Originally, it was the making of handmade knitted and crocheted slippers. Now, it includes dickeys, headbands, helmets (ski masks), watch caps and wristlets (fingerless mittens). These items are mailed to our Armed Forces stationed overseas. It is a grass-roots way for ordinary Americans to assist in our country's fight against terrorism.

World War II had Rosie the Riveter. We have TOASTY TOES. Many who have not knitted or crocheted in years have found their needles and hooks. Those who can no longer craft have found the perfect solution for bags of yarn, old needles and hooks.

WHAT DOES IT ACCOMPLISH?

Besides warming the service person's feet, these items send a message of support: That a stranger would take the time to make him or her a pair of slippers. This shows our troops halfway around the world that we at home do care. It also enables many in our local community to participate.

If you would like to join the ranks of Operation Toasty Toes volunteers, please use the e-mail contact box at the bottom of this page to send your name, mailing address and phone number to the Chapter 2 chairman.

DON'T KNIT OR CROCHET? PLEASE CONSIDER SUPPORTING OPERATION TOASTY TOES FINANCIALLY ...

Those who never learned to knit or crochet can still support Operation Toasty Toes -- with a financial donation, which will be used to cover operating costs, such as postage, printing, publicity and yarn purchase when needed. It costs $30 to $35 to ship a large box to Europe and the Middle East. It takes twice that for the Pacific rim. Whenever possible, we will use the Post Office's "flat rate" priority mail packaging, which costs $8.95 per box, no matter how much it weighs, in an effort to make our donated dollars go as far as possible.

Please use the e-mail contact form at the bottom of this page to request a mailing address for your contribution. (For security purposes, this address will not be displayed publicly; thanks for understanding!) All contributions are gratefully accepted, and will be used ONLY for Chapter #2 Operation Toasty Toes expenses.

WHY MUST ONLY OUR PATTERNS BE USED?

It's quite simple, they pack tighter, enabling the boxes to have no spaces where a box can be crushed. Chapter 7 (national headquarters) is continually working on new patterns. We encourage the military to tell us what they need. We now have single strand items: dickeys, headbands, helmets, watch caps (beanies or helmet liners for land forces and with a cuff for sailors) and wristlets (fingerless mittens). Many of these patterns are quite simple to work.

Links to downloadable pattern sheets can be found in the sidebar at left.

(Adobe Reader required - PDF file)

LOGO TAG:

A happy dog on its haunches, with a pair of slippers in its mouth. The tag serves two purposes: 1) keeps the pair together; 2) allows the the crafter to give name and address (if desired), with an encouraging note to the recipient.

Click on the link in the sidebar at left to download a sheet of logo tags.

(Adobe Reader required - PDF file)

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