Woolgatherer Winter Solstice Box by Explorer Knits + Fibers

This countdown box is a bit different from this others that I’ve gotten this year, in a few ways. It is counting down to the Winter Solstice, not to Christmas. It is set up to be opened weekly, not daily and it includes full skeins, not minis. And there were a few options to choose from when ordering, and not just for the yarn base.

Here in the Northern hemisphere, the Winter Solstice is the day that has the shortest period of daylight in the year, and therefore is the longest night of the year. The Solstice itself is technically only a moment, the moment when the Earth’s pole is at its farthest place from the Sun, but the term is also used for the day itself. The Winter Solstice has been a significant time throughout history (and prehistory), marked by rituals and festivals. This year, the Winter Solstice occurs on December 21st at 4:19 am.

Sounds like an ideal time to indulge in daydreaming, doesn’t it?

There were several options available when ordering the Woolgatherer Winter Solstice Box. The countdown was offered in 4 variations: a Tonal Box, including 4 tonal skeins; a Variegated Box, containing 4 variegated skeins; a Half & Half Box, containing 2 tonal and 2 variegated skeins, and a Full Woolgather Box, containing all 8 skeins. Each of these boxes was available with “goodies” that included a candle, a sticker, an art print, a stitch marker, and a set of notebooks. You could also choose from 5 yarn bases: 3 sock bases and 2 DK bases.

For those who chose one of the 4-skein boxes, one skein would be opened each week, counting down to the Winter Solstice. Those who chose the full 8-skein box would open 2 skeins each week, one tonal and one variegated.

In addition, they also offered a Woolgatherer Day Box, containing a sock set (one full 100g variegated skein, with a coordinating 20g tonal mini-skein), along with all of the goodies that were offered in the countdown boxes. This Day Box was designed to be opened on the day of the Winter Solstice.

I chose the full 8-skein Woolgatherer Box, plus the Day Box. Since I was already getting the ‘goodies’ in the Day Box, I opted out of including them in the countdown box, rather than getting duplicates. For the countdown box, I chose their Denali Sock base, which is 80% Superwash Merino 20% Nylon sock base with a 2-ply twist, 400 yards/100g. (I believe the Day box only came in Denali Sock, but I’m not 100% sure of that.). This would give me 2 skeins to open each week leading up to the Solstice.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, somehow December snuck up on me, following so closely on the heels of Thanksgiving, so I missed opening the first two skeins on November 30th, so here they are, a day late:

You may need to zoom in to properly appreciate the richness and depth of these two skeins. The variegated on the left is called Nature’s Reverie, and the tonal on the right is Contemplation.

Oh, I can’t wait to see the rest of this countdown as it unfolds… For now, I’ll just have to daydream, I suppose.

Talk soon, Eileen