Mountain Laurel

Green. I’ve had a lifelong love affair with plants, and all the shades of green they come in. Plants became especially dear to me when I lived in southern California, and had such a hard time getting them to grow. I wasn’t the only one who wilted down there. Many plants I’d had for decades withered and died. Here in the Pacific Northwest, however, plants of all kinds practically leap out of the ground. In spring and summer, there are so many leaves on the trees by our house that it sounds like it’s raining—even when it isn’t—because the wind makes the millions of leaves rustle together. This sweater started with the back, with a delightful leaf stitch I found that reminds me of my new home. A dear friend suggested that I make the sleeves lace, too, but that I use a different, but coordinating stitch. I knew the perfect one.

Knit in one piece to the armholes. Simple reverse stockinette stitch in front, party in the back. The boxy, loose ¾-length sleeves, also knit from hem up, have their own party happening.

• Yarn: fingering weight; 1075, 1175, 1300, 1375 [1475, 1575, 1725, 1825] yards.
• Model: The Sheepwalk Fiber Arts Studio Merino 600 Fingering in View of the Guadalupe, 43.5-in chest; 600 yards in 170 grams; 100% superwash merino.
• Gauge: 21 sts and 30 rows to 4 inches in stitch pattern.
• Needles: US 5 (3.75 mm).
• Finished size: 34.5, 37.5, 40.5, 43.5 [46.25, 49.25, 53.25, 55.5] inches.
• Stitch instructions: Charted and written.