The Knit, Stitch and Crochet Group based at the Merrimack Public Library, 470 Daniel Webster Highway, includes these passionate crafters, foreground from left, Micki Quinn and Joy McCarthy, joined here by other members, seated from left, Janice Burnham, Diane Wolfe, Christine Savinelli and Donna Morris, whose fellow artists include additional members, standing from left, Lisa Gerry, Cindy Baldvins, Sally Shackford, and Jackie McDaniel, plus Janet Angus, Noreen Greenhalgh and Diane Moser. The group meets most Thursdays from 2-4 p.m. in the library's Lowell Room. Always verify meetings. Information: merrimacklibrary.org. Photo by LORETTA JACKSON

NASHUA – Their works of handmade art have warmed the heads, shoulders, tootsies and butts of countless babies, tots, teens and elders but those gifts of love born of thread and ribbon and yarn by those who sew, knit, or crochet also warm the hearts of the makers.

“Quilting encourages creative expression and community giving,” said Shelly Hazard of Nashua’s Purrfect Pastimes Quilting Studio. “The act of quilting is as much a pleasure for the maker as for the receiver.”

Members of local quilt clubs and sewing, knitting and crochet groups wholeheartedly embrace a mission to create items of joy for themselves, for their family, for friends, for veterans or to comfort cancer patients.

Seamstress extraordinaire Jackie Bessette, a Merrimack parishioner and resident of Manchester, recently revealed that since 2014, upon hearing that a friend’s daughter was fighting breast cancer, she has completed on her home sewing machine a total of 1,100 colorful tote bags for new patients at The Elliot Breast Health Center in Manchester.

Charitable endeavors of renown throughout the region include some focused on gifts for veterans. Beautiful handmade or machine-sewn quilts, sometimes composed with fabric of a patriotic theme, are rendered with a red, white and blue motif or other bright designs.

Jackie Bessette of Manchester has designed and sewn more than 1,100 colorful tote bags since 2014 as gifts for newly diagnosed breast cancer patients at The Elliot Breast Cancer Center, a feat heralded in a volunteer spotlight in "Breast Health" magazine as a labor of love that brings her and each recipient an overflow of positivity and compassion. Courtesy photo

See “The Quilts of Valor Foundation” organization which online welcomes participants for such projects. Information: qovf.org.

Similar kindnesses are expressed by crafters through making whimsical blankets gifted to children and teens who are seriously ill or enduring some kind of trauma. The blankets usually are layered with cartoon characters, smiley faces, doggies, kitties and other juvenile excitements.

See “Project Linus,” whose motto is, “Providing Security Through Blankets.” The group welcomes contributions and is documented online as having given more than 10 million blankets to children and teens since 1995. Information: projectlinus.org.

Additional sentiments support the happiness of a crafter’s experience in giving the work of their hearts and hands for the benefit of others.

“Quilting feeds my soul — the creativity, the joy of giving and the sense of accomplishment when you hold the finished work,” added Sherry Tuxbury of Purrfect Pastimes in Nashua.

Purrfect Pastimes Quilting Studio, located in Nashua at 2 O'Neill's Court, within a half mile of Exit 6 West, Route 3, is regionally renowned for the crafting of intricately pieced quilts as displayed here by Purrfect Pastimes Quilting Studio owners Shelly Hazard, left, and Sherry Tuxbury whose cozy cat-friendly emporium is a rustic haven for enthusiasts seeking quilt classes, accessing quality fabrics, purchasing complete make-it kits or obtaining a world of related notions from pins to scissors to downloadable patterns and more, all available at the enclave whose greeting is posted at the door: "If it's open, we're here." Information: purrfectpastimes.com. Photo by LORETTA JACKSON

Dozens of groups specializing in crafting for charity, or just for the fun of it, are available online and may be discovered with a quick Google search.

The Merrimack Senior Citizens Club sewing group includes avid seamstresses, seated from left, Phyllis V. Eakins, Maureen Knight and Sandy Russell, joined here by crafty associates, standing from left, Cate Mamber, Beth Estona, Gail Wehmann and Judy Fisher. Busy elsewhere that day was the talented Barbara McCormick. The ladies gather most Wednesdays, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the John O'Leary Adult Community Center, 4 Church St. Always verify meetings. Information: merrimacknh.gov/senior-citizens-club. Photo by LORETTA JACKSON