I think you have been given a lot of good things to think about and pay attention to. I never thought about how the backing would affect the quilt. I'll file that into the back of my brain for my next project. I'm currently working on my first quilt w/ the Dream Cotton after using W&N and I do like it alot!

Thanks to all of you for your replies! I appreciate the tips. I have used 80/20 batting, polyester also. I have some cotton, but have not used yet. I will try your suggestions. I am really a hasty person, and have never even read the batting packaging. Might help if I read instructions. As far as backing, I usually use muslin, or other cotton backing. I try to buy 108" so that I dont have the seam in the backing. It seems to be difficult in my longarm. I guess I always thought I needed to quilt the size of my hand (which is very small, by the way).

My girlfriend who has almost everything she has ever made LAQ'd, was looking at my last two quilts that I had LAQ'd by a person she had never used. Her observation was she liked that the "LAQer didn't pull the top so tight while working on it". She felt that the finished quilt was softer and draped nicer than ones she had done by other people. It does have a lovely feel about it, but whether or not it contributed the quilt's softest, who knows.

also the thread can make a big difference use a lighter thread