Machine Quilting: going batts!

"Perky Old Men" has gone under the needle!
This quilt has so much going on it only needed to be stitched in-the-ditch, but with that many 3" blocks, it was a lot of ditchin'!
I know you are going to ask: it's approximately 62" x 65", 15 rows of 15 little blocks for a grand total of 225 colorful blocks (I had to get out the calculator for that!).
When I get the binding on, I'll post a nice picture.
But meanwhile, I spent the weekend quilting, and it gave me some time to think.
For machine quilting I like to use Warm & Natural (or Warm & White), generally because it's flat and I get lots of yards when it's 50% off at JoAnn. Then I bring it home and roll it onto the W&N tube I got back when I bought the very last of the original W&N.....do you remember when it still had all the cotton trash, bits of seeds, etc????
Some people do not like W&N, though. They certainly have a right to their opinion.
I think the last time I heard a comment was "it's too stiff".
I thought about that as I was quilting POM. It WAS rather stiff!
But as I rolled and re-arranged and pushed and shoved and generally manhandled the quilt all around, I realized it was getting softer!
So the next time you are struggling with "quilt management", you might want to consider that as part of the softening process. All that manipulating is making the quilt into something more cuddly.

And as for the Art Quilts....there's a good reason for Timex, fusible batting and some other creative insides!

In "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", Stephen Covey says "You have to start with end in mind". That is so true with quilting!
There is not just one batting that is right for all quilts.
It's OK to have favorites, but the way a quilt is to be used is most important.
There are even some cases where I would recommend a poly batt!

But when it comes to machine quilting, I just gotta have cotton...20/80 poly/ cotton is the best of both worlds.