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Founded in 1834,
SCI is a voluntary,
ecumenical agency
af�liated with the
Episcopal Church that
provides pastoral care,
maritime education, and
legal advocacy services
for mariners.
Founded in 1834,
SCI is a voluntary,
ecumenical agency
af�liated with the
Episcopal Church that
provides pastoral care,
maritime education, and
legal advocacy services
for mariners.
The newsletter of the
Seamen’s Church Institute’s
Christmas at Sea Program
In this Issue
Summer 2015 VOLume 9 / NumBer 1
Just as every stitch from every knitter contributes to mariners’ warmth during the winter months, every dollar you give to SCI upholds the valuable services we provide and on which the entire maritime community depends.
The Seamen’s Church Institute
One Enormous Knitting Group
Do you belong to a knitting group? Maybe you meet up with a few stitchers in a local café, community center or church hall. Lots of knitters and crocheters like to share their
passion with like-minded folks, gathering together for inspiration and encouragement.
Websites like Stitch ’N Bitch list thousands of knitting groups all around the world. As the name implies, folks do more than simply sit in the same room and knit quietly at these meetings. They share stories and experiences—and not all about yarn.
Chances are in your knitting group everyone sits around a table (or maybe a few tables). But imagine if each of you sat separately, isolated from the others—everyone at his or her own individual desk—and didn’t converse. One might ask why you’d bothered in the first place!
Meetings don’t always have to involve a lot of talking, but knitters and crocheters come together for a reason: to connect and commune with others. And it’s not just knitters—other folks meet up for mutual interests, too. At book clubs, quilting circles, mahjong and gardening clubs (just to name a few), folks spend time getting to know each other, and (as it so often turns out) they discover how much they have in common—more than just what brought them together in the first place.
Things work better when we put our heads together, when we share our experiences, our celebrations and our struggles. When we come to sit at the same table (whether at a knitting group or some other group) we unite our lives with the lives of other people.
You might think of our planet as a kind of shared table. We all share the earth’s resources, depend on the work of others and rely on the men and women of maritime commerce to distribute those resources. Mariners work on ships bringing electronics and clothing manufactured in other countries; they transport coal, grain and oil; and they may even have delivered some of the yarn used in your knitting or crocheting projects.
Making handmade garments for mariners and giving financially to the Seamen’s Church Institute (SCI) means that you don’t just receive at the world’s table, but you contribute to it also. You share your time and talent creating hats and scarves (and vests and socks and cowls) that support and cheer others. You say to mariners,
“Thanks for all that you do.”
You belong to an extraordinary knitting group called Christmas at Sea. Although we may not all sit in the same room, we do sit at the same proverbial table in this world. At it, we meet together as stitchers. We learn from each other and touch the lives of mariners around the world.
In legend and in real life, mariners spin yarns, telling tales of their travels, reminiscing and sharing with others. As for knitters and crocheters … well, they use yarns effectively, too. Christmas at Sea stitchers’ yarns connect the world, making it a little warmer—one stitch at a time.
Please consider making afinancial contribution today. »
Dear Friends 2
The Block Island Hat 3–4
Kudos to You! 5
Wrapping up 2014 5
#WATCHthisCAP 5
Thank Yous from mariners 6
Dear Friends,I’ve always liked round tables. The affinity may stem from my love of the book The Sword and the Stone or memories of the family table in my kitchen growing up, but I think it actually comes from remembering my mother’s often-quoted motto: “There’s always room at a round table.”
She’s right. (Of course she is—she’s a mom!) A round table has opportunity. At it, you can always make space to squish in one more person.
Why do we do that? Why would we rather add an extra chair to the table instead of setting up another one—even if another table might afford people more space? I think it’s because we want our friends to sit together. We want everyone to take part, to share in what’s going on. All who pull up a chair bring something extra, different, new … and that makes it all richer.
At this point, Christmas at Sea may seem like the “odd duck” in the business of maritime commerce—a world of steel, machinery, vessels and cranes. Knitters’ work may feel far removed from the isolated, backbreaking and dangerous work of mariners. In the maritime industry, where does something like Christmas at Sea sit at the table? Is there room?
In short: yes. As you can see from the myriad thank you notes shared in this newsletter, mariners welcome Christmas at Sea as a part of their industry. We stitchers bring something human, soft and (one might even say) luxurious to the table—things in short supply on the water. We show concern and admiration for an often-overlooked workforce, and mariners really respect and appreciate our talents, too.
That respect and appreciation has grown beyond the boundaries of the maritime industry, and our new partnership with North Light Fibers speaks to that. This wonderful cause-related marketing venture happened because Sven and Laura Risom and Karyn Logan wanted to spread the news of our important work to a bigger audience. These kits (see the two-page spread about the project in this newsletter) will bring new knitters into our fold and—because a portion of the proceeds comes to SCI—will directly benefit the mariners we serve.
Every day, we’re pulling up more and more chairs to the table we share with mariners. Good thing the world’s round!
Glad to be at the table with you,
Paige
The Knit Before Christmas Summer 2015 • 2 seamenschurch.org
Come visit the Christmas at Sea knitting room in SCI’s Port Newark International Seafarers’ Center. Email [email protected] to find out how.
Need help? Turn to your knitting friends for sup-port. Check out Christmas at Sea’s Facebook page to meet new ones.
Looking for a PDF of this newsletter that you can read on your iPad or email to a friend?
Got Tags?Hey, why not let the mariner who gets your knit know who made it? We’ve got tags for that—one for the 1898 Hat and a beautiful “A Gift for You” tag for everything else. Both tags include space for your name and a short message. To get them, call +1 973-589-5828 or email [email protected] with your mailing address.
Th e Block Island Hat
Need…
Patterns?
Yarn?
Ready to mail?
Christmas at Sea118 Export StreetPort Newark, NJ 07114Paige Sato, Program [email protected]
Summer 2015Published by the Seamen’s Church Institute
seamenschurch.org
The Rev. David M. RiderPresident & Executive Director
Editor, Oliver Brewer-LennonDesign & Production by BlissDesignThis newsletter is printed on recycled paper.
The Knit Before Christmas Summer 2015 • 3 seamenschurch.org
Th e Block Island HatMariners work around-the-clock in all kinds of weather to deliver the goods and products that make modern life possible. But global commerce doesn’t stop for lousy weather. That’s why no one knows the importance of staying warm and dry like a mariner.
SCI has teamed up with North Light Fibers and knitwear designer Deborah Newton to offer a hat pattern inspired by seafarers and Rhode Island’s historic Block Island.
This seafaring Block Island Hat looks and feels great, but you don’t have to work on the ocean to appreciate it. It keeps heads warm and dry on both water and land. A textured gansey pattern sets it apart from the ordinary watchcap and enriches it with a bit of maritime history. To make it even more special, North Light Fibers created Ocean Avenue, a sumptuous new 100% fine Merino yarn in maritime colors, especially for this project.
A Partnership for Knitters and the OceanAs part of her job for SCI, Program Manager Paige Sato travels to several knitting retail and trade shows throughout the country, telling folks about Christmas at Sea. Last year, Paige manned a booth at Stitches East in Hartford, CT, where she met Sven Risom and Laura Risom from North Light Fibers. They struck up a conversation about how North Light Fibers could team up with Christmas at Sea for a project. Within a few months, things began to take shape.
How Yarn is MadeWhat makes Ocean Avenue, the yarn made by North Light Fibers for this project, so special? They didn’t simply slap a Christmas at Sea label onto a skein of yarn. Instead, Laura Risom and Karyn Logan, the designers at Block Island’s Micro Yarn MillTM, designed and produced a yarn from the ground up—specifically for this collaboration with SCI. In April, Paige visited North Light Fibers on Block Island to see the process of making this yarn firsthand.
1. FleeceYarn starts from the animal fleece (alpaca, camel, or in our case, Merino sheep). Merino sheep are not raised on Block Island, so our American-sourced Merino fleece has to come in on the ferry—just like people!
2. WashingThe folks at North Light Fibers wash and prepare the fleece for processing. Detergent “de-greases” the fiber and
also cleans out any remaining vegetation (grass, sticks, etc.).
3. DyingNorth Light Fibers worked with SCI to develop four colors (maritime blue, red, orange and green), sampled from actual vessels, machinery and containers in the port. In testing, Laura and Karyn experimented with several different dye mixtures to get just the right shade and hue.
4. PickingLaura and Karyn send the cleaned fleece through a picker machine that opens up the fibers and blows the now-fluffy wool into a room. It almost looks like those old game shows when a person would stand in a booth and money would blow around.
5. CardingKaryn and Laura now start carding the picked wool. This involves a process like brushing hair, aligning all of
The Knit Before Christmas Summer 2015 • 4 seamenschurch.org
the fibers in a “worsted” process. The final step in this process is called roving, dividing the webs of wool into small strips in preparation for spinning.
6. SpinningThe roving that comes off the carding machine has no twist. That’s the job of the spinners. They twist the yarn into one-ply strands onto bobbins.
7. PlyerThe folks at North
Light Fibers then twist together the single plies of spun yarn to create the final yarn. Ocean Avenue yarn is three-ply.
8. SkeiningWhen plied yarn fills up the bobbin, machines wind the yarn into a skein (or hank). Karyn and Laura then label the yarn and send it out to stores.
About the PatternThe Block Island Hat incorporates gansey stitch work (a technique usually seen in sweaters) into a hat. Ganseys are tough-wearing, tightly-knit sweaters worn by fishermen in the UK and Scandinavia. The stitch patterns often incorporate symbols of the sea.
Designer Deborah Newton laid out five gansey elements (Diamond, Back cable, Ladder, Front cable and Diagonal) with one repeat to create a snug-fitting hat with plenty of stretch to accommodate most head sizes. Deborah has cleverly
worked the decreases in the crown into the stitch patterns, making a smooth transition that allows the gansey elements to continue to the very tip of the hat’s top.
The team at North Light Fibers initially created three different weights of yarn (a light worsted, worsted and heavy worsted), which Deborah swatched to determine the best weight that would highlight the stitchwork and make a warm and durable hat.
How to Get OneKits (a project ditty bag containing 1 skein of Ocean Avenue yarn and the pattern) are available through Christmas at Sea for a suggested donation of $75. Knitters can obtain the patterns for a suggested donation of $25.
On the donation form (see the enclosed envelope), indicate your color preference (blue, red, green or orange).
The Knit Before Christmas Summer 2015 • 5 seamenschurch.org
Kudos to You!
A lot of Christmas at Sea knitters and crocheters keep a running count of the projects they make
for mariners. Often we open a box and find a note indicating something like: “This is my 20th hat for Christmas at Sea in 2015 and the 137th in total since I started knitting for you!”
If you haven’t kept count, don’t worry. We know just how many handknits you’ve sent in each year. We keep track of all of the packages that come into the knitting room, and the numbers are absolutely astonishing. (See the stats from 2014 we’ve published below.) Now, we want to sing your praises and honor your individual accomplishments with CAS Merit Medallions.
CAS Merit Medallions mark out milestones of knitters’ and crocheters’ handiwork. Available both electronically (for use as an avatar on Ravelry, Facebook or other form of social media) and as a physical sticker, Christmas at Sea sends them out throughout the year, as knitters
and crocheters reach different goals. Stitchers earn CAS Merit Medallions after their first, fifth, 10th, 25th, 50th and 100th project. (If you knit or crochet more than that, maybe we’ll see about getting you some kind of Olympic
medal. You must have hands of gold!)
Stitchers will receive their CAS Merit Medallions
in the mail with their gift acknowledgement. If you’d like to receive yours electronically as well, send us your
email address with your gift or write a note to
This winter, SCI launches the third year of its #WATCHthisCAP campaign. SCI asks knitters to help increase awareness of mariners’ contributions
by making—and hiding in plain sight—mini mariners’ watchcaps. The hats draw attention to the fact that mariners, whose work is often hidden in plain sight, deliver more than 90% of all imported goods. (Read more at http://seamenschurch.org/WATCHthisCAP.) Basically, the drill goes like this: Knit a tiny hat, attach the tag, and leave it in a public place where others can easily find it between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. Make sure to take a picture of your hat and share it on social media with the hashtag #WATCHthisCAP. Need the pattern and extra tags? Email [email protected] or call +1 973-589-5828.
Wrapping Up 2014What a year for Christmas at Sea! Knitters
and crocheters sent in over 20,000 handmade garments during 2014. Given
the short timeframe between Thanksgiving and the New Year, our volunteer packers in Port Newark, the Bay Area of California and along the many, many miles of the inland river system had their work cut out for them. But look what they managed to pack and what SCI delivered thanks to everyone’s generosity and impressive effort:
Knits distributed in the Port of New York & New Jersey:
7,500
Knits distributed in the Bay Area:
4,692
Knits distributed along the inland
rivers & Gulf:
8,698
Thanksgiving – New Year’s Day
A New(sletter) Schedule
You may have noticed a change. Starting with
this issue, Christmas at Sea will publish The Knit Before Christmas in January and June.
Game NightSometimes mariners express feelings of loneliness—even when surrounded by the company of so many others on board. We wondered if we might give these crewmembers something to gather round—something to inspire a little “bonding”—by bringing back Game Night. With each vessel’s gift bag this
year, Christmas at Sea wants to include board and/or card games. They’ve brought together thousands of families ashore; maybe they can help with those at sea, too. If you’d like to help in this effort, purchase from our Amazon Wish List at http://smschur.ch/cas-wish-list.
SCI The Seamen’s Church Institute118 Export StreetPort Newark, NJ 07114
seamenschurch.org
NONPROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE
PAIDPERMIT #99
NEW HAVEN, CT
C H R I S T M A S A T S E A
The Knit Before Christmas Summer 2015 • 6 seamenschurch.org
Thank Yous from MarinersI would just like to take a moment of your time to thank you and all the volunteers who give their time to the Seamen’s Church to make the lives of us at sea much more pleasant.
During the Christmas season when away from our loved ones, the support and the gifts that you provide makes us all feel extra special and really brings the spiritual importance to the day of Christmas that we celebrate.
Thank you so much from myself and entire crew. God bless you, all the volunteers and the Seamen’s Church.
— John E. Edvardsen, Captain ATB Bluefin, Kirby Offshore Marine
Thank you very much for the Christmas box. It means a lot out here on the Boat.
Hand-signed by eight crewmembers aboard the M/V Timothy Allen
To The Seamen’s Church Institute,
From the crew of the tugboat Franklin Reinauer, a warm, heartfelt thank you for the handmade gifts and Christmas and holiday season’s greetings.
We appreciate the effort put forth by everyone at the Seamen’s Church and all the volunteers around the nation to provide a nice treat for all of the sailors this holiday season.
Once again on behalf of all our fellow shipmates, we thank you for your continued effort and show of support for what we do.
Best Wishes, Crew of the tugboat Franklin Reinauer
Good morning.
Hope you had wonderful Christmas time with Family and Friends. Myself and the entire crew would like to thank you and those who provided little presents for us. Of course much more important is that people ashore still care for seaman and not only during holiday seasons. Anyway, crew enjoyed the gifts and especially winter hats as we have visited Nakhodka in Russia for bunkering with
subzero temperatures and occasional blizzards :o)
Many thanks once again. Happy and Prosperous New Year 2015!!!
Best regards, Capt. P. Paniec HATSU COURAGE / DDZG2
I would like to extend a belated, but very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you! We were at sea and I couldn’t send this earlier.
Our crew received your wonderful gifts this Christmas, and we’d like to tell you that they were deeply appreciated. We know there is a great deal of effort, kindness and goodwill putting these packages together. And while being at sea prevented us from being at home with our loved ones to share this holiday season with, your thoughtfulness and generosity helped make us feel the true Christmas spirit despite being away. Thank you for that and thank you for all that you do for all of us mariners.
Best Regards, Capt. JP Brennan and crew of the Maersk Hartford
