Advent Calender

December 1st

Hand sewn advent calendar

I make no apologies for my postings on this blog this month.  I love Christmas and I love all the old and new traditions that we embrace in our household.

This blog started out one year  and one day ago, the eve of December 2013.  It began as a personal record for my children all the things that they have grown up with so they have a reference for when they are older and from all my postings last year this blog has grown and has become an integrated part of my life.

Last year  I set myself the challenge to post every day in December and several people looked out for the posts each morning and sat and had a coffee with me, here my virtual acquaintances grew in number and new friendships began.  I hope to do the same this year and look forward to lingering over coffee with you and the traditional Norwegian bakes we make.  Stay with me a while and pop back often this month, there will be lots to read and do! 

Last years posting also began with advent but is quite different to this years, should you wish to see click
here


This year I knew I wanted to make another Advent calendar but this time for my sister who has emigrated to America, I wanted her to have a little bit of home.  Advent has always been a big thing in our house and I wanted to make sure she continued this across the pond, so to speak.  I usually join in with an online crafting group on a Monday who make something to cheer up the beginning of the week and knew that this would be a challenge to complete in one day, but why not give it a go.  I cheated a little by cutting out all the pieces on the Sunday night, but no actual construction began until the Monday.  I have written about Allison and her great #makeitsewical group before, see link here

 

Sunday night and getting ready
to make the Advent calendar

 

All fabric was cut out and ready the night before

 

It was exciting to watch the Advent calendar come to life with each stitch

 

Although the back of the calendar was neat, see in montage below, I felt it needed to be more sturdy to be able to hold the small chocolates in the pockets without ruining the look.  I  therefore choose a Christmas material that I had in house, full of robins.  I forgot to take a photograph of that before the calendar flew across to America, but if you look closely at the sewn in interfacing photograph you can just make out the material. As I did not have any iron on interfacing I just sewed a few lines across the interfacing and backing robin fabric to ensure it held together and then, obviously, right sides together along with the advent calendar itself sewed around all the edges, cutting across the corners and also leaving a gap of about 10 cm to allow me to turn the whole thing the right way round.  I then sewed this seam up after wards.

 

 

This still left me the dilemma of how to hang the advent calendar and here I was stumped.  A couple of coffees later and I decided to add a further piece of fabric to the top of the advent calendar and bring it around the back.  Thus leaving a carrier for a piece of doweling, curtain hook or some other such sturdy rod to hang with.

 

My coffee brain wave idea, how to hang the calendar

Star material used as the 'tubing'
to hold the rod for hanging the calendar

 

Just in case anyone is interested I am posting all 24 felt pockets below to see the eclectic mix of stitches and ideas.  I made this all in one day as a bit of a challenge and to join in as I said with a great online group.  So if I were giving this more time, it might have turned out a little bit more polished, but I'm pleased with it as it is...

 

 

 

It is not too late to make an advent calendar for this year, or why not take your time and make one for next year?

 

Happy advent everyone, I would love to hear how you celebrate.  Do you have advent calendars in your house? What do they look like, would love to know...

 

♥ Christmas countdown really begins now ♥