FO: Charity Slippers

I know last week I said I'd finish them in the same day, but they didn't get done until last night, at the Potluck at Gauge. I'll have more on that later.

(BTW - Check out Gauge's website. It's been revamped.)

I can now tell you that I used the Toesties pattern by Megan Mills. It was one of several the store had out on charity knitting day.

As I mentioned, I used US size 4 dpns (waaaayyy too small, but I made them work.) I also used a J hook for the crochet border (I doubled the pink yarn) and an E hook for the little rosebuds.

The rosebuds are my own improvised creation. I started by chaining 10, single crocheting ten, then increasing to 20, then to 40. Here is what they look like uncurled:
Then I curled them up and started sewing there wherever they seemed to need sewing. Their a little wonky and uneven, but they work.

Speaking of wonky, I kitchner stitched the back (which is optional in the pattern.) I made some mistakes, but I'm calling it close enough.

As I mentioned before, I think this is Caron Simply Soft, but the yarn had no labels, so there is no way to know for sure. It's a dusty pink and navy blue held together. (The lighting seems to be really off in these pictures, except for the first one, so the colors may look weird.)

These will go to an Austin hospice group, although I don't know exactly which one at this point. Gauge will be collecting charity items for them for a couple of months.

I just got back from Gauge...

...and boy are my arms tired. Seriously.

Gauge had it's charity knitting event today. They are knitting for a local hospice organization (I'm not sure which one at the moment.) I was hoping to finish these slippers before I left today, but it didn't happen. I'm still a seam short, plus I wanted to add some crochet trim.

They asked everyone to being in acrylic and other machine washable yarns. They were piled on a table and everyone got to pick what they wanted to use. I donated most of the yarn I got from friends last year. Hopefully it's not too scratchy. It really needs to be washed to soften up. Gauge plans to make this a monthly event, so I think it will get used eventually.

There were also free patterns for hats and for slippers. Some people made shawls. Really, anything that would be useful or comforting for people in hospice is welcome. I chose slippers because I wanted a challenge, but I didn't want something too time consuming.

I'll link to the pattern later, but I'm pretty sure there are many variations on this pattern out there. (I think there's one in The Workshop Book of Knitting, if I remember correctly.)

The problem was I brought my Boye Needlemaster, but I didn't make a point of bringing the dpns required for this pattern. They had easier two-needle slipper patterns, but I really wanted to try this one. I searched my bag and came up with a set in US size 4, and decided to go for it.

I chose what I'm pretty sure is Caron Simply Soft out of the yarn pile to knit with. It tends to be a little thinner than most acrylics, so I thought it would work with my too small needles.

Of course I didn't realize until I started that the yarn is doubled all the way through.

Amazingly, I got gauge, or at least pretty close. These slippers look like they could fit me, and I have pretty average sized feet. But between rushing in hopes of finishing before the store closed and using tiny needles, my hands and arms a little sore.

The deadline for the projects isn't for three months, but I want to finish them now so I can do something else next month. With any luck, you may see the finished product later tonight.