FAULTLINE - a new pattern

Today is the one year anniversary since a 7.1 earthquake rocked Canterbury out of the blue. Wellington is the earthquake risk in New Zealand - not Christchurch - the quake was met with disbelief and shock that it happened on the Canterbury Plains.

When the September quake happened DH was away in Queenstown and I was home alone with our 3 kids. I remember waking up thinking a truck was driving through the house - so much noise (the roaring of the quake itself but also breaking glass and the sound of the bookcase outside my room toppling over) and of course violent rocking. It took me a few moments to realise what it was! The power went out instantly and I spent the next few minutes trying to find a torch, calming our 2 smallest children, trying to get all of my books that had been thrown all over the hallway off the heater before they caught on fire, making sure our daughter at the other end of the house got to me safely - while the house was rocked by more aftershocks.

It seems like another lifetime ago when I think about how unprepared we were.

We thought we were so lucky. Months passed and the after shocks subsided. No one was killed and it even got to the point where they were publishing books full of photographs and stories - a testament to how well we did, how fortunate we were.

Then February 22 happened. It was a smaller quake, but shallower, closer to the city. It killed over 180 people, made hundreds homeless, wrecked havoc on homes, businesses, infrastructure...families. It seems we weren't so lucky after all.

Today Christchurch is still rebuilding. It isn't "over" even though it may not make the news on a daily basis anymore. People are still living in limbo while they wait to find out if their homes can be fixed, they still live with daily shakes - 8500+ since September - and the fear and worry that goes with that. The red zone is still closed to the public - pretty much the entire central business district - while demolition work continues. Entire suburbs have been declared 'red' also - owners have to leave their homes and move away.

It's hard to believe 12 months have passed since that first event. How much has changed for all of us affected since then.

Today my thoughts were with everyone living in Canterbury.

And in remembrance of friends and family living in Christchurch, today I released my very first pay pattern: Faultline.

25% of proceeds (for the forseeable future) will be donated to the Red Cross NZ in recognition of aid they have provided to families (including mine) over the past 12 months.



Faultline combines all my favourite elements in a shawl :- squishy garter stitch, knit sideways, a shallow shawlette shape that wraps enough so you can wear it as a scarf, and an easy to memorize lace.

It is also fully reversible for maximum versatility.



I knit my sample in Fibre Alive Merino Mania which you can buy online from www.joyofyarn.co.nz This is my favourite NZ yarn at the moment and James the owner generously offered yarn support for a couple of my test knitters. At just 320m/100g it also means this is a very quick knit but one that is perfect for showing off those special hand-dyed yarns.



I had a fabulous team of testers. I really wanted this ready to go in time for today, and they all did a stellar job getting their samples knitted and feedback to me. I appreciate their help very much - so many many thanks to Jill, knitapotamus, Knittemptress, Khai, Helen, Jackie and Sam.

The pattern includes instructions for a shawlette, but also how to adapt it as a scarf and a triangle shawl. I knit a shawl sample using some gorgeous autumn coloured gold sparkle sock yarn from Tri'Coterie. A special thank you to Maylin for the yarn, for her encouragement and support, and for knitting her own sample of the pattern.



Faultline costs $4US and is available as a Ravelry download.


Ravelry pattern page: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/faultline