And, as the owner of a knitting and crochet  yarn outlet it was a natural move for Sue to think 'yarn bombing'.

According to on-line encyclopedia, Wikipedia yarn bombing is a type of graffiti or street art that employs colourful displays of knitted or crocheted yarn or fibre rather than pain of chalk.

"I wanted to yarn bomb the tree to bring brightness and colour into the street," Sue said of the concept which she had first seen in Melbourne.

MidCoast Council's recently introduced Vibrant Spaces initiative enabled Sue to go ahead with yarn bombing a tree outside her Rock Kidz shop.

Sue turned to the experts, the Great Lakes Knitting and Spinning group which operates out of the CWA Forster branch building, with a proposal to beautify the tree with a special form of street art.

"We were happy to help and thought it was great," spokesperson Marjo Cabot said.

It took the group of more than 30 members about four months to create the patchwork of colourful knitted squares.

Using more durable and longer lasting synthetic yarns, the group was given free rein with colour and design.

"My three-year-old grand-daughter likes Pepper Pig, so I crocheted that, and a thong because we live near the beach," Marjo said.

The sections of knitted and crocheted yarn were pieced together before being wrapped around the tree and blanket stitched together by hand.

"The public response has been amazing," Sue said.

"They love it; it has been a real conversation piece.

"It has given many people so much happiness."