Magento provides some default attributes that are added to the quote and order item data. Here is how to go about adding custom Attributes to Magento quotes and orders.
Whenever you need to access a quote or order item’s SKU, or name, you can do so by using $item->getSku() and $item->getName().
This is because of …
A quote in Magento is effectively the contents of a customer’s cart before it is converted into an order.
The quote model class used for Magento quotes is the Mage_Sales_Model_Quote class.
Quotes are saved in Magento in the sales_flat_quote table and are first saved when the customer adds their first product to the cart.