My Advent Calendar

Since I wrote about  my advent calendar, I thought I'd post some pictures of my creation. I made this awhile ago, maybe five years ago. Every time I pull it out of it's box I am re-impressed with my advent calendar. I'm not bragging (I hope). I am just truly impressed with the final outcome that is my advent calendar. I remember having an idea in my head of exactly what I wanted. And I would have been more than happy to buy it if I had seen it out there. I never did, so one year I decided to make my own.

I wanted it to be BIG. BIG. My calendar measures 45" long by 32" wide. I also wanted it to have pockets, big enough for me to put whatever I wanted in them depending on my theme for the year. These pockets measure 5" square. I wanted each pocket to have a different image on it and I needed to be able to remove the number on each pocket. I can't remember how long it took to make this, but I'm sure it's not as long as it seems. I remember taking the little pockets to work with me to work on during slow times (I worked in a fabric store). And, I remember sitting on my sofa in the evenings, watching TV and stitching on the pockets and the backing. Yes, it is 100% hand stitched.

I used to think that maybe I would make ornaments that match what's in the pocket. (Whatever!) I also thought about offering it for sale. For a lot of money. (There's not enough money!) In the end, this wasn't made for any other reason than I wanted something for my family to pull out every December. Something to look forward to. Something to eventually pass on to my kids. Just for us. I love advent calendars (I even made one for the month of October). I'm sure this isn't the last one that I'll make. Wouldn't it be cool to have an advent calendar in every room of the house!!!

With out further ado, my advent calendar...