Nope. The reason I am thrilled to drop it all to knit a red scarf right away is that kids who age out of foster care need advocacy. I'll go on about this further down, I'll do the yarn stuff first.
Consider this a chance to switch gears, try a new stitch, do a bulky knit. Me? I hit the koolaid shelf at the local market.
Good thing the scarf doesn't have to be red, I call these Bright Coral and Chinese Red. The yarn is good for dying with KoolAid, it got nice and soft in the process. And the process itself....the moment when you drag it out of the dye and see that the yarn is colored and the water is clear: magic!Consider a red scarf as a little break and a great cause this week, woncha?
Basics: knit a red (or other color) scarf and get it to an Einsteins Bagel by the end of January.
To the soapbox: truthfully, I'd never thought about what happens to kids when they turn 18 years old and age out of foster care. In 2003, I was hired to photograph for a book on the subject, On Their Own: What Happens to Kids When They Age Out of Foster Care. Its very readable, by a wonderful journalist who'd followed 10 kids as they made their way in the world after foster care ended. Two had died, I spent time photographing the other eight, in whatever circumstance they were in. The kids had big issues to deal with and they were truly on their own. Each kid talked about small gestures making a big difference. Several mentioned life events - like a college graduation - when no one came to see them reach that moment. All of them inspired me with their resiliency.
More info at www.orphan.org or from The Jim Casey Youth Opportunity Initiative, a foundation that advocates for successful transitions to adulthood for kids who've aged out of foster care.
Soapbox pushed back under the sofa. Now git knittin'.
P.S. rock chick is onto this too. And you know how cool she is.....
5 comments:
I've always had someone in my life to give me support and encouragement. I can't imagine what it's like to be completely on your own like that. Sounds like a good work to get involved with. I'll check it out.
I got a kick out of reading this, because I dyed Kool-aid for my "red" scarf too! (Except my wool was gray to start, and now it's burgandy.) Your colors turned out great, and are going to make a great scarf!!
What a nice post -- thanks for giving me food for thought. I love the two colors of red you were able to achieve with your Kool-Aid concoctions!
I just found your blog... not only do I love your title, but I also enjoyed reading about kids who have aged out of foster care. I used to work at a residential high school for kids in the custody of the state, and I was often thinking about what would happen to them when they got too old to be in school... it's a sad but important issue.
I knit the pirate hat - it's a very fun pattern :)
Good luck with the yarn...
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