With a Breath

This is a day for deep breathing, and one for noticing how I breathe, whether I am stressed or relaxed. I want to notice if I hold my breath or if I breathe rapidly at certain times. Its a valuable exercise I've done over the years just to align my mind and body to work together.

My new camera doesn't have a shake setting. You know, the setting that removes the shake when you press the button. My friend Rex told me to take a breath, release it and then push the button. It seemed to work on the two pics I just took.

 I joined a 6" block swap this month and my partner requested an 8-point star, and because this is a new size for me, I am practicing first before using the fabrics I selected for hers.

This first try goes into my wonky bag so it will add to the border of one of my quilts. I made it using holiday fabrics almost knowing that I had a lot to learn with the 6"-ers. It is not pressed, but I know it didn't work.

Nothing really lined up with this first attempt. I am not dis-pleased with the effort because its all about learning and developing a new skill.

The breathwork I did actually calmed me so I could look at the block with an ease rather than feeling stressed over it and saying the self-critical words that really don't serve my greater good. They don't add to the 'soul-ution' anyway.

I was able to machine quilt a diagonal grid on the baseball quilt and finish quilting the tote bag this morning. 

Breathing. Its a simple tool. Funny that I needed to be reminded.