2018 Advent Yarn Calendar: Last Call

TL;DR: There are four Solar Flair in matte and six Royal Jelly sets left, two in gloss and four in matte. We won’t be making any more. We made extra-extra ones this year on top of the pre-orders, but if you want one, get on it now. If you order by noon EDT on Tuesday, November 27 and live in the continental US, your order will arrive in time* for you to open your first box on December first. Although we call these “Advent Calendars,” they do not contain any religious or even Christmas specific items or imagery. They are winter themed. However, generally things that contain 25 treats intended to be opened each day of December are called Advent Calendars, and we are on board with that nomenclature.

*I can’t actually control the weather or the mail. But if you order by that deadline we will ship on Tuesday afternoon using USPS Priority shipping, which is expected to deliver in three days or less.

So, not to freak you out, but there are 29 days left until Christmas. Assuming blocking time, that’s 27-28 knitting days. Personally, I’m WAY behind. But, there’s also something sort of relieving about being this far behind. I can’t possibly finish all of what I want to do, so I’m sort of off the hook. Why should I pull all-nighters when I won’t see the bottom of the to-knit list? At this point, if I’m going to stay up late to knit, I may as well knit for me. Really, I can just buy the nerds on my list a gift. The season is supposed to be about joy. By now, most of us know which projects we can actually get done in the next 28 days, so take a page from my book and schedule in some time to knit for the joy of it too.

Every year, I choose a project to make myself for Christmas. This year I’m making Ambah O’Brien’s ADVENTurer Wrap. I loved the ADVENTurous Wrap from last year, but never got around to knitting one of my own. This is our second year of offering an Advent Yarn Calendar, and I knew the second we dyed up the first sample of this year’s yarn that I was taking one for myself and making the wrap. Ambah had given me an advance copy of the pattern to help us plan our yarn, and I like this year’s wrap better than last years, so I cast on the new one ahead of the December first release date.

I’ve had an insane month, and didn’t finish my shawl before December like I wanted to. But, that just means I get to play along with the KAL in real time once it kicks off in December. Here’s a sneak peek at mine though. I’m using Royal Jelly in Gloss

https://www.instagram.com/p/BpM6VfbHb5A/

If you want to get on this train with me, we have a few sets of each color left. Last year we sold out super fast, so this year we made extra EXTRA sets on top of those purchased during the pre-order period. Once these are gone, they are gone for good. Several people emailed last year asking if we would make an exception and make some more. We didn’t, and we won’t. Part of what makes these so amazing is the 25 one-of-a-kind minis inside each package. But that’s crazy time consuming to produce. To dye five sets worth of calendars, which is 125 minis, I spend about six hours in the dye studio. I love making these since it’s a chance to really let loose with color, but it’s a sometimes treat for me.

We have two colors available, Solar Flair and Royal Jelly. We have matte and gloss yarn options available. The gloss option included seven sparkly minis (so every fourth box in your calendar). That’s been an especially popular option, and there are only two gloss sets left.

Jac went above and beyond the call of duty this year with her packaging. She got these amazing gold boxes. I know you might be looking at these boxes and wondering what possessed me to send you glitter. But the glitter is some kind of magic glitter technology that is smooth. It sparkles, but it’s like it’s a picture of glitter, not the actual shedding stuff. Glitter is the herpes of crafting, but these boxes are amazing and don’t shed. I swear I wouldn’t consider sending you 25 shedding craft-herpes boxes. Also, to promote recycling/reusing, we used stickers to mark each box 1-25 that easily peel off the box. So, after you open it you can reuse the gold box for your own gifting or home decor needs.

Each set also includes several small gifts, scattered among the boxes, so that once or twice a week you get a special surprise. I won’t spoil most of them (some of them are pretty inspired this year, if I do say so myself), but here is a sneak peak at one of the stitch markers you’ll find in the Royal Jelly set.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BqMO_EJFyYV/

Also, because we have recently realized that we were never clear about this: Our Advent Calendars have a secular name, but are a non-religious product. They are not Christmas themed, and there is nothing overtly Christmasy in them. We just dig the concept of an Advent Calendar. We hadn’t really thought about it until someone pointed it out, but I can see how you might expect them to contain Santa type stuff. They don’t though, and I think they are appropriate for knitters of all faiths and backgrounds. These are large boxes, and will ship domestically via USPS priority mail. You can still place international orders, but they will not arrive by December 1st. Domestic orders placed by noon EDT tomorrow (11/27) will ship tomorrow and should arrive by December 1st.

~Megan-Anne

Don’t email me in a week asking if I’ll restock these. You’ve been warned. ;)