#trellis cardi

[professorpski]

Vogue Knitting, Fall 2022

This issue is full of color and offers some 17 patterns with 3 jackets, 5 cardigans, 5 pullover, 1 vest, 2 cowls, and 1 scarf. The cover offers a rich, red Lace Diamond Jacket (I am not sure on why a jacket rather than an open-front cardigan) by Deborah Newton which has a lace pattern and combines North Light Fiber’s 2 lace-weight yarns: Spring Street which is wool and Forever Lace which is alpaca/bamboo. Although a lace pattern, it is only 2 out of 4 for difficulty.

The menswear offering is the Doric Pullover by Lily Chin in Woolstok Light, a fingering yarn of wool by Blue Sky Fibers. It is a gorgeous columned patterned, but I suspect that making the columns at the lower edge the narrowest width would be more flattering to the male physique. That change would allow the breadth of the shoulders to be emphasized.

If you are feeling like playing with color, the Octet Vest by Brandon Mably is an intarsia pattern of diamonds done in Rowan’s Felted Tweed which is a blend of wool, viscose and alpaca. It is a 3 out of 4 for difficulty. You can imagine all kinds of different color possibilities in this 9-color garment. Of course, you could choose darker tones or limit the number of colors if you find it overwhelming. As it is, it is a party in a sweater.

Shirley Paden designed the red Feminine Cardi (apparently we are feeling British this month) made of Plymouth DK Merino Superwash which is a wealth of detailed stitches with a shawl collar and a 4 out of 4 for difficulty. Paden also fosters knitting designers with her 2022 Design-A-Long contest and you see here the work of one of the winners, Christine Jones, with the Embrace Cardigan in yellow in Valley Yarn Superwash Sport, a wool yarn. Another winner is the Trellis Cardi by Fuyumi Ambe in a classic cream color is in Trendsetter Yarns Merino 8. Both of these are 3 out of 4 for difficulty.

In addition, there is an article by Meg Swansen on designing a shawl, articles on new products, and on new books, and interviews and articles on designers and dyers. Unfortunately, the photos in the technical article on twisted stitches mentioned on the cover are too small and unclear to be of much help.

[wrathofthestag]

Intertwined

Summary: Hand holding and contemplation during the Fourth of July. A soft, tiny Zimbits ficlet.  For @doggernaut​​ <3  Also on AO3...

The day had been long enough.

Now, don’t get them wrong. Jack and Bitty enjoyed each Fourth of July in Madison, and this one was no exception. They’d already spent the day swimming at the creek, eating at the Phelps family picnic, shopping at the Farmer's Market, and chasing Bitty’s younger cousins all around the backyard during a water balloon fight after getting their fill at the all-out Bittle barbecue.

And now that the fireworks were set to begin shortly, both Jack and Bitty were itching to be alone.

“Mama, can we borrow the pick-up truck so we can drive out to Anderson’s?” Bitty asked, voice extra sweet.

“Don’t you want to see them here with us?” Suzanne asked, sounding a bit disappointed.

“I’m kind of all cousined out,” Bitty whispered. “And look! They keep climbing all over Jack."

Suzanne looked over at Jack, who currently had a six-year-old hanging like a sloth from his back. Jack smiled wearily at little Melinda.

“Goodness,” Suzanne said, suppressing a laugh.

"We’d like some peace and quiet for a bit, that's all.”

“You two boys have been saints, patient as all get out. Go have fun. The keys are in my purse, on my dresser.”

“Thanks, Mama.”

Bitty kissed Suzanne on the cheek and ran into the house for the keys.

By then, Jack has extracted the small Melinda and walked over to Suzanne. He smiled.

“Is it just me," Jack asked, "or are there more kids here than last year?”

“Well, they’re like Gremlins, I guess. Someone obviously fed them after midnight,” she said with a laugh. “Don't worry, though. Dicky is getting truck so you two can escape the insanity for a while and see the fireworks from the field.”

“Oh, we can stay if you want us to,” Jack said.

“Nonsense,” she said and patted Jack on the arm. “Go and have fun. Be sure to remind him there’s bug spray in the glove compartment.”

“Ready, Jack?” Bitty asked, face flushed with excitement. He handed Jack a small cooler.

“Sure, Bits. Let’s go,” Jack said with a smile. “And don’t forget there’s bug spray in the glove compartment.”

“Atta boy,” Suzanne said with a wink.

It wasn’t their first fireworks in Madison, or even their second or third. Jack thought he would have gotten used to the heat and bustle by now, how, even late at night, the sticky sweetness still enveloped you.

Jack recalled his first time in Madison. The shy smiles between him and Bittle as they walked around downtown Madison. They talked about any and everything, and Jack felt a certain calmness wash over him; it had taken the place of the nervous knots in his belly. Being with Bitty had that effect on Jack. And when they sat on a bench, eating their ice cream—in a hurry before it melted—Jack knew there would never be another person in the entire world he’d want to be with. Not a single one.

The windows were rolled down as the pick-up truck bounced up and down the gravel road.

“It’s such a pretty night,” Bitty said as the wind whipped his hair around.

Jack smiled and watched Bitty drive. His muscular forearms gripped the steering wheel as he quietly sang to whatever was on the radio. The smell of whatever that was in the air was intoxicating.

“What is that?”

“Cardi B?” Bitty said as he glanced at Jack.

“No, that flower or whatever.”

“Mmm, that’s wisteria. Nice, right?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever smelled it before.”

“It smells lovely! They can get huge, too. It has these giant vines that just wrap around things, really get all in there, and grow all intertwined and stuff. MooMaw has some in her yard around her trellis. You can’t tell where the wisteria begins, and her trellis ends. The flowers are this pretty purple, and apparently, sometimes it takes up to 15 years for the flowers to bloom—at least that’s what MooMaw said.”

“Maybe we should plant some, one day,” Jack said with a soft smile. “And put up a trellis, too.”

Bitty gave Jack a sideways look and smiled. “Yeah, maybe.”

Bitty began singing again, and this time, he added a couple of head bops as well. Jack joined in if only to make Bitty laugh. He tried to make Bitty laugh as much as possible, even if that meant looking foolish. Jack didn’t care.

They finally turned onto Old Mill Road and pulled into their usual Fourth of July spot behind Anderson’s barn. Each year the Andersons would visit family in Atlanta for the Fourth, so their wide-open field was offered and made available to the Bittles. It was Jack and Bitty who finally took them up on their hospitality.

“Ready to see some fireworks, handsome?” Bitty asked as he turned off the truck.

“Yeah, let's do it.”

Jack took the bug spray out of the glove compartment.

“Look up,” he said as he quickly sprayed Bitty.

“Ugh, in the car? Honestly, Mr. Zimmermann.”

“Shhh! I promised Suzanne.”

Jack sprayed himself, pretending he was applying perfume, and Bitty grinned.

“You’re such a ham, and I am here for it.”

“Come on, Bittle.”

Jack grabbed the cooler, while Bitty pulled out the quilt from the back seat and spread it out on a soft thatch of grass. A nearby cricket chirped loudly.

Jack sat down with a soft, “Oof,” and Bitty nestled in between his legs, resting his back on Jack’s chest.

“This all right? ‘Mnot too heavy, am I?” he asked.

Jack smiled. “Never. What did you bring?"

He nodded toward the small cooler which sat on the grass.

"Some water, two beers, and a couple of cupcakes."

"A feast," Jack replied with a soft smile.

The moonlight shone softly over them as the muffled excitement from the town could be heard. Jack reached over and took Bitty’s hands in his, their fingers immediately interlaced. Jack looked down at how their hands intertwined. So close and tight. So close and tight, you almost couldn’t tell where Jack’s hand began, and Bitty’s ended.