More than 1,500 From the Heart volunteers knit and crochet blankets, scarves, hats, toys and other items each year for patients in hospitals, the homeless, and others in need. The nonprofit organization was founded by Lois Moore (third from the right on the couch). Tricia Ennis, pictured to the left of Moore, is the organization’s president. Photo by Catherine Brown

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Some years ago, after having foot surgery and teaching herself to knit, Lois Moore spent time knitting, recuperating and volunteering in the library at what was then MCV hospital.

She soon found herself teaching knitting to a group of patients who were bused in for chemotherapy and other treatments and needed something to do while they waited for their return ride home.

Eventually, Moore got busy with a new grandchild and outdoor activities, and spent less time in the library. “One day, I came home to a phone blinking with messages from people who still wanted to knit with me,” said Moore. “That was the kickstart.”

So, in the spring of 2001, she gathered a group of women at a local Starbucks to knit and crochet together, share their favorite patterns, and then donate their goods to those in need. Many of the women were retired and looking for both camaraderie and recipients for their handmade items.

Teens to centenarians

It didn’t take long before the group outgrew their small coffeeshop meetings. Now, almost 18 years later, the group that came together to knit and crochet in a Starbucks has become a thriving nonprofit organization called From the Heart.

The organization has grown to 1,500 members, ranging from teenagers to centenarians, all of whom share a love of fiber arts and a desire to help those in need.

A 100 percent volunteer-driven organization, From the Heart is spearheaded by founder Moore, now 77, and president Tricia Ennis, 66.

After Ennis’ four kids were grown and she had retired from full-time work in human resources, she was “desperate” to find something to occupy her time. Ennis had started volunteering at a food bank and anywhere else she could be of use.

While at the food bank one day, she saw beautiful hats that were being sent to children in need. “I couldn’t believe how pretty they were,” Ennis said. After seeing on the tag that they were made by knitters working with From the Heart, she decided to look into the organization.

“I had been knitting for 60 years. But you get to the point where your husband doesn’t need any more hats or scarves,” Ennis said. Creating handmade goods for people in need seemed like the perfect fit.

She now spends so much of her time with the organization that her husband recently said to her, “You may not get paid, but you’re certainly not retired!”

While the organization consists of 37 smaller groups located throughout Virginia, From the Heart has a central meeting place — a workshop in Richmond that’s open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. four days a week.

The workshop includes a meet-and-greet area where members can get together to knit, engage in informal lessons, and enjoy each other’s company. There is also a “yarn hall,” lined on both sides with yarn of all colors that has been donated to the group.

Their only rule: “What you take out must come back in the form of an item to be given to someone in need.”

Meeting requests from all over

The needs are great, and requests from organizations near and far come in fast. Members respond quickly, though.

“We had a request for 100 hats for medics in Kuwait from a neighbor whose son mentioned they needed them for when it got cold at night,” said Moore. “In no time, we had 300 hats.”

After they sent the hats, Moore’s phone rang. It was a medic in Kuwait who called to thank her. The medic happened to be from Caroline County. Knowing you have helped so many people “gives you goosebumps sometimes,” Moore said.

Since its founding, From the Heart’s participants have produced and distributed more than 320,000 handmade items. The number is astounding, as is the range of items.

Among the donations: chemo hats, blankets, pillows, shawls and drain-tube bags to cancer centers; blankets, hats and teddy bears with hand-stitched outfits to VCU’s Burn Unit for children; and baby blankets, hats, sweaters and bootees for the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and regular newborn nurseries.

From the Heart members have also created small flannel hearts and crocheted octopuses used to comfort infants, and soft hand-made toys for pediatric emergency rooms, children’s clinics and oncology areas.

Items are made for adults as well, including comfort blankets for the critically ill, and warm hats, scarves, mittens and sleeping bags for the homeless. The crafters even stitch mats for the enclosures of animals awaiting adoption in shelters.

Both Ennis and Moore have been a bit surprised by the way in which From the Heart has grown. Every couple of months, for instance, they receive a shipment of donated yarn from a woman in Nebraska whom they have never met. Neither Ennis nor Moore know how she even found out about the organization, but they greatly appreciate her generosity.

They were able to see their work spread recently when a woman they have worked with had a granddaughter in a Pennsylvania NICU. When the woman visited her granddaughter, she brought one of the octopuses From the Heart creates for preemies to hold. The nurses were so taken with the octopuses that one visited Richmond to learn the pattern from Moore, and then taught the others how to make them.

While From the Heart has helped hundreds of thousands of people across Virginia and beyond, the organization also provides innumerable benefits to its members through their friendships and sense of purpose.

“It’s not just what we give out. It’s what we receive,” said Ennis. “What else would we be doing? We get so much out of it because it gives us all a sense of belonging.”

To learn more, see their website at fromtheheartstitchers.org or call (804) 305-4971. The workshop is located at 1114 Westbriar Dr., Richmond.