This is such an important question. I made a quilt in the late 70s. It is a king-size sampler quilt. I was trying desperately to hand quilt it (while raising 6 children and working). Hand quilting was slow and I was terribly discouraged. I had it pinned and kept it on our bed as is while I tried to work on it. I used a clay-colored fabric, which did fade. There was also a great deal of bearding, which was very discouraging too. It is the only one that did. I have that beautiful quilt in a container and have not finished it. I think it is time to get it out, machine quilt it, use it and love it. So much work already in it.