my grandmother made a quilt much like the one your mom made. heavy old polyester. Grannie's was the rail fence pattern though. I'm still repairing it. She just used an old blanket on the back of it. It is the warmest thing ever! She never finished it so I am going through and repairing seams and tyeing it. Grannie used whatever she had to make it and that meant thread from the cotton mill she worked in. Some of it was not the best quality.