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Monday, March 8, 2021

Clickity Clack and Earthquakes

I’ve been busy with the needles over the last wee while, and have two knitting finishes to show.  Firstly, my latest pair of socks, this is the first pair I have knitted using 4ply wool (left over from an earlier finish), so I’m really proud of myself.  I used plain burgundy, together with the patterned sock wool, knitting in stripes. 

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Stripy burgundy 4ply socks

All my other socks have been made with 12 ply wool (or equivalent) and this is the pair I knitted earlier, knitting together 3 balls of 4 ply wool (burgundy, grey, and multi coloured sock wool) to bring it up to 12 ply for the thicker sock pattern.   For my just finished pair of socks I used the last remaining part ball of  plain burgundy wool, plus the multi coloured sock yarn, knitted in stripes.  How lovely to squeeze another pair of socks from the left over yarn.

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Thicker cozy socks, 12 ply

My other knitting finish is a small mat knitted with selvedges on very large needles, a design from Amanda Jean who sadly no longer blogs.  Not easy knitting at all and quite hard on my hands, so I had to pace myself.  I had previously made one of these, and it sits in front of the laundry tub – thought I’d make another as well to ring the changes when the mats gets tossed in the washing machine.  Plus, it was a way of using up some more selvedges.

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Knitted selvedge mat

Here in New Zealand we have had some “shake rattle and roll” recently.  Three strong earthquakes took place on Friday– all within less than 8 hours.  The largest quake  was an 8.1 magnitude earthquake whose epicenter lay in the ocean, about 600 miles (965 km) north of New Zealand. It followed two less-strong but still powerful earthquakes – a 7.3 magnitude quake and a 7.4 magnitude quake – in New Zealand.   The earthquakes all took place on the Kermadec Fault, which passes east of New Zealand and stretches northward. Tsunami warnings were issued, and people were urged to “walk, run or cycle” to higher ground to avoid the chance of being stuck in traffic. Many aftershocks occurred, and the evacuation warnings were not lifted until some hours later.  We are so thankful that no damage occurred, it was quite a worrying day, spent glued to the TV news, just in case.


22 comments:

Little Penpen said...

Oh my goodness on the earthquakes! Glad you are ok. Love the knitted socks!

Kim said...

I must admit I wondered how you were and if the earthquakes were in your area. This is very good news that you are all okay. Love those socks...both pairs! 12 ply...that would be warm and cosy. I love that you made another pair from leftover yarn. Have a fabulous week....and keep safe, Jenny.

Luann Fischer said...

Jinny,
Earthquakes must be very frightening. We get hurricanes, but there’s plenty of warning ahead of time for getting to a safer location. Stay safe my new friend.

Ivani said...

Love your new socks.
Earthquaker are scary.
Stay safe.

Maria said...

Both pairs of socks will be warm and cosy and what a great use of salvages by knitting a mat....
Yes the earthquakes were very worrisome, one of the swimming ladies has two daughter that lived very close to it and had to evacuate..
Pleased all went well.

CathieJ said...

I was quite relieved when I saw the Tsunami warnings lifted. So glad you are safe. I love those striped socks. What a great way to use up leftover yarn. Your rug is economical and very pretty. Another great use for "leftovers".

The Cozy Quilter said...

Lovely warm socks you have made! I heard about the earthquakes on the news...glad to hear you are ok.

Karla (ThreadBndr) said...

Gosh, how scary! I'll take our midwest deep freeze any day! I love your socks and I agree that getting a pair of "monster socks" aka "frankensocks" out of leftovers is great fun - those are often my favorite pairs.

Carla A Few Of My Favorite Things said...

What lovely socks! It makes me miss the wool socks my mother used to knit! I have some sock yarn that I want to knit into socks but we are heading into summer so maybe in the fall. So glad that your earthquake was out at sea and no damage happened. That is quite a large earthquake and could have been devastating!

SandraC said...

Lovely knitting! Did any tsunami occur? So scary sounding....and not something I ever have to worry about where I live in Canada, thankfully.

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

nice socks! Where I live we are about 150 miles or so from a fault line that rarely ever has a quake other than very small ones. I felt one once a couple years ago and the last time there was a big one here in the center of the US was in the 1700's I believe when very few other than the Indian population at that time.

Jackie said...

My Cousin and his wife live in New Zealand and so have been putting updates on Facebook. I never realized that you were situated on the Ring of Fire before.

I love the rug, but can just imagine how hard on hands and wrists that would be to knit.

God bless.

Judith nb Serena said...

Read about your earthquakes online, nothing much on the news! I wondered how you were getting on though I did think it was further north than you and my cousins wife are situated. Glad to hear your OK. Well done with the socks and rug, I too hate waste. Hope you don't get any more tremors.
Judith nb Serena x

Julierose said...

WOW--that is scarey, Jenny!! That series of earthquakes is very worrying...stay safe...
Your knitted socks came out beautifully. Nice work hugs, Julierose Stay safe...

FlourishingPalms said...

Your ability to knit socks is very impressive. I attempted to knit a sock. Once. It's still in the closet waiting for me to finish it seven years later. Your selvedge rug is very pretty! I too made a selvedge rug after seeing Amanda Jean's tutorial, however, I crocheted mine in an oval shape. It got so worn out I had to toss it. After accumulating more selvedges I made another rug, but this time used peg loom weaving. Every morning I step out of bed onto it. Don't you just feel frugal using-up selvedge edges that way? Do you use BOTH selvedges, as I do? Or just one side?

Tired Teacher 2 said...

Relieved to hear no damage was done by the quakes and aftershocks. Tense times, I’m sure. Your socks and mat are fantastic. I would not have guessed the first pair was made with scraps - well done. I know what you mean about knitting the mat. Working with large needles and ungiving fabric is hard on the hands. The resulting mat looks wonderful and so useful.

Karrin Hurd said...

Beautiful socks!

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

Your socks are really pretty colors! I admire sock knitters - that's a craft I've never tried, although I can knit some simple things. Your knitted rug is neat, too - interesting to know it's not easy knitting. Glad you weren't really affected by the earthquakes - that would keep us glued to the TV, too!

Deanna W said...

Very scary happening in your area. Stay safe! Thank you for your words on my blog post. Friends near and far, known and unknown, the words of encouragement all mean a lot to me right now.

Melisa- pinkernpunkinquilting said...

Oh my goodness, Jenny. I am so glad that you and your family are safe. That would be quite scary. Such pretty socks that you have knitted and love the rug. I hope you have a very lovely week and there will be no more "shake, rattle and roll" . Happy quilting.

Janice said...

Another lovely pair of socks for winter. Let’s hope there are no more earthquakes.

Karen S said...

Those socks look very warm. Perfect for Winter.
Yes, we kept track of your warnings too and were pleased when they were downgraded. Good to know all is well.