Standard-Examiner staff?jfrancis@standard.net?

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AYTON — There are plenty of treats, talk and taking care of others when the Sewing Angels meet Monday morning after the 9 a.m. Mass at St. Rose of Lima parish.?

“It’s social,” said Helen Gonzalez, who is an assistant to Pat Bergeron, who coordinates the group. “We go to Mass and then coffee and everybody brings what they want.”?”They enjoy getting together for coffee, sewing and chatting,” Bergeron said of the group. “All realize that they are making a difference.”?The group of mostly retired people sews blankets, bibs, burp cloths, receiving blankets, nightgowns, hats and stuffed teddy bears.?”It’s scary how many people don’t even have a blanket to take their baby home in,” said Charleen Hickenbotham, who sews all sizes and shapes of blankets for the program.?One of the women also makes dresses for stillborn babies.?These items are then donated to St. Martha’s Baby Project, a partnership with the Holy Cross Ministries and Catholic Community Services; The Christmas Box House; Ogden Regional Medical Center; the Pregnancy Care Center; and Sub for Santa programs.?Gonzalez said she gets excited about the group’s efforts to help teenagers at The Christmas Box House.?”There are a lot of teenagers that people don’t think about,” she said. “We get them something new and clean and their own.”?They also make lap robes and pillows for the George E. Wahlen Ogden Veterans Home and several nursing homes in and around Layton.?When they are not sewing, members are knitting and crocheting hats, mittens, scarves and lap robes for the homeless and for underprivileged children.?”I know it’s for somebody else. It’s the best part of it,” said Joan Pirtle, who crochets blankets at home. “It’s just fun to see every blanket be different.”?There are 22 in the group, which also has several people who do work at home.?Two of the men in the group make hats at home for the homeless.?In the past, the group has relied on donations from the Knights of Columbus, the Catholic Community of Women and the American Legion.?The group now has a yearly fundraiser to allow it to help more organizations.?”People have been very open with us on our bake sale and fund-raisers,” Gonzalez said.?The Sewing Angels has been helping others for nine years and intends to continue as long as it has the funds.