Merry stitchmas!
balletLORENT’s Knitters, Movers and Shakers turn four weeks of stitching into a festive showstopper.
Newcastle has joined the global granny-square craze with a towering 10ft crocheted Christmas tree created by a group of crafters aged 55 to 87.
The Knitters, Movers and Shakers - a free weekly crafting and movement group run by dance company balletLORENT - produced the tree in just four weeks, stitching together hundreds of colourful squares at their Friday sessions at the John Marley Centre in the West End of the city.
Topped with a golden crocheted star, the tree now stands in the foyer of balletLORENT’s Scotswood studio. No new wool was bought for the project, with the group instead making use of leftover yarn donated or gathered over time.
James MacGillivray, education and projects manager at balletLORENT, said: “Our Knitters, Movers and Shakers have a wide range of skills and are always up for learning something new and taking on a crafty challenge.
“This seasonal project brought together experienced crocheters and people who were completely new to the craft and it’s been a pleasure to see it taking shape. Everyone turned up each week with piles of squares they had crocheted at home. It’s been a real labour of love.”
Group member Anne Clarke said: “We’ve all really enjoyed making this very special tree… It’s turned out even better than we imagined and we know it’s giving so much pleasure to everyone who visits balletLORENT’s studio.”