My close friends have heard me dither about whether or not to get a yarn advent calendar for the last six years, and they’re probably absolutely sick of listening to me. Luckily for them, I finally committed to buying one for myself, so they never have to hear me argue the pros and cons again! I am so excited to start opening the packages tomorrow, but thought I would just give a quick overview of what it is and how it works.

I’m actually going to touch on TWO different advent calendar options, neither of which have an active online listing anymore, so I’ll try my best to summarize them effectively.

This first option was actually gifted to me by my best friend, and I saved it for years and years because I was waiting for the perfect project for the colourful mini skeins. For example, I was dreaming of a rainbow blanket or striped sweater that would meet my every expectation. In real life, I actually ended up using them as colourwork for different amigurumi projects, because that was more practical and met my needs. My favourite projects with these minis included keychain hearts for my Mom’s childhood friends. This box definitely added a ton of colour options to my stash, and it was fun to see what hue would be in the box each day. The only minor downside is the lack of yardage, but that’s easily remedied by ordering a larger skein if you find a colour that you really fall in love with! I haven’t seen this available in the years since 2016, but would definitely recommend it as a fun way to sample different colours from an affordable yarn option. When we got it in 2016, the cost was $37.03CAD, which is significantly less than the other yarn advent calendars out there.

STASH Lounge is my favourite yarn store in Calgary, so when I saw them offering an advent calendar that would highlight 25 indie yarn dyers, I had to take the plunge. I haven’t opened it yet, so obviously I can’t say anything about the colours, but each day has 20g of fingering weight yarn, finishing with a 100g skein on the 25th. I am really interested in seeing how the different colours will work together, as each dyer has such a unique way of working with colours, speckles, and stripes. There isn’t a single theme or inspiration picture either, so each dyer having the freedom to do what they love. For that reason, I was hesitating between this option and a countdown calendar from a single dyer, as a single dyer might have a more cohesive colour scheme. Eventually I was swayed by having the chance to sample lots of dyers! The box set does also come with a suggested knit and a suggested crochet pattern, so maybe that will help me put the different skeins together, but it might take some tinkering to find my favourite combination. This box was also much more expensive, at $278.25, but now that I’m working an adult job, I figured that I could justify the splurge, especially after the craziness of 2020 and 2021. We all deserve treats, right?

When I was little, I used to love opening up the chocolate advent calendars my Mom would get, and I remember that excitement each morning. I figure it will be the same way when I start opening up the packages tomorrow!

Until next time, happy crafting!