Maternity leave and losing my mind

I had my first baby January 25 this year.  He is amazing....and as insanity provoking as I think every infant is. I am fortunate enough to live in Canada and enjoy the year of maternity leave before having to return to work.  I have been torn for the past few months between loving all of the time that I am able to spend with the little chunker and feeling like I am losing brain cells in the never ending cycle of nursing, changing bums, going for walks and reading only books that rhyme.

To add fuel the isolation of maternity leave, I am a transplant to Canada from Michigan and have been sorely missing friends and family during this transition.  What this all created was the perfect storm to re-engage in a hobby.....and re-engage I have,  with gusto.

I have officially begun building a fabric stash.  I am finally signed up for a quilting class in hopes that I will be able to conquer binding and move beyond rag quilts.  I have stocked up on canvas so that I can collage away, and during this flurry of organizing materials, scouring the web for inspiration, ironing fabric, cutting and cutting and cutting, I have magically stopped feeling torn.  Somehow the feel of the fabric has brought me out of the mommy stupor.  I enjoying my whole day with the Bubbs because I know that I will not just fall into bed exhausted at the end of it.  I will fall in bed exhausted at the end of the day satisfied because I have spent at least a few minutes creating something.  It just feels good for the soul.

So in favor of making my soul feel good I have the following projects underway:

I will be doing the sew along of the City Sampler Quilt from Tula Pink's new book with Sew Sweetness beginning May 20, 2013.

I opened an Etsy store.  This is a terrifying prospect.  I tend to believe that people enjoy my crafts, when they get them for free as cute little presents.  

I am making slews of pillow covers.  There is something very comforting about how simple the pattern and stitches are.  I find it addicting.

The before mentioned canvases are being used to collage fabric animals such as the giraffes below.

 The bubbs is also going to benefit from this as I've decided to try my hand at applique in order to make the adorable onesies with tie.  Stylish pictures of said onesie will be included in the future.