Seawall Cap and Seawall Mitts are new patterns published on Ravelry about two weeks ago by Mary O'Shea, a local designer who is familiar to our shop. What is so special about the patterns are the inspiration which created them: Seawall in Acadia National Park! We were inspired by Mary's design, thinking they would make perfect springtime accessories. We knit the cap and mitts in JaggerSpun's Heather Sport. This yarn is produced in Maine, making the project all about our love of Maine.
Mary has recently retired from full-time teaching, giving her more time to play with colors. Most of her knitting designs -- and she has many on Ravelry -- evolve from favorite palettes, yarns and color patterns. But the designs she has most fun with are the unintended ones. Her Seawall set (cap and fingerless mitts), are an example. Mary had sourced some yarn she really wanted to try, planning to design and knit her husband a Fair Isle-style vest. He's a public-school teacher, who keeps a window open and a fan blowing during the day to improve ventilation, which often gets him a bit chilled. She decided to knit a good-sized swatch, worked in the round, both to be sure she had accurate numbers and to check how the colors played together in the Fair Isle patterns. One thing led to another, and she ended up with a cap and pair of fingerless mitts that she liked so much that a pattern just had to be written and tested. The vest-to-be is still just a bag full of yarn! And just last week, renowned Scottish knitwear designer Kate Davies gave a shout-out to Mary on her website because of another of Mary's recently published patterns. In that post, Mary goes further in depth about the importance of Maine life in her designs. It is an enjoyable read -- with lovely photographs -- and one that many of us can relate to.