At first I thought about the pillow tuck but then realized that a twin or full mattress is only 75 inches long. With a seven foot quilt that is only allowing a nine inch drop over the end of the bed and isn't long enough to actually cover the pillows. Especially if they were hand stuffed feather pillows. On a full size mattress a five foot wide quilt would only allow a 2 inch drop on each side. My DH's grandfather was a mattress maker. His mother was born in 1920 and mattress were standardized sizes at that time in history. They did however make what was known as a 3/4 sized bed back then. Probably meant for two children to sleep in but still fit nicely in the small rooms that most older homes seem to have. Your quilt is an is an oddity but beautiful none the less. How wonderful that your wife was gifted with it.