RUMFORD — Sue Bartash, one of the charter members of the Rumford Hospital Caring Stitchers, has knit and crocheted more than 100 Comfort Covers – out of an estimated 350 that have been given to hospital patients.

Spurred by Charlene Cooper and Joette Carlton, a small group of hospital employees, including Bartash, began to gather about a year ago to knit and crochet lap robes to give to inpatients. Patients are encouraged to take their lap robes home with them, and many have brought theirs back when they made return visits to the hospital.

Caring Stitchers has grown to include people from the community, and quilters and sewers of fleece robes, in addition to the original yarn crafters. The stitchers have geared their efforts around holidays, crafting red and green covers for Christmas and red and white for Valentine’s Day. Now they are using spring colors for the upcoming months and plan to celebrate Memorial Day and the Fourth of July with red, white and blue.

The current group of crafters can’t keep up with the demand, especially when the hospital experiences high census over a period of time.

“We need more stitchers and quilters, whether they want to join us in our group sessions or work at home,” said Cooper. “And donations of yarn are appreciated, too, as many of our knitters could do more if they had the materials.”

Call Cooper at 369-1038 for more information about the Caring Stitchers and how to donate to the program.