Around the Spinney

Winter Carnival 2026

This year’s Winter Carnival is going to be so fun and we’re just days away from opening the gates. So let me paint you a picture of what it will actually feel like inside.

The Winter Carnival is a cozy online celebration of quilting and festive cheer. One all-access ticket gets you several designer booths — each with its own project, pattern, or tutorial — plus cozy recipes, holiday stories, decorating ideas, and a Food Hall. It opens November 27, runs through December 6, and you keep everything afterward.

Here’s how it unfolds for you:

Day one. You settle in with something warm and step through the gates. All the booths are open. You can wander them in any order you like. There’s no line, no crowd, and no booth you have to skip.

The middle days. You pick a project and get stitching. Maybe it’s the Felted Rondavel Ornaments (more on that below)! Maybe it’s something entirely different from a designer you’ve never met before. You’ll find techniques you haven’t tried, and ideas that make you want to rearrange your whole December.

The quiet moments. This is my favorite part. You’ll find recipes worth making on a cold evening, holiday stories worth reading out loud, and decorating ideas that make your home feel extra merry, all gathered in one place.

December 2. We meet live on Zoom for the collage ornament class. Bring your fabric, bring your questions, bring your mug.

December 6. The last day. And then every pattern, tutorial, and recipe stays with you, season after season. However all comments will close after this date.

One ticket. several booths. A whole lot of festive cheer.

[Get your all-access ticket here]

My Booth: South African Christmas

I’m really excited about this one! It’s a wool ornament inspired by our South African Christmas holidays as a family!

I give you a little sneak peek into some of our favorite Afrikaans traditions in a hemisphere that makes Christmas a little different from the north.