It will be great if he remembers....but until then....from the sound of it you are familiar with the decoupage methods of burning the edges of paper to get a sort of uneven look and worn one as well... keep that in mind when you get to the edges...remember it is a sashing strip so you won't be having to work the whole quilt to get the edged look. You could practice with scraps and try various ripping or flip and stitch methods to create the edge....Go with your gut as to what may work....you know the map vision you hold in your head.....play till you get it out and down in your fabric...lucky girl! Also you could look to some of the shadow quilt techniques in helping to get the islands....more fabric...more fun. A good place to see an example of fabric picturing is in the current edition of $100,000 Quilting Challenge. between the fabric and stitching you create the picture...and until he gets there....play with your fabric and your vision.