My local shelter's needs

Warm Up America has started here in my neck of the woods.  Donated blocks are sorted.  Afghans have been bagged with joining yarns and instructions.  Joining parties have been scheduled  See the most current joining party schedule here.  I was also remembering a talk I had with some of the staff about what the needs are at my local shelter.

More than afghans and hats, they need gloves, not mittens or finger-less mitts.  GLOVES.  When I questioned for further information and thought more about it, here is what I have.  Mittens are nice for kids.  Most don't wear them since they limit mobility.  Adults won't wear them.  Finger-less mitts are a nice fashion accessory but don't do much of anything for people who are outside a majority of the time and need near constant protection.  

To this end, I thought, "OK, I'll run down to my local department store and pick up a bunch of the dollar or two gloves."  Then I headed home and checked my winter outdoor gear to see if I had any of them left from when my son ran cross country in high school.  As one of the few parents to show up on a regular basis, I had accumulated a sizable stash of hats and gloves for the colder months of practice and meets.  Most of these have disappeared over the years.  But I did find some of the gloves.  When I tried them on to make sure they were in good shape, I discovered 2 things.  One, either these things shrink or are small to begin with; and two, no two in my possession are the same size for pairing up.

I realize that I have largish hands for a woman.  I'm crediting my daily work (not knitting or crocheting) and genetics for this.  Men also have larger hands.  To this end, I would suggest that the dollar gloves that say they stretch to fit any hand are not going to suit for this purpose for any other than smaller people.

I would like to offer these patterns for this purpose and suggest not going the cheap route if you are donating to a shelter in your area.  There are not a lot of glove patterns out there but here are a couple of ideas.  Remember when donating to a shelter, some places may not have laundry facilities and appreciate dark or patterned color choices.  Adults in my area prefer subdued colors from what I have seen.  Plain workhorse yarns like Loops&Threads Impeccable, Lion Brand Wool Ease, Lion Brand Vanna's Choice, Red Heart are going to give ease of wash ability, wear, comfort and a wide range of colors.  Wool is my personal choice but, with so many having the opposite allergy of being allergic to wool, please don't use it.  It will also shrink if the recipient doesn't care for it in a gentle manner.

http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/90370AD.html?noImages=

I also offer this link to a Christmas in July post about gloves.