you guys are great for my ego! :mrgreen:
i want whatever i make to stand up to use. i also want it to be easily taken care of by whoever gets it. i throw every quilt i make into the wash when it's done. i want to know it will survive the trip through the machine. most go into the dryer, too, for the same reason. that way, if something does go wrong, it happens to me and i can fix it. i'd feel awful if somebody had to struggle with the decision of whether or not to tell me something i'd made for them had fallen apart the first time they washed it.
it has happened only once, but a quilt i made several years ago literally came apart at the seams in the wash. imagine how my friend would have felt if he'd looked into his washer and found wads of batting and fabric knots? :shock: