You are so ambitious! I think you have to be very careful about reading the batting description before tying - some have very different requirements. Good luck with it.

Is there a longarm that will quilt that size?

If you want fluffy and warm, A high loft (bonded) poly batting is your best choice, and in that case you will have to tie it.

I have been quilting for 24 years, and my adult sons still prefer a high-loft quilt. The second one loves his old "two sheets and a puffy batting tied together" quilt, and the youngest has a pieced duvet cover for his feather duvet. The oldest (30) has a regular quilt on his bed, but I think that is because his wife wants it.

As for regular "quilted" quilts... cotton quilts just aren't warm enough in our northern climate. Poly quilts are better, and I just made a wool blend one. I am hoping that one will be warmer.

I like to tie it b/c it stays fluffy! I tie baby quilts a lot. I would never quilt a Cal King on my little sewing machine. If I had a long arm, yes.... but sending that to a long arm would cost a fortune too. A Cal King in my house would end up tied.

If you decide to tie, remember you need to use a square knot. If you are not sure what a square knot is, ask a boy scout. I have tied & quilted at different times. If you use the square knot, you won't have to worry about it coming apart. One quilt on my boy's bed lasted several years. I don't think quilting or tying will make the quilt warmer. I do know that the more you quilt the heavier & stiffer the quilt will become.

I have tied a few quilts in the center of the main square as added support. The remainder of the quilt was done SID. I don't know how well a large quilt quilt will hold up in the wash if it is "just" tied.

Yes.

The tin lizzy will quilt that big if you get special 13 foot rails for it. Some people think you need a second midspan support. But it will do it. I have my TL set up with 7 foot rails, have the ten foot rails ready to go on when I am finished this practice quilt, and will soon be doing my QS quilts. There are no plans to do a KS or CA King.

tim in san jose

I have tied several Trip Around the World quilts. They are made of small squares and have held up very well. I wanted the fluffy look also and I used a fat batt. I did not use embroidery floss. I used crewel yarn and did the X thing on each joint and then channeled between the material to the next junction that needed a tie. The crewel yarn is very strong and you only need one piece of it .You need one of those really long needles with a big eye. If you have any question PM me about it. I made my X very tiny and they can't be seen really. My son is still using one I made 20 years ago as a spare cover when we come to visit. It looks a bit shabby but it's still warm.