New London — A multicolored scarf threaded through the chain-link fence between New London Homeless Hospitality Center and Faith Fellowship church beckoned to passers-by Saturday with a tag bearing this message: “It’s frigid out. Are you chilly? Take me, I’m yours.” 

Six or seven other scarves of all colors and textures hung from the same fence or were tied to a nearby tree, all inviting someone to claim them. Two long ones, one with pink and purple stripes and another with beige and blue, flanked posts at one of the doorways to the shelter. 

“I am not lost. If you are cold, take me,” read the tags. “Play it forward. Guerrilla Scarves.” 

More than 150 scarves could be found hanging from fences and railings at parks, sidewalks and other public places around the city Saturday, from the downtown waterfront to the New London Community Meal Center on Montauk Avenue and the sidewalk outside Bean & Leaf coffee shop on Bank Street. 

“There we go. All dressed up,” said Daneen Roth, as she tied a bright red scarf to a bollard outside the coffee shop. 

Roth was one of about a dozen volunteers who joined in the spontaneous “scarf bombing” of the city, organized via Facebook by Susan Asselin-Connolly, a local attorney, who learned about “scarf bombings” in other cities from a friend in Pennsylvania. 

Her Facebook post about it prompted one of her social media friends to suggest a local scarf bombing, and the organizing began Thursday. 

Two days later, Asselin-Connolly said, scarves began arriving in her Channing Street law office by the dozens. Many were store bought, while others were hand knit. 

“I just finished it this morning,” said Ann LaPlante of Niantic, as she tied a tag to her hand-knit, 4-foot-long gray wool and acrylic scarf. “I made it long, so someone could wrap it around their face.” 

Asselin-Connolly, who often represents children and families in her practice, said the idea appealed to her as a way to spread good will and fill a need. 

“I represent a lot of kids, and it’s cold,” she said. “But the idea is that you just put it out there, and it doesn’t matter who gets the scarf.” 

Outside Covenant Shelter on Jay Street, LaPlante, Roth and Ronda Burke of New London tied an array of knitted and store-bought scarfs to a nearby chain-link fence that cordoned off a mostly empty parking lot, festooning the otherwise monochromatic scene with pops of color. 

As they worked, Fortuna LaBron, community worker at the homeless shelter, stopped to ask what the three women were doing. 

As Roth explained, LaBron nodded in approval. 

“That’s cool,” she said.

j.benson@theday.com

Twitter: @BensonJudy