By EMILY SPARACINO / Staff Writer

CHELSEA – Those who crochet or do other portable crafts similar to crochet are invited to meet at the Chelsea Public Library on Friday mornings.

The Bring Your Own Crochet, or BYOC, group meets at the library at 10 a.m. each week to work on individual projects, swap ideas and socialize, Chelsea Public Library Director Dana Polk said.

“If somebody comes in and wants to learn, we’re happy to help them,” Polk said. “Talking to other crafters and getting to know people –– that’s really what it’s all about.”

The BYOC group got its start in 2008, when Polk held a six-week how-to course in crochet for children and adults to correspond with the summer reading program theme, “Be Creative.”

“We just kept it going,” Polk said of the group. “Everybody seemed to enjoy it.”

Other crafts people can bring to the group meetings include needlepoint, cross-stitch and knitting.

Polk and others in the group don’t spend all of their time on personal projects. Many of the items they make are donated to local organizations or people in need.

In 2010, they crocheted scarves for Special Olympics. They are currently crocheting baby hats for patients in UAB Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit, a project they launched two years ago and have continued ever since.

Another box of crocheted hats and gloves in various colors will go to the homeless in the Birmingham area.

“We’ll take (items) from anybody,” Polk said. “They can make them at home, and we’ll get them there.”

Polk said as many as eight people have attended before, and the group is open to anybody.

“It’s fun,” Polk said. “It’s just getting to know each other, and helping when you need help.”

BYOC will not meet on Dec. 25 and Jan. 1.

For more information, call the library at 618-9735.