FO Friday - It's all for my sister!

Two finished objects this week, and both of them for my sister! What can I say, she's very knitworthy, and when she goes on and on about how much she loves something I knit for her, and then ask me to knit something else (really small)... I just can't say no ;)

Fortunately these slippers took me all of two days to knit - I think I timed it to 4hrs for the first one and 3 for the second. Very easily done :) The yarn was weirdly stiff to the touch, but I think that may actually mean that they'll hold out better.
Pattern: Seamless Salomas Slippers
Yarn: Katia Samoa, a cotton, acrylic, polyester blend.
Mods: Medium size, but knit the sole to 9cm instead of just the 7.5cm the pattern calls for.

I actually finished this second project last week, but as I was seeing my sister this week, I wanted to wait and not post the FO until she'd seen it in person, in the hopes that I could actually surprise her by having finished! Fortunately I succeeded :) She had wondered why I hadn't posted it in last week's WIP post, but hadn't thought more about it than that.

So with no further ado - this is what happens when I ask my sister to pose for my Ravelry page ;)
Pattern: Sleeves by Martina Behm
Yarn: Järbo Garn Mio, 100% merino.
Mods: None on purpose, but...

This very nearly turned into a "knitting attacks" project. As I neared the middle of the back, I thought I was running dangerously low on yarn, and couldn't understand it! I'd already bought a "buffer" skein, so while the pattern only called for 850 meters I'd bought 1050, but even so I was playing a SERIOUS game of yarn chicken! It was touch and go for awhile, and in the end I had less than a meter left over once I was done! I couldn't understand it. Sure, I get using a bit more yarn than the pattern calls for, but 200 meters (60g) extra??? That seemed absurd.

I simply couldn't understand it... the yarn was exactly the same weight as the pattern called for, I used the same sized needles and... oh! Since it was a Martina Behm pattern and thus automatically a "shawl" in my head, I hadn't done a gauge swatch before casting on. Now I went back to check the gauge on the stockinette part of the sleeves... sure enough, instead of getting 24sts / 10cm, I got 28!!! A difference significant enough to easily account for the extra yardage.
So I learned my lesson - if you want something to fit AND don't want to risk running out of yarn - always take the time to swatch.

The yarn was rather insanely saturated though... this is the water post-soaking
And even after that there was STILL enough dye left over to colour the towel as well (not sure if it shows all that well in this photo though...)
I've warned my sister accordingly...