Advent calendar (free mitten pattern anew!)

I’ve been wanting to make this advent calendar since Hector was a pup Tsia was a babe and I first designed this little mitten ornament pattern. Somehow there just hasn't been time, but this year I was determined. She's at the age where she gets really excited about Christmas and the countdown.


However, all 25 mittens were not going to be finished by December 1. So I've been making one mitten a day and trying to work ahead by a day or two, just in case.

Tsia loves them. In fact, I think she's more excited about the mittens themselves than the contents therein. (I've been trying to vary the contents; sometimes it's a small candy treat and other days she gets a little note, a drawing, or a toy.) So in the end I guess it's fine that they weren't all ready beforehand; plenty of years to enjoy them once they're finished. She's enjoying the addition of each mitten to the strand, and she's also been helping to select the fabric, button, and embroidery floss colors for each mitten as we progress.


I was never entirely happy with the low-tech manner in which I first made the mitten pattern available, so now it's been re-worked and is available as a free pattern on the Oliver + S website. Enjoy!


By the way, Todd and I are having a disagreement with which I need your help: does an advent calendar have 24 or 25 days? Todd says 25. I say 24, because the 25th day is Christmas and no one is interested in an advent calendar once Christmas day arrives. So help us out with your opinion, ok? Should there be a mitten #25?



I think I may still re-do the mittens that have yellow embroidery floss; the color doesn't show up well against the ivory wool felt background. But I like the other colors, and I'm especially liking the addition of chocolate brown to the mix. As an advent calendar, the mittens would also be really pretty done in just shades of white. Or in red and white. Actually, I could think of a million ways to do these. Like I mentioned on the Oliver + S blog, they would be fantastic if the mitten part was done in reverse applique like Alabama Chanin. I may have to do one, just because I think it would be so pretty.

I'm making a few additional mitten ornaments as gift toppers and special little treats for friends, more in the style of the original mitten ornaments. But 25 of the advent calendar babies may just do me in, especially with all the other deadlines happening over here right now.

By the way, thank you so much for the book ideas; I will eagerly investigate, and Tsia and I will enjoy reading all of them. I have lots of other books and thoughts about books I want to talk about, so I think I'll declare this week Book Week again. Stay tuned!