The Cheap Stuff Is Just as Good - NOT!!!!

Growing up, I watched my mother's vigilance over the budget, and often heard her declare "the cheap stuff is just as good." 

Well, folks, she was wrong.  Period.

Although I accepted that long ago, I have to admit to being tempted, esp. when solid homespun fabric goes on sale at my favorite nationally-known fabric chain store (whose name I will omit here, but if you are in Australia, you know who it is).

Yeah - they had $8 homespun for $5 a meter and I was sucked in (when you're buying 10+ meters at a go, it adds up fast).  To be fair, most of what I bought was fine - but then I got the soft green bit out I'd set aside for backing.  As I was ironing the fabric, preparing it for the longarm, I found not one, not two, but three holes in the middle of it:

(click the image to see a larger version - that hole is pretty good size)

Grrrr.

The hole is placed in a horrible position - no way to just cut around it.  I had to cut the panel down and piece it back together - giving me an extra seam in the backing on this particular project, something I generally try to avoid.  But the person getting this quilt isn't put off by the extra seam and I have to admit the seams aren't very obvious after quilting.