Good question. I think it would be likely to be as warn as a blanket, but probably heavier. Max warmth requires air spaces between the fibers; that's one of the reasons down comforters are so warm. For Warm 'n' Natural, a lot depends on the type of blanket you would be comparing it too. My thoughts are that a WnN quilt would be warmer than a fleece blanket, about equal to a "box weave" cotton blanket (lots of air spaces), and less warm than a wool blanket (but probably also less heavy).

Thanks everyone for your ideas and information. I can't wait to hit JoAnns and get more than I need - ha.
Blessings,

I love W&N and use it in a lot of quilts, but not ones I want to keep me warm in the winter. W&N simply isn't a heavy or thick enough batting. It makes a great summer weight quilt or quilts for those who live in the desert (as my DD & SIL do). I learned this because I used to live in the Mojave Desert where it reaches 120 in the summer and now I live in Idaho, where at least 2 months out of the year our ground is covered in snow. The quilts I made with W&N that worked great in a warmer climate simply do NOT keep me warm in the winter here. I use W&N in all my table runners, table cloths, lap quilts, et cetera and it does great. I love how thin and yet stable it is & it gives my wallhangings a wonderful drape, no sagging or anything that tends to happen when an item hangs for a long time. I always order my batting by the yard, except for wool batting which I buy in queen sizes when it is on sale. I haven't tried silk batting yet, though I hear it is an absolute dream to quilt through. Wool is wonderful to quilt through also, though if you are machine quilting it won't matter as much.

If you know a bunch of other quilt ladies or know of a local guild, often you can collect batting from other people. Ask for a 6-inch square if possible and then put all of them together in a little photo book. You can sandwhich them and quilt them up. Keep track of what you do, what you think of it and how it works. Then you've got a sampler that you can refer back too. I think this is an excellent idea and I keep meaning to try it myself. I know every once in awhile I will see a box of sampler batting (usually Hancocks of Peducah) on sale. It's one of those things I want to buy so I can try out all the new battings that are coming out.

Speaking of new battings, I've had a couple friends try the new bamboo batting and they HATE IT, HATE IT, HATE IT!! They say it beards up something horrible. I thought I would pass along their observations for anyone who might be thinking of trying it and wondered how well it's been received. No one in this area will use it that I know of and one store actually quit selling it. I figure I'll give them time to work out the bearding problem before I give it a try. Nothing frustrates me more than having my batting stick up out of my quilt, especially a light batting sticking through a dark fabric! :roll:

Tiffany, thanks so much for the info about batting. I think I'll save the W&N for some other projects and find something warmer for this quilt.

I use warm and natural and I don't live in a desert. It's fine for me, but yes it does make a " flat" quilt. If you want puffier you'd probably have to use a poly batt and/or use a flannel backing.
I have used the bamboo batt and had no problem with it bearding, I'm hand quilting a large quilt and I find it a little " limper" than the warm and natural.

You might like Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 batting (80% cotton/20% polyester). It is fluffier and fairly warm. If you really want *warm*, consider getting the wool batting in the Hobbs line.

I love the Hobbs wool batting! It quilts like a dream and is nice and warm during our frigid winter months here.

So far I have only used Warm and Natural or Warm and White, and last year I bought a whole bolt of W&N in the queen size width. (I've used quite a bit of it already and am planning to get another bolt when it's on sale.) Now I'm going to be getting a longarm soon, and I wonder whether I should continue with W&N or use a puffier batting. Does anyone have recommendations for what kind of batt to use with a longarm?

I'm sure people use Warm n Natural with longarms too. You might want to join the homequiltingsystems group at http://groups.yahoo.com ; lots of information there about all aspects of longarming. Be sure to check out the files thoroughly before posting.

There is a new batting out that contains bamboo. I don't like it at all as tiny pieces of fuzz push through with your needle. Karen in Canada