Growing up we lived in north-central IL...COLD and WINDY! We were very poor and most of the blankets we had were thin and holey so we would layer them so the holes were in different places. I can remember throwing my mom's wool coat over me to keep warm at night.
My dad used to go to farm/estate auctions and pick up things cheap. At one of these he picked up an OLD crazy-patch quilt...velvet, satin, etc. Very HEAVY! Most of the patches were so worn that the batting was exposed.
My sister & I shared a bed and put that thing on our bed...we were in warmth heaven!
After use in our house it became even more tattered and one day when I was about 10-12 my mom took some ticking material she had and covered the quilt with it because so much batting was falling out from the tears in the original quilt. She & I then tied the quilt with red yarn.
This was my FIRST lesson in how quilts were made...by tying this quilt! My mom was not a quilter, but she knew how to cover an old quilt to extend it's life.