BIDDEFORD — More than 100 children will be a little warmer this winter, thanks to the work of a local knitting group.

On Monday morning there were hundreds of hand knitted items — enough to completely cover 12 table tops — at the J. Richard Martin Community Center. The items, handcrafted sweaters, child-size hats with matching scarves, soft mittens, were the accumulation of the past year’s efforts of Knitting for Charity, a group that’s part of the Biddeford 50 + Club.

The knitting group meets every Monday to stitch items for children in need. There are about 20 knitters total, including some who knit at home, who contribute their wares to the collection.

The group was started in 2000 by Sister Theresa Couture, a local nun and retired educator. The 86-year-old is not a knitter, but she saw a need in the community, and had the connections and skills to lead the group and see that items are given to those who need them.

“When I was working at the York County Jail, I saw kids come in to visit their parents. Their jackets didn’t fit, they had no mittens, no hats. I said, ‘I have to help,’” Couture said.

The group began with just a couple of knitters, and has steadily grown over the years. Couture reaches out to local schools, day care centers, churches and other organizations to distribute the items in time for winter.

“Everyone is treated equally,” she said. “The (only) criterion is need.”

“It ends up being more than something that makes them feel warm. It makes them feel loved and accepted,” she said.

Couture said she admires the group of knitters, who are not only very skilled but are also very generous.

“They’re not looking to be rewarded,” she said.

Louise Bosse said she’s been part of the knitting group for two years.

“I enjoy it tremendously. I look forward to Mondays,” she said.

Bosse makes a variety of items, including socks, scarves and sweaters, but her signature pieces are her mittens, which have the thumb in the front of the mitten instead of off to the side.

“I can always pick out my own work,” she said.

Bosse said she enjoys being able to help others and she also enjoys the community of knitters who have become her friends. They share patterns and yarn and talk about life, and she joked,  that it has become a sort of therapy group.

The group is accepting yarn donations. Those who have brand new yarn they’d like to donate can call the Biddeford 50 + Club office at 282-5005 for information on how to do so.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 780-9015 or [email protected].