I have been sewing since I was a young child, and we made a few blankets/biscuit quilts/bedspreads then (with mom and my sisters) but I didn't really start quilting until we lived in Germany and I needed something warm to cover a window. It was before rotary cutters and all that...
I know you ladies like to say there are no rules in quiltmaking, but there are certainly ways to make it overly difficult for yourself! I used poly blend fabrics, poly batting and 2 layers of sheets to make this, and then I HAND QUILTED through it - it was VERY hard getting through all of that. I used regular sewing needles and a double strand of regular sewing thread. It's a wonder I didn't quit then! But that was 22 years ago, and I am still doing it (but now I know how to do it BETTER).