In order to encourage more community members to join, the Stitches Craft Group, which was formed at Moving Communities to Christ (MCC) Church, is now meeting at the Village Library of Morgantown.

The group, which gathers at the library on the fourth Saturday of the month from 9 a.m. to noon, is free and open to people of all ages who knit or crochet or who want to learn. All supplies are included, or sewers may bring in their own projects.

The next meeting of the Stitches Craft Group will be on Saturday, Jan. 28. Snacks are provided each month, and each meeting begins with a Christian devotional reading from the book "Knit, Purl, Pray."

According to Kara Campbell, who is a group leader along with Brenda Pearsall, the Stitches Craft Group began at MCC in February 2017. The group moved its meetings to the library in October 2022.

"Brenda goes to the library and (noticed) that they have a (community) room," Campbell explained. "So we went in and spoke with Maria (Long, library director), about it. (We shared) what our goals were and how we wanted to reach out to the community outside of the church and get other people involved and that is how (it came about)."

When the craft group began at MCC, one of its goals was to provide articles of clothing for people in need. "We had two goals. The first goal was to create handmade items such as scarfs and hats for the community - to create and donate." Campbell said. "The other goal for the group was to bring people in - anyone new coming to the church or from outside the church."

After its formation, the group completed several projects. It donated handmade items to Anchored Ministries of Elverson, which maintains a collection bin at MCC. "We also made washcloths out of cotton and put a bar or bottle of soap with them and (a message from) Scripture for (clients of) the Twin Valley Food Pantry, and we made lap blankets for Sunny Crest Home," Campbell noted. "We try to stay local."

At the library, group members are working on various projects. "We are trying to expand it to other crafts. There are some people who bring in their looms," said Campbell. "(People who sew) can bring in their sewing projects or their hand-stitched projects."

She emphasized that no sewing experience is necessary to join the group. "Our whole goal is to not have people see our group and think they can't (attend) if they can't crochet or knit," said Campbell. "I teach (people) to crochet, and there are knitters there (to teach)."

She added that new members have joined the group since it moved from MCC. "We made a couple of friends already by having Stitches in the library," Campbell shared. "A woman from the neighborhood came with her little girl. She frequents the library and is now learning to crochet."

The Village Library is located at 207 N. Walnut St., Morgantown. For more information about the craft group, email kara.campbell48@gmail.com.