Do Homeless Women Still Like Pink?

I've gone and picked up another hobby. More specifically, I've picked up an outlet for a hobby I already have, no new tools or spaces required.

The other night I was taking the kid and a friend out to Schlotzky's for dinner and I walked into the middle of a fiberfest. There, amid the sandwiches and pizzas, an intrepid group of women had set up a spinning wheel. They were knitting in the corners and crocheting in the aisles. The wheel was whorring along, turning purple fluff into a lovely fingering weight yarn. When I asked them why, they informed me that they were a group of local fiberfans who met there every Thursday and stayed quite late. They originally formed thanks to the Austin Scarf Project, a group who makes hats and scarves for the homeless.They take donations of yarn or pre-made scarves, but they really enjoy having people come out and just knit (or crochet) with them.

This idea really appealed to me on a number of levels. First of all, I tend to avoid doing a lot of social work because I always feel overwhelmed. While I don't mind helping the Red Cross with a shelter, or mucking out a flooded house, I come away from the experience depressed because I can only do so much. The last flood I helped clean out put me in bed for a few days when my back went out at the end of work. But this is an immediate solution to a problem.If you're cold, you put on a hat.

Secondly, I really like to make scarves. They've become the knitting addiction of choice for me. I can cast on an easy one and blow through it in a few hours or pick a fancy lace or cable pattern and work on it for weeks. I can knit them on the bus or in line, at the theater, or in class, or in front of the TV. I have a box full of the things since almost everyone I know already has one. You've only got the one neck so how many scarves do you really need?

Thirdly, and most selfishly, I'm running out of room to buy yarn. I have a fairly impressive stash at this point and I'm under interdict to not buy anymore. When you find yourself sneaking more yarn into the house and hiding it in the liquor cabinet you know you have a small problem.I'm fairly sure I'm addicted.

One of the reasons I have so much yarn is that I inherited a large amount from my grandmother. While she was a busy and active woman, my grandmother didn't actually knit. She used the yarn to make canvas cross-stitch pictures. That means that all the yarn she bought was the cheapest acrylic possible. I haven't been knitting with it because the wools, cottons, and silks feel better on my hands. The acrylic isn't *nasty*, it's just not what I prefer to touch. Which is where the questions come in for me. If I knit a scarf from bubblegum pink and white acrylic, something I'd never ever wear unless I was desperate, is it appropriate to give it away? Just because I don't care for it, will someone else still love it? If you're freezing to death do you care if your scarf looks like someone skinned a Barbie?

I think the answer to these questions is "Start knitting!" and I'm doing my bit for now. Tonight, I'll go knit in a sandwich shop, tomorrow I'll knit on the bus. My motivation is clearly not without some self-interest, but I hope I can also do a little good along the way.