... it has become a family tradition for our tree to be covered in just lights on the first and last night it stands in the house.
It helps to gradually ease the senses into the shimmer of shiny bright festivities, and
towards twelfth night enables some quiet reflection as the season closes.
As I type there is a strong pine scent and there are twinkles of coloured lights like warm house windows, winding up an earthy velvet dark green hillscape.
Christmas trees have featured more prominently this year as crocheted trees were given as gifts to local friends and family.
With an idea in my head, there were plenty of prototypes, ranging from three dimensional, top heavy, saggy bottomed, uneven, to unrecognisable!
Having wrestled with the tree idea for several weeks, and ready to drop it in needled frustration, a calm suggestion from Mr RW made everything fall into place and the simple design was created.
An even strip of crochet, simply sewn up the middle!
Some with embellishments!
some with fancy stitching, many with two or more strands
and a fuzzy one!
Front and back!
These elegant evergreens are hooked from the most wonderful hand dyed British wool from
Wheeldale Woolcrafts, given to me by my fellow woolly wonder,
Tracey!
It has an amazingly rustic rough texture and smells deliciously of.....wool!
In contrast, the base for the other green conifers is a softer nubbly British blend bought on summer holiday, specifically for this purpose, from Woolmouse in Barnard Castle.
The one on the far right with the red strip is the first, very experimental, sapling. It has an abundance of short rows (the others have two long rows) and a variety of stitch combinations!
We pruned it a little, displayed it and have grown to love its earthiness, even if it didn't make the group forest shot!
Wishing you a treemendous start to 2015 with lots of hapPINEss!