Christchurch: A city on the move or stuck in the past?

This is a photo essay of New Zealand's second city (by size) Christchurch which experienced a devastating earthquake in 2011. I used to be a frequent visitor to the central city on a Saturday to wander around the streets and sometimes shop. Since the earthquake I have ventured into town infrequently and generally on a focused trip to a specific place or event, never for a wander around.

This past Saturday was sunny and I parked the car in the new Lichfield Street car park, close to the shop that used to be my second home Ballantynes and not only met my girlfriend for lunch but wandered around taking photos of the newly emerging city.

The city is definitely coming back to life, and I am torn by the new look city. It does create a strong emotional response: joy on the one hand that the city is rising again and sadness that maybe the rebuild was driven by speed, cost and concrete slab architecture. I wonder if the city missed an opportunity to achieve its full potential and develop a more cohesive look. Maybe I am too influenced by Napier (the Art Deco city) which I just love. Napier had the opportunity to rebuild after the 1931 Hawkes Bay earthquake and was redeveloped with a cohesive Art Deco style. Will Christchurch in 50 years time be venerated or past its prime? I do wonder if the Christchurch of the future will be as polarising as the 1950's Brutalist architecture, of which Christchurch had its own famous exponents. It would be a shame if we had got rid of some truly awful buildings to just create our own for future generations.

Pre quake Cathedral Square: BNZ centre and Government Life Building on the right - truly ugly

The Gateway Bridge

On the way into the city I drive around the airport past the new Gateway Bridge the entrance to the South and the Southern Alps.

The design draws on the vertical power of the Southern Alps and the braided rivers, unique to the Canterbury Plains

The bridge with its changing colour light show

Map of the city

Christchurch city centre is not large and all the places included in this post are within walking distance of each other, especially given the abundance of places to rest and refuel.

The city and key sights - including Head Over Heels - does even Google know I am a shoeaholic?

Cashel Street

City (Cashel) Mall and High Street in days of yore were the place to shop, then there was the Re:Start container mall which has now been replaced by real buildings.

View West from the Bridge of Remembrance

View East along Cashel Mall, including the Tourist loop tram, Ballantynes on the right.

A mainstay of the city centre Scorpio Books now in the BNZ centre

The BNZ centre

Cashel Mall from High Street

For comparison the imaginatively conceived Re:Start Container Mall which opened on 29 October 2011

"The Strip"

The iconic entertainment mecca for the young is slowly rejuvenating along Oxford Terrace.

Oxford Terrace and the new Strip

"The Strip" in yesteryear

The Strip from across the Avon River

South end of the Strip looking towards the Justice precinct

The Bridge of Remembrance

The war memorial dedicated to those who died in World War 1 but also remembering those who participated in both World Wars and subsequent conflicts in Asia in the 1950s to early 1970s.

The Bridge over the Avon River

The gate looking east

The gate looking west

Oi Manawa - Canterbury Earthquake National Memorial

Five months after the magnitude 7.1 earthquake, centred just along the road from us (40 kilometres, west of Christchurch), an even more damaging quake struck at 12.51pm on 22 February 2011. The shallow, 6.3 magnitude quake, in the Port Hills just 10 kilometres from the centre of Christchurch, caused the greatest ground acceleration ever recorded in New Zealand.  The quake sequence included more than 11,000 aftershocks.

The earthquake claimed the lives of 185 people and injured many more. About 25,000 houses suffered serious damage and more than half of all buildings in the central city had to be demolished. The memorial, opened to the public on 22 February 2017, on the sixth anniversary of the earthquake. It pays respect to those who lost their lives, those who were seriously injured and survivors. It also acknowledges the support received during the response and recovery that followed.

The memorial inscription

The memorial wall extends 111 metres along the curve of the Ōtākaro/Avon River

The names of the 185 who died are inscribed into marble panels stretching 40 metres along the memorial wall.  The arrangement of names and how they are written was guided by the bereaved families. All names are in English, as well as the person’s first language (Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Hebrew, Arabic, Serbian or Russian), if it was not English.

The Arts Centre of Christchurch

The Arts Centre is one of the most significant collections of historic buildings in New Zealand. It is over half way through its $290 million restoration. 

Originally an educational establishment home to what is now Canterbury University, it has some very famous alumni. Dame Ngaio Marsh (loved her mystery novels in my teens),  Nobel prize winning scientist Ernest, Lord Rutherford and Sir Āpirana Ngata, a prominent NZ politician and lawyer, who promoted and protected Māori culture and language.

Looking fabulous part of the newly restored Christchurch Arts Centre

Part of the old stonework retained in the entrance to the new toilet facilities

Under construction

Christ Church Cathedral

The increasingly decrepit eye sore that is Christ Church Cathedral now, once the beating heart of the central city.

The Chalice, designed by Neil Dawson, contains forty-two native plant leaf patterns

Colombo Street

Colombo Street north (taken from the walkway in the picture below)

The walkway over Colombo Street between Ballantynes and The Crossing

Colombo Street south

Building Art

Lots of art has popped up around Christchurch, some of it sponsored by Christchurch City Council, through the Enliven Places Programme. This programme supports regeneration across the city by encouraging the community to transform spaces and leave a lasting legacy.

It would be easy to write a post just about the art around Christchurch streets as many innovative pieces have come to life over the past seven years. As this post is already rather long I have limited myself to two examples.

On the wall of a building at Cathedral Junction

Press Lane artwork by Grace Duval

The stuck in the past

Obviously the biggest stuck in the past is the Christ Church Cathedral which is going to be restored (maybe if someone stumps up enough money). Here are some other buildings around the central city that have some way to go before resurrection.

Former Municipal Chambers, Oxford Terrace

Pre earthquake: former Municipal Chambers, designed by Samuel Hurst Seager, built in 1887

Telephone box outside the former Municipal Chambers looking south towards Oxford Terrace

Worcester Boulevard just west of Cathedral Square

High Street at the east end of Cashel Mall

Cambridge Terrace, diagonally across the river from the Earthquake Memorial

Hagley Park and the Avon River

Cherry blossom time

The Avon River in Spring

The waning daffodils

Style Arc Maris Ballet Top

This top was made quite a few months ago.  Long enough ago for it to travel to the UK in April. For some reason it didn't get photographed on its big overseas adventure. Taking pictures with me in the top and of the pattern alterations has proven elusive but I did it eventually. I really wanted to blog about this version of the Style Arc Maris top because of the alterations I made otherwise I would just have used the photograph of it on a hanger for the end of year round up!

The finished garment

A super top style that is likely to appear many more times on this blog in various incarnations, especially now that I can make it with set in sleeves.

Sorry looking even more lopsided than normal

Bit of static cling around the bottom

And here it is stuck on a coat hanger for the travel wardrobe photograph

It is fascinating looking a pictures of clothes you have made to see how well your fabric choices work.  The contrast fabric has a lot of pink in it that, in real life, matches well with the main pink merino, yet in the hanger picture all you notice is the turquoise.

The fabric

Liberty Kingly Cord in design Vesuvian colourway B 

The Fabric Store premium merino knit (180gsm) in colourway Ballet Pink

The pattern

From the StyleArc website "This top has an interesting front hem panel that continues to the back giving a fabulous silhouette.  Use your own creative flare, mixing fabrics or colours for your own individual look. We made our sample in Linen but would also work in a knit as well."

The pattern alterations

This is a well loved pattern that I have made a few times in its original form.  This time however I wanted to use up a bit of Liberty fabric left over from my Megan Nielsen Flint trousers in combination with a merino jersey for a long sleeved top. On other kimono sleeved tops I have created a pattern piece to lengthen the existing short sleeve, for the Maris top I wanted to have set-in sleeves.

This is an easy pattern alteration to make with three basics: your measurement from shoulder point to shoulder point across the back plus seam allowance; a favourite armhole template; and the armhole's corresponding sleeve.

If you don't have this information already it can be taken from a favourite top pattern that fits you well:
(1) Measure across the pattern piece from centre back to the shoulder point - take note of seam allowances and adjust the measurement as necessary eg if your favourite top has a centre back seam remove the corresponding seam allowance from your final number.
(2) Trace each armhole shape (front and back) from the pattern onto a piece of card
(3) Trace the sleeve pattern piece so that you can use it for your altered Maris top

Back pattern piece alteration
Using the shoulder width measurement mark where the shoulder seam should be on the Maris top. Then using your back armhole template position it at the shoulder mark and swing out to the side seam and mark the armhole shape on the pattern.

Back pattern piece: Left new overlaid original; Right with armhole template

Front pattern piece alteration
The front and back shoulder seams need to match, so overlay the back pattern piece on the front yoke pattern piece matching the shoulder seam at the neck edge. Mark on the front yoke pattern piece the shoulder point from the back pattern piece.

The front armhole is made up of the yoke and front pattern pieces, so these two pieces need to be overlapped at the seam allowance before you can create the new armhole. Once overlapped using your front armhole template position it at the shoulder mark and swing out to the side seam and mark the armhole shape on the pattern.

On the front pattern piece you can see that the side seam, at the armhole, is slightly narrower than the original pattern piece.  This alteration was made after I had sewn this top because I have a bit too much fabric sitting at the armhole in this version. Now the pattern piece has been refined it should prevent this problem in future tops.

Front pattern pieces: Top adjusted yoke pattern; Bottom contrast front pattern

Front pattern piece positioned over the scrap of the Liberty fabric

The front bottom band for the Maris top is not altered and the original pattern piece can be used.

The sewing

Once the pattern was altered this was an easy knit garment to sew on the overlocker. The hems were sewn on the sewing machine using a straight stitch and a ballpoint needle.

I cut a 1" strip to bind the neckline. It was sewn around the neck edge with the overlocker after only the right shoulder seam had been sewn. Overlock the left shoulder seam and binding. Then fold the binding over and stitch in the ditch, using a straight stitch, from the right side on the main body close to the binding. Trim the binding on the inside of the garment close to the stitching line. This gives a nice narrow ¼ inch binding.

The stitching in the ditch around the edge of the neck binding can just be seen at centre front

The trickiest part is mitring the corner of the front bottom band. I follow the Gwen Spencer method which she demonstrates in this YouTube video, with Marcy Tilton, and always have success.

My one variation to Gwen's method is that I don't trim away the excess, as I think pressing the seam open with the extra folded into a diamond shape gives a better weight to the mitred corner and helps it sit well. Here are my steps to a perfectly mitred corner which hopefully make sense in conjunction with Gwen's video.

Step 1 - turn up your hem. If I want a double fold hem then it is double folded at this stage.
Step 2 - draw your stitching line from clip to clip through the point and sew.
Step 3 - put the sewn mitre on the point presser and press the seam open. Place one finger at the point of the corner on the inside and another on the outside and turn (you can use a point turner for this bit instead of the finger on the inside). The inside will look like the "no trimming" picture.
Step 4 - press the finished mitred corner.

Et voila the perfect mitred corner

An Extravagance - Untouched World Zephyr Ecopossum Coat Cardi

This winter I bought a long-line coat cardi from Untouched World in a dark charcoal colour (graphite). It has been such a popular garment for Untouched World that they have remade it a number of times through the season. This was very lucky for me because I initially rejected it when I tried it on in April, before our trip to the UK.  My mind must have been on the travel wardrobe and warmer climes. In June having returned to the harsh realities of winter I was keen to add this to my wardrobe but had to wait for a new batch to be manufactured.

This has been an absolutely essential garment for me this winter. It has been worn so much.  Here are just two examples of it in daily wear.

Left: Cut Make Trim Tee with Andrea Moore Endless Love trousers
Right: Moochi Enclose Tabard with self-drafted leggings

You may wonder what my love for the graphite Ecopossum Coat Cardi has to do with a sewing blog. Well you see the other base colour in my wardrobe is navy and it hasn't seen much wear this winter because of my aforementioned love. Enter the Untouched World winter sale where an Ecopossum sweater dress size large and a Bleep scarf both in colourway zephyr (navy) become an Untouched World Zephyr Ecopossum Coat Cardi. Does this count as upcycling?

Photos courtesy of Untouched World™

The finished garment

Apologies for the photographs - it has proven very difficult to accurately represent the zephyr colour of this coat cardi.

Zephyr Ecopossum coat cardi worn with the Meandering Chrysanthemum Swirl top and French Dressing jeans

The fabric

No actual fabric just two ready-to-wear items made into something else!  I know it might seem scandalous to take a perfectly good knee length dress with a roll neck and chop it up especially when the dress itself did look good on. However I have reached the age for layering. A very warm cosy dress is no longer practical as I can't take it off for those extreme heat moments. Work have a pretty relaxed dress code but work colleagues shouldn't be exposed to some things.

Untouched World themselves recommend you recycle, upcycle or compost your garment at end of life.  Not sure they would consider end of life as five minutes after purchase.

The pattern

No pattern either, although I did have my original coat cardi to get an idea of the shape I wanted.

The dress laid out on the cutting board

Cutting lines marked and ready to go

The cut up dress

The ribbed scarf marked by pins on the cut line

...and the scarf cut in half

The waste and my new favourite quick unpick (thanks Cheryll)

Untouched World believe in striving for zero waste and I came pretty close to it with this re-make. All that was left is the V removed from the front body to achieve the v-neck and two 9" half scarf pieces. You might see the two 9" half scarf pieces feature in a future garment as they are big enough to use as a sleeve cuff, even though the rib is running in the wrong direction. Can't think of an obvious use for the V piece.

The roll neck is not included in the waste as it was chopped off complete and I intend to bind the cut edge with fold-over elastic so it can be worn as a neck warmer.

The sewing

Super easy to overlock the short cut end of the scarf pieces and place that seam at the centre back neck. The scarf is then overlocked all the way around the cut edge of the dress to make the cardigan band. Et voila the zephyr Ecopossum coat cardi.

About Ecopossum™

Ecopossum yarn was first developed by the parent company of Untouched World in 1992. The first new natural fibre to be used in a textile in over 100 years. It is a blend of fine Merino wool, luxurious Brushtail possum fibre, silk and sometimes angora. Air is trapped both within the hollow fibre and in the fabric when blended with fine merino, creating a cashmere soft, featherweight, exceptionally warm, pill resistant garment that washes extremely well.

About Possums

The Brushtail possum is an animal introduced to New Zealand in 1837 from Australia. It is only found in Australasia, and is not to be confused with the North American Opossum, which is a different animal. The possum is New Zealand’s biggest ecological threat. They are legally classified as pests. In their native Australian environment, possums do not pose a threat, but in New Zealand they have no natural predators.

• Possums eat their way through 17,000 tonnes of native vegetation each night, leaving just bare branches.  The damage is so severe, possums can defoliate entire forests within 20 years
• With no flowers, berries or nectar left, native bird populations have nothing to eat
• Possums are omnivores and also consume the eggs and chicks of our endangered native bird species, attacking adult birds in the nest in order to reach the chicks and eggs
• They prey upon our rare native invertebrates such as weta and land snails
• They have contributed significantly to the registration of several new species of native birds on the endangered list

Common Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus vulpecula)

About Untouched World™

In their own words...

At Untouched World we believe you don't have to give up style and luxury and great design to be good to the planet. Our New Zealand made collections are designed with a less is more aesthetic – to be easy care, easy wear and easy on the earth.

We are the first and only lifestyle fashion company in the world to be recognised by the United Nations for sustainability. We achieved this by getting basic things right from the get-go.

We design our garments and accessories with sustainability in mind. From our luxurious Ecopossum™ to fine machine washable Zque™ Merino and certified organic cotton, we only use the highest quality sustainable fabrics, fibres and yarns that are easy on the earth. We're into fashion not fads so we design everything with the entire product lifecycle in mind, creating multi-tasking pieces that will stand the test of time.

Untouched World™ cafe interior - scones on the counter by the coffee machine!!

The Untouched World cafe also makes a wonderful scone.  I often pop in on the drive home for a cup of coffee and a scone.

In conclusion

If I wasn't so impatient I could wait for Winter 2019 when Untouched World make this coat cardi in the navy colourway.  But I am impatient and waiting is less fun. Fiscally the outcome is probably neutral. I did end up with a unique version of the coat cardi which I am really happy with. My coat cardi garnered many compliments at work this week and a bit of disbelief that it was made from a dress and scarf.

I should add that winter has not been harsh this year. It has in fact been remarkably mild. It is surprising that my original coat cardi has been such a hit given my (over)heating system and the mild winter.  Must be the snuggliness of it.

Special thanks to Lee-Ann at Untouched World who always knows what will suit my wardrobe.

Alabama Watercolour Flowers Sweater

Before you get excited this top was made from an Alabama Chanin pattern. It is not an immaculately hand embroidered garment. Although I do have that on my list of things to do.

The shape of the Alabama Sweater pattern really appealed. This merino blend sweater was my test version before I used some precious Alabama Chanin printed cotton jersey. Of course the real version hasn't happened and I am not sure it ever will (using this pattern) but I do love the "muslin" which has been worn often this winter.

The finished garment

A great sweater especially for those "fat" days - no displaying the muffin top with this pattern, particularly in a fabric with more body. My Watercolour Flowers Sweater has kept me "just right" warm this winter - not an easy thing to do these days.

Couldn't resist this template when playing in Fotojet

The fabric

This is a gorgeous merino blend purchased from The Fabric Store earlier this year. It is heavier than normal merino almost a sweatshirting weight. 

I had to take care with the iron because the wrong side of the fabric was very heat sensitive.  Luckily I discovered this on a fabric scrap so there is no melted plastic on the inside of my top!!

The pattern

The Alabama Sweater pattern can be made in tunic, top or crop top versions. It features a V-neckline and is loosely fitted through the bust with a generous flare to the hem. The Sweater pattern also includes five sleeve variations (sleeveless, cap, short, three-quarter and long-fluted sleeves). The tunic measures approximately 29", the top 28" and the crop top 23" in length. It was part of the Alabama Chanin 2016 Build a Wardrobe programme.

The PDF download includes the nested pattern and comes in sizes XS to XXL along with instructions for fabric selection, cutting, and garment construction.

Updated to add the requested link to the Alabama Sweater Pattern.

The pattern alterations

I made my usual pattern alteration for a forward shoulder but other than that left as per the original size medium cut to top length. Of note is that according to my under bust measurement I should have made a size large or an extra large from my full bust measurement.

I chose the pattern size using my TNT woven top, which ensured it fitted across the shoulders without requiring negative ease.  For me this is the equivalent of "loosely fitted", any more fabric around the upper body and it starts to give the impression of a sack.

Due to the fabric print I decided to omit the centre front and back seams which are slightly shaped, and cut the pattern on the fabric fold, which also meant I ignored the pattern grainline (not a problem in a knit). The sleeves were cut at three-quarter length.

The sewing

Easy peasy sewing on the overlocker apart from the hems which were sewn with a straight stitch on the trusty Singer Featherweight.

I did wonder about using fold over elastic to bind the neckline due to the fabric thickness but couldn't find the right shade so abandoned the idea. The neck binding was overlocked onto the neck edge then folded over and stitched in the ditch from the right side. The result is chunky but not offensively so.

Left: original undarted; Right: with fish eye darts

The darts disturb the print slightly but are not that obvious

I loved the shape from the front and the back but from the side it was a bit billowy. My answer was to insert two fish eye darts into the back which helped to control the billowing slightly, without unduly impacting the swing shape.

Outfit of the day

No outfit of the day picture for the Alabama Sweater but I did sew another version using a striped rayon knit from Marcy Tilton. This knit has much more drape than the Alabama Chanin organic cotton knits and I think it suits the design. For the inner child this is a great top to twirl in.

For design interest I used the existence of the centre seam to alternate the stripes (horizontally and vertically based on the pattern grainline) for both the front and back. This works well in real life but the camera struggled for clarity particularly with the vertical stripe. The neck is bound with black fold over elastic.