Christmas at Sea

The good folks over at the Christmas at Sea project asked us to help them spread the word about their wonderful - and 120 year old - charitable knitting program. After learning more about this tremendous group of volunteers, we were happy to oblige! 

Since 1898 (yes, EIGHTEEN ninety-eight), Christmas at Sea has provided commercial mariners with handknit hats, scarves, vests, and socks each winter as our way of saying "thank you" for making our lives more comfortable. Indeed, international seafarers and inland river mariners deliver the goods that make our own holiday gift-giving celebrations possible. 






Over 4,000 knitters from around the country contribute their time and talent to make over 19,000 (!) hand-knits each year!  Seafarers and inland river mariners who work on the world's oceans and on the American inland river system sometimes go unnoticed, but their efforts make a big difference in our world. Learn more here. 

And who organizes all of this? Paige Sato! Based in Newark, New Jersey, Paige manages "the best volunteer knitting program in the world!" She enjoys meeting knitters and volunteers all with a common goal of remembering and thanking the seafarers and mariners who make our lives more comfortable.

Aside from Christmas at Sea, she manages a busy household with three Things (two teens and a grade-schooler), a husband, and their various activities.

Join in on the fun! Knit a hat, scarf, vest or socks, and join the thousands of other knitters warming hearts of mariners at Christmastime. Visit them on Facebook or on the Christmas at Sea Blog. 

Be sure to take a look at the project patterns. All the patterns use worsted weight yarn, except for the socks, which calls for either sock or sport weight. When buying yarn, keep in mind that our hats generally require less than 1 skein of 100g (3.5oz) yarn, while scarves take 2 skeins, and vests take 4.



See who else is knitting for CAS here! WHAT! No one from Nevada yet?!? Let's show them what we've got, Beans!! If you want to get involved, we've got just the thing to motivate you. When you buy the yarn from Jimmy Beans Wool (suggested yarns are here) and knit an item- send it to CAS with your JBW receipt and we will put a credit in your account for 20% of the purchase price of the yarn you used. Pretty sweet!

If you have any questions or need more information, contact Christmas at Sea via email: cas@seamenschurch.org or phone: 973-589-5828.

Happy knitting and crocheting! 
Bethany


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