You don't have to wash a quilt. It can be drycleaned. I have seen some beautiful silk quilts. If the silk fabric is special, perhaps it would be worth it to showcase it in an all silk quilt, purchasing other silk fabric to go with it. Usually silk quilts are very much a work of art as they have chosen the colors of the fabric so carefully and the fabrics blend so beautifully. The patterns have usually been just squares or rectangles with sashings and borders in solids since usually the showcased pieces are most often prints. They look so very elegant! It is all in the selection of color.