Originally Posted by
SophieHatter
Another thought: is it possible to a) quilt invisibly, e.g. by sewing along the stitching between the patches on the front so that I don't make lines across them - my great uncle's quilt seems to be like that but it's been mended so much I can't tell - and b) quilt different patterns onto different sides, so it's attached both sides, e.g. by not pushing the needle all the way through? Is either of those a thing?
Yes it is commonly referred to as stitch in the ditch (SITD). Edited to add that I would not recommend any kind of quilting where you are not going through all 3 layers of the quilt (top, batting and backing) but SITD would be the least visible on the front.