The Whipstick Knitters are members of  The Gunroom who are knitting hats, scarves, and other warm garments for merchant seamen, to be distributed through The Seamen’s Church Institute’s   Christmas at Sea program.

Why Whipstick? Linda explains:

Whipstick Knitters
Our Motto: “Which it will be ready when it is ready!”

“I hope you all approve of the name; Gunroom Knitters sounded not quite charitable at best and at worst like a worry to Homeland Security. Casting about with Catalina for something both suitably nautical and knitty resulted in Whipstick Knitters. It makes us sound handy with our needles and a whipstick is a vertical steering stick attached to the tiller a deck below. (Watch Desperate Crossings and you’ll see one on the Mayflower II.) It is tempting to go on in this vein, contemplating a logo of crossed double-point needles with a knitted fragment trailing from them over an anchor or summat and knitting bags styled like seabags, but the point is what goes *in* those bags: charity knitting for the Seaman’s Church Institute. [Ed. note: If anyone would like to do this logo, please get in touch via the Comments!]

A ROUGH COURSE
I propose we plan to upend our seabags for muster and shake out our finished projects on Columbus Day (keeping the nautical connection) and mail them to a central point. This way, we each have to mail only one package and we can make one larger group donation to the charity.”

We later decided that we will set a goal of 21 knitted items, as Patrick O’Brian wrote 21 books in the Aubrey/Maturin Canon. Should we quickly meet this goal, we could do further volleys, as it were.  With a “firepower” of 21 items per volley, we are a force to be reckoned with!  You are welcome to join us, just drop a note via the Comments or the Gunroom.

More on the whipstick, with photos and explanation kindly provided by Linda:

The Mayflower II is conned from the main deck with orders shouted down through a hatch (first photo, above) to the helmsman at the whipstick (right) a deck below.  Here he also has a compass (not pictured) and traverse board (left), plus he’s afforded a view of the sails through the hatch.  Moving the stick moves the tiller, a deck beneath (photo below), which in turn moves the rudder. These photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Knittingwise, here’s what we’ve been up to so far (new items will be added to the top as they are photographed):

2008 –  Year Two of the Whipstick Knitters

June 16, 2008

Astrid finished a Marsan Watchcap, and the Temptation Melon finds it cozy.

May 23, 2008

Astrid finished the Lucky 7 Hat, and Nyarlethotep found it just the thing to wear on a chilly Arkham night.

March 28, 2008

The SCI had a spring hat drive, Knit 4 Lent, with the goal of collecting 4000 hats knitted during the 40 days of Lent. The Whipstickers stepped up to plate and made 26 hats, here kept in line by Rhodri, the Welsh Mountain sheep.  Katherine delivered them, and saw tables filled with hats in the sorting room, as well as boxes still to be unpacked.  Here’s hoping they made their goal!

February 19, 2008

Linda is first past the post this year, at least as far as pictures go.  I hear rumors about hats, but pictures are the proof of the pudding.  Linda ran out of yarn and brainstormed with the other Whipstickers for solutions, finally going with the most labor intensive, which involved ripping out work on one end and reknitting it in red yarn, so it would match the other end. It  makes for a very dashing effect.  And is that a deck prism in the middle of that elegant display?

October 15, 2007 — The SCI Takes Delivery

Catalina and one of the Gunroom stalwarts, Hugh, delivered our hats and scarves to the SCI. Hugh is holding up a copy of  HMS Surprise, the book that got all this started, being the first of the Aubrey/Maturin series that brought us all together. Did all those things come out of that wee white seabag?

Notice Catalina’s hands.  Could she be  . . .? . . .why yes, she is knitting up the very last scarf, having discovered a dropped stitch in one of them the day before that required ripping back eight inches.  Also notice her sweater, which I’ll bet she knitted, too.

Here’s the yarn room at the SCI, with Jeanette, the director of the knitting program on the left, and a volunteer on the right, getting ready to open the day’s packages of donations.  This is their busy time, as warm knitted items pour in from around the country to be packaged into bundles that are distributed in December.  There are bins of yarn on the right, which the SCI will send to knitters for a modest fee.  Beyond that are bins stuffed with knitted goodness, part of this year’s donations.  The SCI’s goal for  2007 is 16,000 items, of which they’ve received about 46% — but things will come in thick and fast now.

October 14, 2007 — Final Muster for the Year

Catalina is  gathering our knitted  items  to take them over to the SCI tomorrow.  Here’s the haul, guarded by her watch-sheep,  Cyril (left) and Dorian:

We have a total of 44 items!  That’s two volleys of  21 each with 2 leftover.  Great job, Whipstickers! 

May 22, 2007

Oh, we’ve been busy, just not blogging.

Linda was concerned about the colors of this Watchcap, but not only can real men wear bright colors,  there are merchant seawomen as well.

Astrid finished this Seamen’s Scarf, and the tree is grateful.

We have now completed a total of 30 items, with another 6 on the needles.  We’ve also pressed  found three new recruits, Betsy, Shoshona, and Katherine.  Welcome!

March 22, 2007

Linda finished a Watch Cap, although she says, “It was a near run thing. It shredded the tip of one of my bamboo needles and sent the shards into my fingers three times in an attempt to fight me off. That’s right, it bit me! But I got revenge, as the photo shows.”

March 18, 2007

Astrid has completed her first Watch Cap. The ruffed lemur thought it was a good place for a nap.

March 8, 2007 

Catalina has been busy indeed! It looks to me like 6 Watchcaps, 1 Balaclava, and a Seafarer’s Scarf. 

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March 7, 2007

Catalina has been spending so much time knitting that she hasn’t had time to send a photograph.

Augusta, who also answers to Gus, although she is every inch a lady, is wearing the Seafarer’s Scarf that Lois knitted. Yes, Gus, you can have your bone now.

Linda’s son is modeling the Knitted Helmet, which, in our history geek way, some of us call a Balaclava.

Now Linda’s son looks every inch the well-turned out Ship’s Boy in the Watch Cap.

Astrid made the Mariner’s Scarf, and her rowboat couldn’t be happier. Little does the boat know that the scarf will be given away.