Grew up poor, and never got rich, so I'm past master at Make-Do, since I've been doing it all my life. I mean "will we eat today or not" poor. You really CAN make beautiful quilts without all your costly tools and gew-gaws, and a bit more effort. You won't make them as fast, but what the heck's your hurry? I still use scissors, make my own templates, buy yard goods rather than pre-cuts, and hand quilt every one of them. If I HAD to buy all the tools most of you think so necessary, I couldn't afford to quilt. And yes, I piece batting, even in quilts. Do it properly and quilt it reasonably well, and no one will ever know. I do THAT by hand too. Machine zigzag leaves a bit of a lump you can feel.