I would not change color of thread...do all in natural/off white....and keep it simple....just maybe diagonal line thru squares in two directions...that will keep with the age of it...and back it w/natural muslin...

"crosshatch" is what I'm doing...backing IS natural, and I will put a label on the back identifying the maker of the top.

That looks like a whole bunch of work. Just fantastic. I think meandering sounds like it would look good on this project. I am just learning this and am happy to get the thread info from Prism. My practice swatches have been a little stiff. Good luck!

The work you put into this quilt is amazing. I hope you get good suggestions from our wonderful LAQ's on the board. They have such imagination when it comes to quilting ideas.

I was given a TATW hand-pieced by my great-grandmother, or possibly great aunt, worked up to be about 70 inches square and I actually hand-quilted 1/4" inside each 2 1/2" square. I was younger then!!! Anyway, the hand quilting got better and it actually was what started me quilting nearly 30 years ago. It's got "1906" appliqued on the center square and I finished it in 1986.

I think the fan pattern would be pretty. Some old pattern on such a beautiful old quilt.

Bless you for starting to hand quilt, the quilt is so great in that it is a postage stamp, and all hand pieced, it deserves to be hand quilted and cherished, machine quilting would ruin it, IMHO

Oh my goodness. All the work put into that quilt. It is beautiful.

I wanted to shout AMEN when I read this opinion. I totally agree. Think of the hours of work put on this quilt. It--and its original maker-- deserves the same care and respect already given to it. Too, I hope this quilt receives some level of caution in use. If the fabrics and threads are older, use it for a display instead of regular use. Even if it is machine quilted the materials are not going to hold up to everyday use. I cringe when I see beautifully hand embroidered quilts machine quilted. It's a thing of following through with the skill. All hand made.

Consider, too, that once an antique quilt top is quilted, it loses its monetary value as an antique. A fellow quilter who also does restoration comments that the age of a quilt is gauged by the latest work put on it. You might decide you simply want to display the quilt top as it is so that the hand work of construction can be seen.

Please, please, please don't machine quilt this beauty.

I thought cross hatch would be nice too, right down the middle of each square.