Good morning, and happy Friday to you. This week I am really excited to get to tell you about this year’s yarn Advent calendar. They are available for preorder as of today.

These have been a long time in coming. You may recall that last year I chose a Lord of the Rings theme. Each colorway was based on a location along Frodo and Sam’s journey. Many months ago, I asked all of you whether you would prefer another Lord of the Rings Advent calendar or a different theme, and the overwhelming response was to do one more Lord of the Rings inspired Advent calendar, so that is exactly what I’m doing.

This year, we’ll be following Aragorn’s journey, and each colorway will be based on a location or encounter he has along the way beginning with his first meeting with Frodo at the Prancing Pony and ending with his final return to Gondor. A few of the colorways will be the same as last year’s, but most will be different. Just to be clear, the kits will be based on events from the books and only the books.

Without spoiling the surprise, I want to tell you a bit about the colorways, the yarn, and the pattern.

The Kit

The idea is to open one package of yarn each day beginning on December 1st and ending on Christmas Day. It’s an opportunity to get out of the fray and just enjoy the peace of the fiber arts in a season that has become all too busy. However, this is a no-guilt kit. If it takes a little longer or if you decide to start early, that’s okay. It just means more time to enjoy the creative process!

The Yarn

This year, you’ll get 24 mini skeins. Each mini is 20 grams and 92 yards. I’m using Splendid Sock, which is a 4-ply yarn made of superwash merino and nylon. It’s very smooth and strong.

While last year’s kit just had the mini skeins, this year’s also includes a full-sized skein of sock-weight yarn. I am offering your choice of Sock Perfection, Sparkly Merino Sock, or So Silky Sock for the full-sized skein.

Altogether the total yardage for the kit is between 2617 and 2658 yards depending on which full-sized yarn base you choose.

The Pattern

I am really excited about the knitting pattern this year. Deborah Bowanko and I have been collaborating for several months to bring this about. Her pattern is called the Alsatian Advent Wrap, and it is delightful. It’s a big rectangular wrap that has a variety of stitches and beads too.

I’ll be including the beads with your kit so you can get straight to the fun part. They will be beautiful size 8 Toho beads that look great with all the colorways. This knitting pattern is good for an advanced beginner, but it will also be a fun and interesting knit for a more advanced knitter. You’ll get a paper copy of the pattern as part of the kit as well as a code to add it to your library on Ravelry if you like.

Here is a photo of the Alsatian Advent Wrap in Deborah’s sample colors. Keep in mind that these are not the colorways you will receive.

The Colorways

The colorways are intended to be a surprise, but I do want to give you an idea of the color palette. You can expect lots of earth and forest colors–multiple shades of green, silver, brown and antique gold along with blue, royal purple, and maroon. There will be a bit of white where it is needed (think Gandalf the White) but not much. The full-sized skein will be a semi-solid colorway, and the minis will be variegated colorways.

The Packaging

The full-sized skein will be gift-wrapped, and each mini will be in a numbered box with the event or encounter that inspired the colorway. This would make a wonderful gift for your favorite fiber artist.

The Timeline

Please keep in mind that this is a preorder. I will be dyeing these in time to ship them by November 10th at the latest so you’ll have them in plenty of time for December 1st.

You can find out more and order your Advent calendar in my shop right here.

Fresh from the Dye Pots

It has been a fruitful week of dyeing. I dyed A Light in Dark Places on several yarn bases. Here it is on Sparkly Merino Sock:

I also dyed Afremov’s Farewell to Anger. Here that is on Stained Glass Sock:

I dyed Starry Night on several bases too. Here that is on Sock Perfection:

Last but not least I dyed After the Rain. Here that is on Suri Lace Cloud:

You can see these and all the other fresh-squeezed yarn in the New This Month section of my shop.

I hope you have a wonderful week. Until next week, happy fiber artistry!