Alveston church congregation took part in Woolly Wednesday sessions to stitch 17ft tall tree
BACK in February a group of people got together and started knitting a Christmas tree.
The tree is now finished and is 17 feet tall and contains 3,300 knitted squares and it’s down to to those knitters who turned up for the Woolly Wednesday sessions in Alveston from the start of the year.
For two hours every other Wednesday, ten to 16 members of the congregation at St James’ Church got together at Stratford Youth Hostel with their own cake and coffee to have a knit and a natter.
Their work is now on show in the church and the tree proudly displays the following knitted items: six fairies, two reindeers, a Father Christmas, a Mother Christmas, a train, ten paper chains, pom poms, ten snowflakes, 6 bells, a huge stocking, drummer boys, decorations, 30 crackers plus a fairy on top of the tree.
Pauline Kemp, who is one of the knitters and a member of the congregation said: “Rev Linda MacDermott, the vicar of Alveston, saw a knitted tree and thought it would be a good way of bringing our community together. The only male in the group had not long lost his wife so he joined us but he couldn’t knit so we showed him how. He so enjoyed being there, it’s really done him good and he’s knitted 50 squares. The youth hostel has also been amazing in their support for us.”
Alveston’s knitted Christmas tree will go to another church next year while the knitters ponder their next project for 2024. In the meantime, once the festive season is complete, knitted blankets will be sent to an outreach project in South Africa and to hospitals and dog rescue centres.
