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In Appledore, Devon, a group of 100 knitters and crocheters gathered together to create a beautiful Christmas tree to stand outside the village church hall of St. Mary’s.
The tree is an impressive 14.5 ft tall, and is made up of a staggering 1,000 7.5-inch long colorful squares that took the skilled volunteers around six months to assemble.
The unusual effort came about after a group in New Zealand made one in a bid to bring the community together after COVID played havoc on last year’s Christmas celebrations.
“With a cancelled Christmas for most of last year, and uncertainly about this year’s Christmas, it was a way of keeping all the village involved as a community through Covid, and during the summer when the village was inundated with tourists,” shared a spokesperson for the project with the BBC.
The tree, however, is only part of the village’s decoration. Next to the giant tree is a knitted fireplace and a very snuggly armchair, complete with a black and white cat.
The project, headed by Jennie and Ian Lamb, saw the villagers use their skills to make the squares and come together to assemble the tree on a metal structure. They also provided most of the materials to complete the decorations.
While the tree has definitely brought community and festive spirit to Appledore, it would be lovely to see if your own community could take inspiration from the project to create a knitted Nativity scene — just imagine, you could make a beautiful crocheted blanket to swaddle Baby Jesus in!
And today we celebrate...