The Underbelly of the Quilt

This is my first ever quilt. It's somewhat overwhelming. I am about finished. I mean, there is a top and an underbelly and a border and an edge. And it's all sewn together. So... it's done, right?

Well, no. Although I carefully hand basted the top and base together, with batting in between, of course, there are a few tucks and pleats where there should be only flatness. What to do? This quilt, a donation to the school for the auction fund raiser, is too big to fail. There are countless hours invested here. I decided, after some seam ripping, that the best option here is to add stitching. The more stitching, the better the quilt (in my opinion). I am going to add as much stitching as I can before finally calling this finished. I will add so much stitching that every few inches has something, except for the art drawings, which will remain stitch-free. I stitched right over the erroneous pleat and now it is flat.

I've broken every quilting rule.

And yet, I have produced a quilt! Hooray!

Yesterday was a snow day. Today is sunny and sparkly. The sky looks extra blue today.
Julia took a private swim lesson this morning, somewhat unexpectedly. I didn't bring my camera, which was too bad because she was so cute and happy in the water with her new teacher. Although the private lessons cost more, I believe I will ultimately spend less because she will learn so much faster with concentrated, enjoyable instruction. The aquatics director says that group lessons are the best setting for a child to learn to swim; however, I have to disagree at the moment. She may be right but after having seen the private lesson myself, I am going to have to put my money on that bet. The child will most likely surpass her older sister's swimming ability very soon. Time will tell.
After swimming, we lingered at the coffee shop, warm and dry. We picked up this fun sticker book for 1.57 at Target in their 75 percent off Valentine's Day merchandise. That was a good buy for Miss Julia.