That is exactly how my quilt is. I ended up sewing on the sashing and sewing an X from corner to corner of the shirt blocks.

Now the binding.... yay I am almost done :)

in high school, my daughter made smallish quilts for her friends to take when they went to competitions. They did awards outside and it could get cool. Since they had to be rolled into their bags and were often abused, she used a flannel sheet as batting. Thin but warm, cheap (you can make several from one 'sheet') and could take a lot of abuse without a lot of quilting. She did STID and minimal at that. They have now all approaching their 30's and most still have their quilts.

Summer quilts were made without batting years ago, before A/C. They were frequently tied, not quilted.

you want a light batting try the polyester batting at Joanns ...it is 90' wide and only about $6.00 a yd. I use it all the time...i also use the basting spray to hold the three layers together. It works out real cheap if you can get it with a 50% coupon & and it is quite warm washes like a rag and does not bunch up or shrink. there are different lofts ...make sure you get the least loft...it will also be the cheapest ( if you are not sure which one to get)...good luck on whatever you decide to do.