I started thinking about this project last December. We had always had real trees for Christmas growing up, but the thought of a messy, sappy, needle shedding conifer in my living room just did not appeal. Especially considering we have a toddler and a kitten who would only get into trouble. That said, I wasn't about to get a fake tree either. I never did like them, and the idea of having another large piece of plastic in my life just didn't seem right either. So, I started to think about making a tree. And once I convinced myself it was possible, it was just a matter of figuring out how to go about it.
It was a big project, and I'm glad I didn't try to hurry it up and finish it for last Christmas. This took lots of planning, and about a month of nights on the couch hand sewing branches. These long term projects are always a little scary. You invest so much time and energy into them, and are never quite sure if you will be happy with the end result, but I'm thrilled with the way it turned out. Now we have this wonderful tree that will hopefully last many, many years. Yay! Now I just have to start on those presents...
Materials: Fleece (two shades of green - light on top, dark on bottom), brown yarn, large needle, shredded phone books as stuffing, 1/2" dowels for the branches, 1 1/4" dowel for the trunk, scrap wood for the tree stand and brown felt to cover it and the trunk.
