I have been restoring quilt tops my Great Grandmother made and let me tell you how fragile the fabric is on those. Two were made in the 1950's, and I've got fabric that bleeds in cold water, thread wearing out and coming apart, and patches worn through. The "daintiest" cold water wash with soap especially made for heirloom quilts caused color bleeding that will require me to repair more patches than I had planned to do. The third quilt is a Postage Stamp quilt that she started somewhere in the 1930's, I'm guessing, or possibly even earlier. Some of that fabric is literally falling to bits. It crumbles when I touch it. I intend to take the best parts and make a wall hanging. The other quilts will be for "display only" for my sisters. I cannot imagine taking a quilt from an earlier period and actually using it in daily life, and I reached that conclusion by taking the quilt tops to an expert in textile restoration. She flat out told me that if I restored and then actually used in daily life the two quilts made in the 1950's, they wouldn't last 5 years, if that. I'm not doing all this work, most of which has to be done by hand, just to watch the quilts be destroyed! They didn't look that fragile to me either, until I started working on the first one. Then I'd go to repair a patch, and the whole seam would just fall apart. I will have to re-stitch every seam in the quilt, because the thread is old, and it wasn't the best quality thread when my Great Grandmother bought it in the 1950's.
So please, before you even think about using it, find out what kind of shape it's really in, and if it can take the wear and tear of every day use. I'm betting it can't, but would work well as a lovely wall hanging, if hung properly. I'm sure the quilt is your treasure, as mine are to me, which is why I'm working so hard to preserve them.
Best of luck to you and your treasure!