Needlepoint Advent. Wind in the Willows: The River Bank in Winter

The River Bank in Winter is a Wind in the Willows needlepoint advent calendar. Four professionally printed 18ct needlepoint canvases and 24 days of hand-dyed silk and merino wool-silk thread, designed to open one box per day through December.

The kettle is on. The fire is lit. Along the river bank, Mole has set down his tools for the season and Ratty's boat is pulled up on the bank, rope coiled, oars put away. Badger has bolted his door against the frost of the Wild Wood, and even Toad, for once, is bundled indoors.

New to needlepoint? It's one of the most beginner-friendly forms of stitching there is: no stitch-counting needed, and no difficult techniques required at the start. Begin with a single simple stitch, guiding your threaded needle through pre-marked holes in the printed canvas, following the design that's already there. As you grow more comfortable, needlepoint opens up into a rich craft of its own: experienced stitchers layer in different stitch types and techniques to add texture, dimension, and their own artistry to a piece. There's room to grow for as long as you want to stitch.

This December, stitch your way through the world of Wind in the Willows, one box at a time. Each week brings a new canvas, drawn from the world of Kenneth Grahame. The threads are chosen for each canvas specifically, hand-dyed in combinations of Moonspun 100% silk and Seren merino wool-silk in small batches in our Arizona studio.

Twenty-four days of hand-dyed thread. Four needlepoint canvases, one revealed each week of December. A cozy winter making season.

"No animal, according to the rules of animal-etiquette, is ever expected to do anything strenuous, or heroic, or even moderately active during the off-season of winter."

— Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

Preorders ship in early November 2026. Ready-to-ship boxes, if available in November, will be priced higher. Quantities are limited and will not be restocked.

What's inside

Four needlepoint canvases on 18ct canvas

• Canvas size: 9×9 inches, design size approximately 4 inches
• All four canvases are designed to coordinate beautifully as a set, whether you frame them, turn them into ornaments, or finish them another way
• All designs are original Storyteller Stitchery artwork inspired by The Wind in the Willows
• Open one canvas each week through December (4 in total)

Instructions and stitching guidance

• Step-by-step instruction booklet included, covering how to thread your needle, start stitching, and the basic stitches used, fully illustrated
• Printed chart for each canvas
• Access to an online companion space with additional tutorials and stitch ideas, opening this December, included with every kit

24 days of hand-dyed thread

• One hand-dyed thread per daily box
• A combination of Storyteller Stitchery's hand-dyed Moonspun (100% silk) and Seren (75% merino wool, 25% silk) — the two bases used for 18ct needlepoint canvas
• Minimum 10 yards per color, chosen specifically for each canvas design
  

Also included

• A Wind in the Willows themed project bag
• A themed needle minder
• Needle suitable for 18ct canvas

Also available as a yarn advent

Yarn Advent. Wind in the Willows: The River Bank in Winter 24 hand-dyed mini skeins on fingering weight yarn, for knitters & crocheters, with themed tote bag and stitch markers.