. They also include a few small goodies for fun. This year, Miss Babs is partnering with Ambah O’Brien in a KAL (knit a long) shawl called the ADVENTuring KAL that works with the yarn in the advent.
I love Miss Babs yarn because they have such beautiful, rich colors. Check out this example of one of this year’s advent collections:
There are also plenty of indie dyers on Etsy who offer 12 and 24 day advents as well.
There are also holiday options for Hanukkah, too. Chemknits offers a Chanukah 10g mini skein set that includes videos on the dying process. You can also add on a skein of speckle dyed sock yarn for a final treat.
Not everything is about yarn though….
Last year my husband surprised me with a stitch marker advent from Chapel View Crafts.
This stitch markers were absolutely adorable. Like squee-worthy. They were all tiny polymer clay treats, and the craftsmanship is amazing.
Chapel View is offering two 12-day stitch marker advent calendars this year. One will be cakes and biscuits and the other will be Christmas themed. I absolutely loved this advent. It was a total surprise and every morning I was delighted by the tiny, delicious looking stitch marker waiting for me.
I’m really looking forward to my advent calendar this year. By the time December rolls around, I’m already pretty stressed, so taking some time each day to open a box and work a bit on my project helps me keep my sanity.
Below is this year’s Jimmy Beans Wool Craftvent that I’ll be working on. If you want to follow along with me, check out my Instagram at @ElyseIndeed.
Happy Knitting!
Ohhhhh! I love this!!!!
The one thing that makes me sad about the JBW advent calendars is that we crocheters are a year behind in box. I was so excited about the little tins…only to see we are getting the blue towers. (Maybe next year :fingersx:)
I wore my shawl from last year to a super formal thing recently and got all the compliments. They are really lovely works of art.
I really hate these posts. My fingers get all itchy, and I start thinking about where I stashed the assortment of needles and hooks I’ve acquired over the years, and then I’m thinking about the fact that my town actually has a delightful yarn shop just two miles up the road. It takes DAYs to talk myself down with the practical reminder that I SUCK at knitting.
Absolutely wonderful. Trouble is, I already submitted my wishlist to my family. So I’d have to treat myself, and the choices in Etsy are kind of overwhelming. Well, at least looking doesn’t hurt my budget .
I really really really hate the “twelve-day calendar” thing with the fire of 10K burning suns.
Because greedy ignorant clueless product pushers/ marketers have conflated Advent and the twelve days of Christmas into new heights of commercialization, and they’re doing it wrong.
Advent: The countdown TOWARDS Christmas, beginning on the fourth Sunday before the 25th of December. It’s a Church liturgy thing, preparing for Christmas. Some years Advent begins in November and lasts longer than 24 days, depending on what day of the week the 25th falls on. (Those are good years to have a year-specific accurate Advent calendar. Especially if chocolate is involved.)
The twelve days of Christmas: BEGIN on the 25th (the first day of Christmas) and end on January 6th. Medieval roots. Christmas was celebrated hard, yo.
THERE IS NO NEED FOR A CALENDAR FOR THE DAYS AFTER CHRISTMAS! If you want to give presents on every day of Christmas, don’t call it a calendar and conflate it with Advent! There is no significance in twelve days before Christmas. THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS BEGIN ON THE FIRST DAY OF CHRISTMAS, I.E., DECEMBER 25TH!
Also, get off my lawn! *shakes fist*
/end rant
Now that I’ve got the rant off my chest, I can concentrate on the fun.
DIY: If you have yarny friends, you could do a leftover mini skein swap in calendar form using a specific yarn weight in a specific amount. E.g., 5g fingering minis are popular for blankets, both knitted (https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-coziest-memory) and crocheted (https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/granny-stripes-2). Make your own rules and calculations according to availability and number of participants. (If there are three of you, you can do two identical sets of twelve minis each for your friends, and thus each have a 24-day calendar of unique minis. Etc.)
More DIY: I have hoarded some crafting supplies this year without using them once. (Beads, lettered beads, string, clasps.) YouTube is full of tutorials. It wouldn’t kill me to watch one stitch marker tutorial a day… and to try out the instructions. (I could test them myself and then perhaps make them as gifts later? Or not.)
I like the idea of mitten or sock MKALs (mystery knit-alongs) for Advent, especially when there is the option of knitting from stash. Some are different colored stripes, others are stranded colorwork. I especially like doing an MKAL from a previous year, as the whole pattern has already been released and I know what I’m getting into. (If it doesn’t look good to me, why bother? And I am unbelievably persnickety about colors and their placement.) I have the pattern for Skeindeer’s Julenatt mittens (https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/julenatt) waiting, maybe I will knit them this year…?
Hi! I have participated in various Advent based patterns over the years, where one chooses the yarn and knits a bit every day as the pattern is revealed. Usually it’s a scarf of some kind with lots of cool stitch patterns. And you get to use yarn you have handy or choose colors that work best for you. Not as much fun as the pre-wrapped surprise type, in some ways, but more wallet friendly.
Having said all that, I confess that for the last few years I have ordered this Advent calendar from Dandelion Chocolate
https://store.dandelionchocolate.com/pages/advent-calendar
They are a really amazing chocolatier that we discovered walking around San Francisco. It’s for my husband, and solves the “finding something for a guy” problem. And their chocolate is creative and amazing.
@ReadKnitSnark That very rant came up at church this morning, as a our vicar pointed out Advent actually begins on December 1 this year.
I adore Miss Babe Yarn and would so be on her Advent set if I wasn’t in a cold sheep cycle at this point. I do, however, have some of hers in the stash that I think I might drag out during December.
@ReadKnitSnark – You must be a mind-reader. I am thankful that you use your powers for good!! I just finished another pair of socks last night and was thinking about knitting a blanket/wrap of some kind with all my many leftovers. And today, here you are with the perfect pattern for that. And free, even! Thank you, thank you!
@Deborah Glad to be of help. 🙂
Now, if anyone needs an autopilot project of all stockinette for the season, I bring you The Oslo Hat by PetiteKnit (https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-oslo-hat) for a very reasonable price (of about $3). You can hold two fingering strands double, or one strand of DK (recommended for mindless knitting), and you only have to keep your eye on a couple of measurements. Great purse knitting, for socializing, for plays or recitals, for gifts… or charity… (