New Kinder for Kinder!

Are you familiar with these?  They are little German made egg shaped chocolates that encase a small plastic capsule containing a small toy.  They're awesome and sold all over the world.  They're also illegal only in the United States.  Apparently it is unlawful to place a toy inside a consumable. 

I look for these in the airports on every overseas trip I take and was worried I was breaking the law by bringing them back into the States.  They are clearly labeled a choking hazard but as I understand the law, it is illegal to re-sell or redistribute them to strangers in the United States, but if I want to endanger the small children in my life by giving these as gifts, that is perfectly legal.  I have always found these delightful and the small toys require some assembly and are intricate and detailed.  We just don't have anything like this here so I think they are fun little unusual treats that are always given and enjoyed under adult supervision.  I brought back 8 from Oslo's airport and the cashier even warned me that I wouldn't be able to bring them into the country.  I corrected her with my understanding of the law and I'm sure I sounded snooty.

I was in my HyVee yesterday and found these!  This must be the US approved version of the treat.  They were 4/$5 so of course I bought 4.  One for me and one for each of my sister's kids!

I think they skirted the law by keeping the toy outside the consumable.

The egg separates into two sections.  One side holds a white and hazelnut chocolate cream and wafer candy and the other holds the toy components.  

I got a little robot in this one and built it while enjoying my treat.  Hooray for this new and improved and approved Kinder Egg!

Serge!

Not Surge like the 90's pop of the same name, but SERGE as in the sewing machine!  I bought this almost 6 months ago, right after we learned we were pregnant, with the last of my plasma money.  It then sat in a box in the living room all that time until I finally worked up the courage to use it.  I LOVE it. 

I had 2 pairs of loungewear pants cut out and sitting in the sewing room and thought that would be a good first project.  It came already threaded and you can't use pins because of the knife on the machine so I put my quilt clips to good use.  I used a serger 20 years ago in home ec class and haven't been near once since.  I couldn't believe how quiet and FAST it was.  It sucked up the fabric and of course you don't have to trim your seams...I made those pants in record time!

I not brave enough to change the thread yet but I already slowly purchased 4 serger spools of 8 basic colors while I was busy not using the serger.  Every time I went to the grocery store, I stopped at Joann's armed with coupons and bought a few spools.  My sewing table is too cramped with two machines on it so when it's not in use, it sleeps in my cubby shelf and fits perfectly!

I've used it to make a bunch of quick baby items like these shoulder/burp rags.  They are just 2 pieces of critter flannel serged together.  They have double thickness and finished edges that did not involve turning inside out and top stitching.  Record time sewing.  I used a bread plate to round the corners versus fighting with right angles.

I made a couple pee pads too.  This is PVC coated fabric used for making cloth diapers topped with critter flannel and the edges serged and again I rounded the corners.  I made a few crib sized pads for major blowouts so the pad can be taken out and laundered and the rest of the bed clothes are spared.  I also made a few smaller ones for the diaper bag to be layed out as a surface to change on.  These were nice early projects to get to know my machine because I feel like I'm still "learning how to drive" with it.

This is my other favorite appliance in the house at the moment!  Best Christmas ever because Dave bought me a fake fire!  I've been asking for one for years and this year he came through.  You can run it with or without heat and I very rarely turn the heat on.  I'm a tightwad when it comes to the energy bill but also I'm hot blooded and like to just look at it.  This is the view from my knitting chair!

He really outdid himself this year!  Here he is putting it together for me.  We enjoyed our first pregnant Christmas together.  Next year we'll have a 9 month old trying to get into everything so this might be the last year of full decorations for a while!  And of course my family will get together for Christmas next weekend so I kind of don't feel like we've had Christmas yet.  Happy Late Christmas!

Flannel Blankies

Dave gives me a hard time because I make a lot of blankets.  A lot of blankets.  But I never hear him complain about it when the weather is our current -20 degrees and we have 8 blankets on our bed and blankets on the couch.  Our son will have no shortage of blankets either because I've been busy making satin bound flannel blankies.

I'll admit that for the nanosecond after finding out we're having a boy, my heart sank simply because of my opinion that it is always harder to sew and knit for little boys.  I always thought there were more fun prints and patterns geared towards girls.  It turns out there are boy prints and patterns out there if you look carefully for them.  This first one has llamas on a Martha blue background!  I finished it with a manly gray binding.  Love it!

Foxes are everywhere!  I have some quilting cotton in this same print--I don't know what I'm going to make with it but it will eventually come to me.  This blankie was made out of the flannel cut I had.  I debated whether to bind it with orange because that is Dave's favorite color, but I liked the more subtle cornflower blue. 

And finally more critters!  I got this cut as an impulse and then decided to make a blankie out of it.  I already happened to have a package of pale blue binding in the sewing room.  I got to come home early from work last night and whipped this up while I waited for Dave to get home from bowling.  I have to say I'm thrilled with my baby boy blankies.  They are colors I love and patterned with my favorite critters and will keep this little boy warm and protected.  They'll probably keep my lap warm on the couch every now and then too!

Hosenmatz!

I just finished a knitted pair of baby pants from this Hosenmatz pattern!  With the sub-zero weather we've had all week, I wouldn't mind having a pair of these myself!  I used the remaining Zauberball wool I'd used to make a sideways baby jacket.  I think the jacket is too feminine for our son (29 weeks yesterday!) and I had enough to make a 4-7 month size pair of pants.  They are so roomy and have ample front and back gussets for fat diaper butts!

The zauberball yarn is a very fine sock/fingering weight.  I want to make a few more of these and I feel they'll be a little more substantial when knit out of more traditional sock yarn.  I have lots and lots of sock yarn in my stash and I'm loving using it for things other than socks!  To that end, I bought this skein of manly/neutral tones this spring at the fiber festival.  I think it will coordinate nicely with some Gopher items we got on sale.  This boy is going to be a Gopher fan if my husband has anything to do with it!