The Seamen’s Church Institute (SCI) and its “Christmas at Sea” and “Christmas on the River” programs have been helping tomake a family holiday warm for those away from home atChristmastime. Each year, SCI delivers Christmas gifts to an often unrecognized workforce in the global economy, theworld’s mariners. The centerpiece of the Christmas pack-age includes a handknitted cap and scarf. These gifts are, like the mariners SCI serves, from various locations, knitted by volunteers, and collected at SCI Headquarters in New York City.

Along with a personal letter, the gift packages also contain other useful items for the mariner – things like shoelaces, fingernail clippers, and sewing kits. In the past, SCI purchased these items to supplement the donated hand-knitted items. Program DirectorJeanette DeVita is making a new appeal to non-knitters this year who may want to contribute to the Christmas gift program … or to those who may want to do a little extra.

In consultation with chaplains and the mariners whom they serve, SCI has produced a list of items that can be donated to be included in the Christmas gift boxes this year. The list includes hand lotion, lip balm, books, playing cards and word games in new, unused condition. For a full list of the items with important specifications, please visit the SCI website http://www.seamenschurch.org/726.asp. Program Director DeVita encourages

people to circulate the list, whichincludes some information aboutSCI’s mission to mariners and theneed for volunteers and support.

In 2007, Christmas at Sea distributed over 17,000 gifts tomariners, whether they traveledacross the world’s oceans or alongthe rivers of our nation. With your help, SCI plans to increase its outreach to hard-working menand women who are away from family during the holidays.

To ship items or get more information, contact JeanetteDeVita, Program Director, at cas@seamenschurch.org.

Founded in 1834, The

Institute is a voluntary,

ecumenical agency

affiliated with the

Episcopal Church that

provides pastoral care,

maritime education, and

legal and advocacy

services for mariners.

FALL 2008 VOLUME 2/NUMBER 2

The newsletter of The

Seamen’s Church Institute

Christmas at Sea Program

In this Issue

Knitting for Christmas At Sea... At Sea 2

NY Fashion Show 3

Letter from DirectorDeVita 4

The Seamen’s Church Institute www.seamenschurch.org

Christmas Room InventoryWe’re doing great in our 2008 collection, but we need to receive many more items to reachour goal. We especially need mariners’ scarvesand helmets. If you would like additional copiesof these patterns, please visit:www.seamenschurch.org/484.asp

Helmets: 105Mariners’ Caps: 2,273 (collected during Knit 4 Lent)

Mariners’ Scarves: 1424Seafarers’ Caps: 2,630Seafarers’ Scarves: 2,630Slippers: 86Socks: 165Vests: 302

A New Way to Give for Christmas: SCI’s Christmas Gift DriveHaving collected Christmas gifts for mariners for 110 years,

Bettie Rile of Ridgewood, NJ, seems to attract knitters wherever she goes.Coordinator of a popular Christmas at Sea (CAS) knitting group based out of her parish church, Christ Church Ridgewood, Bettie’s charisma draws around40 members from all over her community to participate in the project ofknitting scarves and hats for mariners around the world through TheSeamen’s Church Institute’s (SCI) knitting program.

Recently, Bettie took to the sea herself. She and her husband, Howell,embarked on a 102-day cruise around the world aboard a Princess cruise ship.Bettie knew that she would have some spare time and therefore took someknitting. “I went prepared with only enough to knit for myself,” says Bettie.“But I soon had to try to find some more needles.” The reason Bettie begansleuthing for knitting equipment is because she unwittingly had started asatellite branch of her own CAS knitting group on the cruise ship.

Through the ship’s daily newsletter, Bettie was able to connect with othersonboard who were interested in knitting, needlepoint, and cross-stitch. Sheshowed up at the initial meeting to find a group of about six. The group soongrew in numbers, however. As word got out of the gathering, “kindred spiritsof talented people from all over the world began to come. In fact, we had topick up extra yarn in Sydney and in China to accommodate everyone” Bettiesays. By the end of the cruise, the group had grown to 20 people strong!

Much of the reason for the growth in group size is no doubt due in part to Bettie’s own personality. She told SCI that she is constantly recruitingknitters for Christmas at Sea. “One time I went to vote,” she recalls, “and a saw woman knitting who looked like she was having trouble.” Bettie satdown and helped her fix the problem with her needles and yarn. In theprocess, Bettie garnered yet another volunteer for SCI’s Christmas at Seaknitting program.

Bettie’s tutelage similarly kindled the needle skills of those onboard thePrincess cruise ship. As they worked together, Bettie shared with them thework of The Seamen’s Church Institute. She explained that she was knittinggifts for mariners – handknitted items that one day might even find their way to the crew of a ship like the Princess.“It is not impossible to imagine,” Bettiesaid. “The captain of the ship told methat, early on in his career, he hadreceived a gift from The Seamen’sChurch Institute atChristmastime.” Bettie addedenthusiastically that, “ThePrincess crew was thrilled oncethey learned about what we were doing.” Bettie hopes thatthe group she helped form willstay in touch and stay interested in participating with SCI’s Christmas at Sea program.

2 • The Seamen’s Church Institute The Knit Before Christmas Fall 2008

Christmas At SeaJeanette DeVita Program Director212-349-9090cas@seamenschurch.orghttp://blogs.seamenschurch.org

Fall 2008, Published by The Seamen’s Church Institute of New York & New Jersey241 Water StreetNew York, NY 10038www.seamenschurch.orgThe Rev. David M. RiderExecutive Director

Design & Production by J F Arnold Group

Need...Patterns?

Yarn?

Ready to mail?

at Sea

GiftDrive

Christmas

Like good stewards of the manifold

grace of God, serve one anotherwith whatever gift each of you has received.

Knitting for Christmas at Sea...

The Seamen’s Church Institute The Knit Before Christmas Fall 2008 • 3

New York: America’s Fashion Capital

Host to Christmas at Sea’s July Fashion ShowChristmas at SeaHonor RollPlease join our Honor Roll of knit-ters and crocheters by becominga financial supporter of TheSeamen’s Church Institute.

You can make a contribution in a number of ways:1. Mail a check using the remit-

tance envelope included withthis newsletter

2. Call SCI with a credit carddonation

3. Visit the website: www.seamenschurch.organd click “Donate to SCI”

This winter, SCI will recognizeknitters who generously helpsupport the mission of TheSeamen’s Church Institute in theChristmas at Sea Honor Roll,which will be published alongwith the next issue of The KnitBefore Christmas.

Please identify yourself as a knitter when you make your contribution to be sure that you are included on this Honor Roll.

“Make it work!” That’s one of the catchphrases added to water-cooler banter of viewers of the Bravo channel’s hit show,Project Runway. The often-repeated admoni-tion of the the show’s host, Tim Gunn,reveals that in the world of crafting garmentsfor the runway, one has to do whatever ittakes to make the final product interestingand well-crafted.

Knitters know all about making things work.From fixing a dropped stitch mid-project tofinding creative uses of leftover scraps fromprevious ventures, knitters create fashionevery time they meld theirneedles with their creativeforces. SCI’s Christmas at Seaprogram is the beneficiary ofsome of these superbly crafted,imaginative items of knitting.

This July, attendees at a Christmas at Seagathering in New York had an opportunity tosee first hand some of these fashions modeledon a makeshift runway at SCI Headquarters.Items showcased represented some extremesof knitting submitted to The Institute – knit-ters who had taken risks, producing “innova-tive” garments with their knitting needles. As a matter of taste, of course, different itemsappealed to different people. Fashion com-mentators made their voices heard. “Does thisitem represent a new direction for knitting?”

During the fashion show, Jeanette DeVita,SCI’s Director of the Christmas at Sea

knitting program, shared with the style-passionate crowd an explanation of thedesigns selected for this year’s fashion show.The commentary about the runway fashionsrevealed exactly what she looks for in submissions: what is hot and what is not for Christmas at Sea.

“This show gave us the chance to showcasesome interesting trends in knitting,” saysJeanette. “Our knitters are some of the bestand generous with their donated crafts. We’recontinually giving away exceptional, gorgeousitems of real artistry to mariners working on

the world’s oceans and rivers.This fashion show gave us a chance to remember thatand have a good time.”

Jeanette urges knitters fromaround the world to continuecreating these talented

stitches. Who knows? Maybe your finely-crafted objets d’art will be the next award-winning top design and appear on the runway of America’s premier volunteer knitting project, Christmas at Sea!

Are you on Ravelry? New to Ravelry?Come register and join us: www.ravelry.com

Come visit the Director of SCI's Christmas at Seaknitting program, Jeanette DeVita. Look for herusername: devittles

Come visit the Christmas at Sea Group: http://www.ravelry.com/groups/christmas-at-sea

Knitting TipIn her Knitter’s Almanac,Elizabeth Zimmermann remindsknitters to reward themselves,celebrating small victories intheir knitting projects. Elizabethsays that she enjoys work whenit is fun and she can easily seeher progress. “When I have along plain piece of knittingahead, I put a safety pin at each day’s beginning to showme how I’m coming along.”

Elizabeth ZimmermannKnitter’s Almanac

Christmas at Sea241 Water StreetNew York, NY 10038

I hope this newsletter finds you happy and healthy after a restful and productive summer. I spent the summer doing a bit of traveling –mainly to the world of knitting and crocheting. No surprise, right?

My travels began in St. Louis this spring where I visited a knittinggroup that has been contributing to Christmas at Sea since the 1990s.Theresa, coordinator of the Laclede Oaks knitting group, invited me

for a visit. I had a chance to meet a group of wonderful knitters and crocheters and answered theirquestions about the world of seafarers and how knitted items are put to good use.

In July, my travels took me to Wisconsin to attend a knitting retreat, where I learned some newtechniques practiced around the globe: Fair Isle, Armenian knitting, Japanese three-needle bind off, Norwegian purl, and the German twisted cast on. Spending time with this diverse group ofknitters was very inspiring – so much so that I have been knitting more… and better than ever.(This came in very handy during the Ravelympics – a Ravelry-based knitting/crocheting tournamentcoinciding with the Olympics. I knitted a pair of seafarer’s socks for “Team Christmas at Sea.”)

While in Wisconsin, I was able to meet with the Reverend Martha Berger, Interim Rector of St. Luke’s, Racine, and my co-coordinator of Knit 4 Lent (which is the CAS mid-year challenge to knit 4000 hats in 40 days). Martha and I worked hard to make the project a success. St. Luke’swill participate in SCI’s Christmas Gift Drive this year, as well as continue to knit for us. I urge all of you to help with this project.

Christmas at Sea and Sit’n’Knit New York City will co-host a monthly knitting night inSCI’s Christmas Room on the third Wednesday of every month beginning in October. Please contact me if you would like to attend. You can learn more about Sit’n’Knit at:http://knitting.meetup.com/463/.

The Christmas Room at our New York headquarters is filled with handknitted and crocheted items. If you are in New York, please stop by for a visit; if you are outside ofNew York and would like me to visit your group or parish, please let me know. Whether I travel for diocesan conventions or personal reasons, I always have my knitting bag andlove spending time with the Christmas at Sea volunteers.

Our 2008 deadline is quickly approaching. Please submit all handknitted and crocheted items by October 15. As always, I thank you for your support. Your helpwill enable The Seamen’s Church Institute to connect more than 17,000 mariners with our world of knitting and crocheting this Christmas.

Very sincerely yours,

Dear CAS knitting friends, 2008-2009 Important Dates for Christmas at Sea October 15, 2008 Please have all your knitting and other collected items in by this date.New York, NY

October 18, 2008Packing BeginsNew York, NY

November 1, 2008 Deep Sea Christmas gift distribution beginsPort Newark, NJ

January 6, 2009 Gift distribution endsPort Newark, NJ and various locations on the rivers

January 2009 Knitters’ Honor Roll and Newsletter released

July 2009Christmas in July eventNew York, NY

Celebrate our 175-year heritage bybecoming a part of our next 175!Consider a planned gift The Seamen’s Church Institute will soon celebrate a significant birthday.

One way you can craft your own legacy and becomepart of SCI’s future is by making a planned gift andincluding SCI in your will.

We will work together to ensure that service to seafarers and inland river mariners continues wellinto our next century.

Have you already provided for SCI in your estateplans? Please tell us. If not, let us show you how.

Please contact John McGrath, Senior DevelopmentOfficer, at The Seamen’s Church Institute at 212-349-8064 or jmcgrath@seamenschurch.org.

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