Everyone on the cruise is calling it Project Linus, after the Peanuts character who was never without his blanket, but it isn’t.  It’s been a tradition on Holland America World Cruises for cruisers to knit or crochet blankets for hospitalized children through the Seattle based Project Linus.  The project provides handmade blankets for kids up to 18 years old who are seriously ill, traumatized and in need.

This isn’t the World Cruise, but it is a long cruise with many of the folks who are often on the World Cruise are taking this one this year.  Some of our cruise mates have decided to keep the tradition going on this Grand Australia Voyage so they organized online before the cruise.  Their hope was to make 25 blankets for the Ronald McDonald House in San Diego, the port we sailed out of and will sail into.

Suzi is part of the project and brought 16 lbs. of washable acrylic yarn which she used and shared with other knitters and crocheters.  Many of the knitters met at 9 each sea day in the Crows’ Nest to work on the project.  Others, like Suzi, worked on their own time, in Suzi’s case, while listening to lectures.  Suzi needs to keep her hands busy.

Today, on Easter Sunday, the knitters, cruisers plus three crew members displayed the 150 blankets they made for the project.