Wow! Thank you all for your replies - I hadn't expected such an amazing response. I have read all answers and there is so much useful information. I am pretty committed to keeping the denim backing - it's not a very heavyweight backing but I have sacrificed 4 fingernails in the process of pinning it all together! So...what I have decided to do is to make up a sample piece and have a practise with my machine to see what it can cope with. I shall arm myself with heavy thread and strong needles and see what happens. Unfortunately, I can't take up your suggestions for where to buy supplies as I am in the UK but I can probably source everything here - the internet is a wonderful thing! I am more confident of trying to quilt a geometric pattern so will probably try the cross-hatching. I'll let you know how I get on. hopefully my son will still be a teenager by the time I finish it
