thanks for your tip

I used batiks two times and I think it is more difficult to hand quilt them compared to "regular" cotton fabrics. They are woven with a higher density (about 120 threads per inch or even more counted in one direction) and therefore it is not so easy to guide the needle through them. Most fabrics have a thread count of 60-70 counted in one direction per inch.
Just give it a try, Sharon. Hopefully your hands are strong enough that you don't even recognize a difference to other fabrics!

For me the problem has been using a needle that was too 'fat'. This is true with any tightly woven fabric, not just batiks. If you will use the slimmest needle you can find (and still get the thread through the eye!), then I don't think you will have a problem.