Family Dollar Love, Rice Socks, and a Confession

While at our local Family Dollar (that's the red one, right?? I get them confused), I found these awesome pjs for William!!

He had recently decided that he didn't like the flame retardant poly ones and wouldn't even put them on (well, if we sat on him and endured screaming and flailing limbs we could get them on him, but he would take them right off again). Anyway, I was considering whipping up a couple of sets. However, I am EXTREMELY busy with Christmas sewing and adding one more thing to my list was just TOO MUCH!!!!

I saw these, well, actually a pair not pictured, and brought them home and let William test drive them for a night. Lo and behold, they stayed on!! So I went back and bought these two pair.


CHECK OUT THE PRICE!!!! It turns out, I probably couldn't have made pjs this inexpensively, and saving me labor made it totally worth it!


Amazingly, I also bought the tube socks I needed at Family Dollar, too! That's what I had gone there for, initially, when I saw the fabulous pajamas!
With the tube socks, I made these rice socks. Rice socks, if you don't know, are heating pads, but the shifty heavy rice in them feels incredibly nice and they sort of drape over the place you put them. You just heat them in the microwave. They do hold heat quite a while, too!


I made these with spiffy flannel covers which close with a snap. The rice filled sock is inside. I just take a man's tube sock, put in five cups of rice, and tie closed. Easy-peasy!! The flannel is cut to 17 x 5 (two pieces, of course),  sewn up two sides, hemmed, then add a snap. I have wanted a washable cover for my own rice sock for ages, and that inspired me to make these.



After researching and researching LAST YEAR how to make an Advent Calendar, then procrastinating this year until December 3, this is what we ended up with. Oh, the shame of it all!!!