24 December 2008

Day 24 - The Climax

This afternoon I took some time out of the Christmas Eve preparations to make this star. This also complements the advent heart I made to 'anchor' the advent pouches onto. I thought it would be a fine symbolic gesture to crown the tree tonight of all times, which reminds me of my childhood Christmases when we actually decorated the tree on the Christmas Eve morning!


After a special Christmas Eve supper and then sending kids off to bed (at least one night in the whole year it actually is easy!!!) I cast on for the last pouch. Throughout the duration of this 'project' I indulged in a wide variety of yarns to choose from - the colour, fibre, texture and weight of which were all totally dependent on a whimsy, MY whimsy... I would choose freely and sometimes impulsively, knowing that I will get to make quite a few more choices in the days to come. Tonight was quite different. I knew that I could only make one more choice, this year at least. And I felt a bit apprehensive of the deciding moment. So I closed my eyes, stayed still for a second or two, opened my eyes - and chose this...


...because it reminds me of winter berries :) The yarn is Habu bamboo in red (col.5) and I absolutely LOVE it!

Well, this is it for the Advent Calendar. It was first conceived as a KAL project, but that aspect of it did not materialize and, nevertheless, it was perfect just the way it happened. Do feel free to make your own version of the tactile Advent Calendar next year if you like the look of this one and the (slightly off the wall) interpretation. It is fun and it also is a test of sorts. I highly recommend it. It definitely helps to keep track of time and contributes greatly to kids' excitement about Christmas. I particularly like the non-instant gratification aspect of the experience.

Finally, I would like to credit a Norwegian friend of mine who shared with me the Scandinavian Advent tradition of daily storing of little gifts for someone loved. I completely forgot about this conversation which we had quite a few months ago. The idea was planted and has germinated and been adapted quite intuitively in this project. I only remembered this conversation a few days ago and was stunned by how I was unconsciously influenced by it...

No comments: