bkay

From what I've been told and seen, quilts were rarely washed. Their primary purpose was warmth. They put them between the sheet and the counterpane, coverlet or bedspread, so they didn't get dirty, quickly.

My elderly friend told me her grandmother hated to wash quilts, as they weren't as pretty afterwards. Apparently, her grandmother was an excellent quilter. She said if someone came to visit and offered to help quilt, she would refuse the offer if she could. If they were insistent, she would remove that quilting after the person left.

bkay

sewbizgirl

I would use Warm and Natural cotton batting. It will give an authentic look.

CorgiNole

Do you have a copy of Heirloom Machine Quilting by Harriet Hargrave? I took a class with her last month. She talked about how she uses invisible nylon thread on the top of the quilt (YLI .004) which provides the texture and doesn't leave a jarring line like a colored cotton thread would - it gives a sense of the hand quilting, though does not look like hand quilting.

She also talked a lot about batting choices in class - but I can't remember off hand which is her favorite batting for reproduction quilts. Personally, I would not use the Quilter's Dream Green - I have some and have played around with it, it will not hold shape and stretches very easily. It is nice and hot. On the other side, I wouldn't use Warm and Natural for this project either - it is great for craft items that you want to be fairly stiff - but does not have a nice drape. A cotton/wool blend might be nice.