Merry Mix

2024 Advent Calendar

On December 1st we are going to start counting down to Christmas!

Join the excitement of our new community event celebrating the holiday season. Experience fun, joy, and happiness – without the extra calories from extravagant meals. Don’t miss out on this festive opportunity!

Your quilty family is waiting. And some presents ;)

Like last year we will be sewing a mystery quilt top.

This time you can pick one of the following three English options or German – generated after all your lovely feedback. Thank you!

Peppermint

0 $

You will find the baby size instructions online in the advent calendar’s daily doors.

Non-Mystery Option

Candy Cane

9 $

Everything from Peppermint plus:

Daily newsletter reminder

Option to download past doors in case you miss a day or two ;)

Summary pattern file for readability

Early Santa discount *

Yes, Please!

Gingerbread

12 $

Everything from Peppermint and Candy Cane plus:

Alternative doors via download for sewing a throw-sized version during Advent

All doors in advance in case you want to stretch your timeline

Full pattern file with in total four quilt sizes

Awesome!

* Early Santa discount is 20% off till October 31st.

How It Works

Starting December 1st till December 24th – aka the German counting system :) – each day will equal one “door” to open in the online advents calendar. You will find it during Advent on the homepage.

The door contains the sew-along instructions plus sometimes Christmas-y content or giveaways – aka presents ;)

For extra details on how the individual versions work see the FAQ.

FAQ

Some of the answers will give you extra hints about the design. I have marked those questions with an asterisk (*).

What are the fabric requirements?

You will need five fabrics.

The pattern design was written with the idea of
– two neutral colors (N1 + N2)
– one main color in a set of two values or adjacent hues (C1 + C2)
– one accent color (A)

When playing with coloring ideas it became clear that some other combinations might work as well. Generally, those groupings still consist of a maximum of two color groups plus sometimes neutrals. Even a monochrome palette with enough contrast between all five colors worked well.

Unless otherwise specified, yardages are based on fabric at least 42″ wide. Please also notice that this pattern is written for non-directional fabrics/prints – solids or blenders are recommended.

> See This .pdf File For Fabric Requirements
Nov 04: Updated (backing fabric calculations baby)

> See This .pdf File For Color Combinations

How big is the quilt?

The baby size is 42″ x 42″.
The throw size is 54″ x 66″.

Can you give us a few hints about the pattern?

Yes of course! The pattern is built with a 5×5 block (25 is very Chrismas-y, right?) plus a border. The block has 10 different elements. So there will be a lot of variety. Plus it is a very graphical design – and not pictorial.

What is the skill level of the pattern?

The skill level is intermediate.

See the next question for the reasoning. But that will include some extra hints about the desin.

I am a (confident) beginner, can I participate? *

“Intermediate | About half of the units are sewn with the technique called foundation paper piecing (FPP). If you prefer, you can also use freezer paper piecing which is a subset of that technique. A good third of the units are quarter circles. Templates for sewing an oversized block and trimming instructions are included.

Basic knowledge of foundation paper piecing, sewing curves, and basic quilting techniques is assumed.”

Rating a quilting pattern is somewhat personal. As is estimating your own skill level. I’d suggest at least some FPP experience. The blocks are not overly complicated but sometimes the sections are small or the block consists of more than one unit.

With a second technique (“curves”) included I have rated the pattern as intermediate. I am personally not very confident with curves. These are fairly easy (for curves) and the oversizing/trimming helps. IMHO. You might want to try/practice both techniques beforehand. And you can also always start with the Peppermint version.

What colors/fabrics should I use?

You will need five fabrics. See the question/answer above for the fabric requirements.

You can use Christmas color combinations. But the design also works in other color palettes.

You can find a few suggestions here:
> See This .pdf File For Color Combinations

What if I want to sew a non-mystery version? *

No problem! There is a non-mystery version for those like me who need to know everything up front ;)

The only rule is to keep the design completely to yourself so as not to spoil anyone else’s surprise.

> Click Here Only If You Want To See The Non-Mystery Information

When are the doors open?

The doors are open ONLY on the same day. Please take into account that the blog runs on the UTC+1 timezone (Berlin, Germany).

What can I do if I can’t open a door?

Please check the date/time. The doors are open ONLY on the same day. The time zone of this blog is UTC+1 (Berlin, Germany). If you try to open a future door, you will have to be patient. Yes, I know that is very hard for your inner child ;)

In case you missed a day, you can upgrade to the Candy Cane or Gingerbread version. Those versions include downloadable zip files with all doors.

How do the Peppermint | Candy Cane | Gingerbread versions work?

To spare you the extra costs of a course-like structure, I have devised a way to make this work with the normal advent calendar and shop system.

Peppermint:
This version is free, but you must remember to return every day. There will be no option to open past doors!

Candy Cane:
This version is about the price of two coffees and I hope you will support me and my small business this way.

It also includes some extras to make it worth your while :)

Past doors can be downloaded – in case you miss a day or two:
The trick for this is, that I will change the “purchase download” after every day. So you will need to download the file again with the link from your purchase email. Don’t worry, there will be enough downloads included. And if you somehow maxed it out, please send me an email.

This is a bit clunky, but timed content would have meant an extra platform and costs that I wanted to spar you. For ease of use, I would suggest using the daily doors for a simpler download and the “purchase download” only for missed doors. Thus the daily newsletter reminder.

Summary pattern:
This will be a condensed version of the full advent calendar content in pattern format and will have better readability. It will contain the baby size.

Gingerbread:
This is the luxury version and true to my style will include more options.

All doors in advance:
Download all the doors in one swoop. Availability is approximately November with your “purchase download”.
> Update Nov 04: Download is now available.

Please remember that you can show your progress only on or after that day is released in the advent calendar schedule.

I will organize them in ~~subfolders~~ individual .pdf files so that you can keep the mystery!

Why? Glad you asked. You could…
– decide on the bigger throw quilt
– decide to start sewing earlier so that it is time-consuming during advent
– decide you want to support me some more ;)

Summary pattern:
This will be the file of the final pattern including all four quilt sizes – baby, crib, throw, and twin. It will be added to the “purchase download” after Christmas.

What can I do to receive the daily newsletter?

The daily newsletter reminder is sent to you when you purchase the Candy Cane or Peppermint version of this sew-along AND sign up for the email. In your “purchase download” is a .pdf with all the information including a link for the signup. Please go there and enter your email. And don’t forget to confirm the opt-in!

If you did confirm the subscription but are still not getting the emails, please check your spam folder. It also helps to add my email to your address list. Depending on your email program you might also be able to add me to your “safe senders” list.

Can I post on Instagram?

Yes!!! That is where we are having our party.

Use the pattern hashtag #mm_merrymix. You can also add #mellmeyer_pattern. Feel free to additionally tag me @mellmeyer so I will be notified and can admire your quilt ;)

Please do not spoil the fun for the mystery quilters. Show only the progress of published doors. Thank you!

I have another question. How can I reach you?

Please send me an email at mail@mellmeyer.de.

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