The Joy of Advent Crafting

and releasing the stress of making with a deadline.

Every year, I treat myself to an advent calendar filled with yarn and other goodies such as tea, skincare, and little crafting tools. In previous years, I would start the month with the absolute vow to keep up with the project through December and by Christmas, to have the finished object.

Now that we are at December 27^th, past Christmas and the advent season, I have not completed any of my advent projects. Instead, I spontaneously cast on a new project during the first week of December, and have exclusively knitted on that project.

This year, I decided to try something new and in addition to my yarn advent, I ordered a second crafting advent… a sewing advent from Pretty Fabrics and Trims. This one isn’t a daily item. Instead, each week you open a packet filled with gorgeous fabrics and threads and buttons and other notions. It is absolutely delightful. I kept to the advent schedule and opened the designated package each week, identified by little stickers marking Week 1, Week 2, etc. The overall pattern is a surprise, though there were enough clues after Week 2 to see what the final project would be. I am very excited to make it and to have the final item - a gorgeous advent calendar to use next year, with beautiful little hand made felt tag ornaments and delicate little buttons to hang them on. I knew at the start of the month that I would not be keeping up with this daily - I am far more inexperienced at hand sewing compared to knitting and I will need to take it slowly, turning to YouTube and books for tutorials as needed, rather than relying solely on the paper patterns that accompany each week’s package.

On December 1^st, I also decided to cast on the fun little mystery Gnome from Imagined Landscapes. This is another delightful advent project with knitting prompts every second day, that result in making a little Gnome. You are provided ideas of the yarn and colors to choose, but all of the details are a mystery. The yarn patterns are sent every second day, with alternate days including stories and a recipe and other such delightful things. I absolutely love the idea of it! I join this most years. And in full honesty… I have yet to finish a single Gnome.

I am self-aware enough to recognize that I have a strong tendency to overcommit. I get swept up with all of the things I want to make and do, and end up with a list of things that is impossible to complete. In years past, I would end up stressed and upset about this, as I collapsed into Christmas Day absolutely exhaused. I would wonder what had happened? I had such plans for a relaxing, cozy, festive December but I had packed it with so many things to do and so much pressure on myself to achieve everything, that I would rob myself of the joy in it all.

I started to shift away from this approach a few years ago. At first, I made changes such as intentionally choose a knitting advent that has yarn every other day, to keep the knitting to a reasonable amount.

But I’ve come to a different space now, where I no longer feel any stress or obligation to keep to an “advent timetable”.

In fact, as I write this on December 27^th, I have not cut or sewn a single thing for my sewing advent. I have knitted 3 of the 12 advent yarns that I opened.  And I completed the Day 1 prompt for my Gnome and nothing further.

Instead, I spontaneously cast on slippers during the first week of December that I became obsessed with. It is all I have wanted to work on. The colorwork is so fun, the pattern is memorable, and my yarn and color choices bring me so much joy. I love everything about this project! And so, when I have time to make this is what I am picking up, not any of my advent projects.

And there is nothing wrong with this approach! I will finish the advent knitting at some point, possibly in February. Maybe in May. I likely won’t ever finish the Gnome, if prior years are anything to go by. And I’m unsure about the sewing project, though I’m hopeful that I will work on it through the coming months and have it finished for next year. We’ll see. I’m fine with taking a slow approach to this one and working on it a little at a time for months to come. If it is done by next year, that would be wonderful. But in all honesty, I might still be working on it next Christmas. And I don’t feel any shame or guilt around that. In a society that pushes efficieny and production over slow and steady enjoyment and process, it is fun to rebel against that. It isn’t just about the finished product. If it was, I would just buy something lovely from the store, for half the cost of making it.

For makers, the joy is often equally in the making AND in the finished item. When it is done, I will see the wonky stitches and the parts that I will inevitably rip out and redo. Gone are the days when hand crafts were solely a practical and thrifty approach to having things. Historically, sewing and making clothing and home items was the cheapest way to have new things. But those days are long gone. You can generally buy mass produced and imported clothes and homeware for far cheaper than the cost of supplies to make it, and then factoring in your time to make the thing… well, hand made items are no longer simply the frugal approach to having new things. And yet, there is so much joy in the making of a hand-sewn advent calendar, or hand-knit sweater, or any hand-made item. A purchased item just can’t compare if you have a makers heart and soul.

And so, while advent projects are delightful and fun, and something I take part in each year, I now refuse to be held to a deadline with them. Stressful making and agonizing over staying on track to meet that deadline really isn’t the point. Having the finished item by Christmas might be nice, but in my opinion it is even nicer to enjoy the process, slow down, learn new techniques perhaps, and take time to joyfully make the project. If you are feeling anxious about being “behind” on your advent projects for this year, I encourage you to reframe your thoughts away from deadline knitting, and instead measure success by how much joy and pleasure it adds to your festive season and beyond. Regardless of when, or even if, you finish it.

💡I’m trying something new with this post - a recorded voiceover, giving you the option to listen as I read the post. If you listen, please let me know what you think. I’m not sure yet whether this will become a regular feature, but wanted to give it a try in the spirit of exploring new things on Substack.