Charity Spotlight

The Seamen's Church Institute of New York and New Jersey is a long-standing knitting charity. Jeanette Devita tells me that the idea of making scarves and sending them to sailors was hatched during the Spanish American War (1898, to be exact).

A woman wanting to help the sailors placed an ad in the New York Herald asking for contributions, knitted and otherwise, to be sent to sailors. The Seamen's Church Institute got into the action around 1900 when it established a ladies' knitting auxiliary.

The Christmas at Sea program officially began during World War II, when about 2,000 volunteer knitters made scarves and other garments for sailors who were away from home.

These days, about 3,500 knitters and crocheters produce scarves, hats, vests, helmet liners and socks, as well as giving other needed items, to those at work on the water over the holiday.

This year the institute has launched a blog, The Knit Before Christmas, to let people know about the program, share news and patterns, and help people keep track of how close the group is getting to its goal of 16,500 knitted items.

Jeanette says the blog will be updated regularly with knitting tips, pattern help and more information, and that in the months leading up to Christmas new patterns will be released, and the institute will be hosting a contest for a new official Christmas at Sea pattern.

These people do great work; check them out and lend your needles if you like.