Where DO You Get Your Ideas From, Angela?

People frequently me ask that- especially about craft activities - and I try to give credit where it is due. I do tend to file things away in the back of my mind and then rework them later. The germ of an idea for the Christmas Tree thing started in 2010. My Norfolk neighbour Barbara, who lives opposite Cornerstones, showed me some squares she had made. She explained that they were putting up a tree in The Forum in Norwich, and it was to be on display over Christmas, then recycled into blankets. The squares, and some knitted ornaments would be hung in a wooden frame. It was all in support of the John Groom's Charity - and people with collecting boxes were on hand over the festive season to take donations from onlookers.

This seemed an excellent idea. In subsequent years - the tree has been brought back on a number of occasions, and displayed in other Norfolk locations- it has raised thousands of pounds.[youtube story here] I don't think those squares ever did get turned into blankets- it was more profitable just to exhibit the 15ft tree! But the idea was still in the back of my head. Then I came across other Tree Knitters - and many of these trees did end up as blankets.

My problem has been one of scale.  St Martins URC in West Moors, which hosts the event, is a relatively small chapel. The festival has grown in popularity and so they have rules about the size of each tree.
Bob is going to construct a cone for me, with a base diameter of 90cm and a height of 150cm [so it fits the regulations] I will cover this with a simple fabric sheath.
Our 10cm squares should work well at this scale. We can pin these in place, overlapping them, and interspersing the different colours.
A blanket measuring 120cm x 180cm needs 216 10cm² pieces. The surface area of the cone [not the base] will be around 28500cm². That's 285 squares with no overlap. If we get 432 squares that will make 2 blankets and give good tree coverage.

At the base of our tree, we will have a knitted nativity scene - this is the UCF tree, and we certainly can't do Christmas without Jesus! 
One enthusiastic knitter has already kindly produced the donkey!
UPDATE; one kind reader has offered to send me a square or two. If you would like to help too, the address is on yesterday's post. Thank you