Balancing Act

As all of you are aware, when I was pregnant I immediately got the urge (that started some time before or after a trip to the Canton flea market) to pull out the old sewing machine (which is mama's sewing machine) and start sewing again. I started out appliqueing "L" and trimming ribbon on burp cloths and then went on to hand sewn appliques on t-shirts and onsesies for Lily. I then made a few dresses for her "here and there" but it would take some time to sew them and then she could only wear them for a little while it seemed. Sooooo, I took a brief hiatus from the machine mostly because once she was born I no longer had the spare time to sew. The past few months however, I've started back appliqueing a few shirts (mostly seasonal) and making Lily a few spring/summer outfits and dresses. She will not be changing sizes as often now and I feel like she will get some wear out of the fruit of my labor. I also had a few requests here and there for my seasonal/holiday shirts so I put them up for sale in a small "boothtique" in Batesville and have made a small amount of mad money on the side :) On a side note.....My sister is a stay at home mom and has really taken off with her small sewing buisness. It is www.deltasweettee.com! take a look, she is very reasonably priced and has some cute stuff!!! I'm rambling I know... Hang in with the reading and maybe you will make sense of a few things I am saying. Lily has had her first ear infection and is cutting two more teeth; so sleep deprivation is setting in. I'm also still trying to figure out the new balance to my life with an ever changing toddler. I try to spend every minute I'm not at work engaged with Lily and still have feelings of guilt when I try to do something (even just cooking supper) other than playing with her. I think this is a battle I will struggle with until she is grown and out of my house or at least until we have another baby that will require some attention also. I pray everyday for a better balance. As Lily gets older, I'm gonna try to keep squeezing a little "me time" out of my day....but for now, I'll have to take it after she is asleep at night. Here are a few pictures of my most recent projects that I have taken with my phone.

I'm in the process of making 3 more of these cute spring outfits with different material and different appliques! The material on this outfit is actually much cuter in person.

I made these super simple "pillow case" dresses because I think they will be great for potty training Lily this summer!

Lily is so proud of her hand-made clothes ;)