I don't think you are cheating at all. I know I've seen directions for doing the binding in a quilting book this way. I do remember one instructor saying that this kind of binding would not last as long as the separate binding because of the separate binding being double folded and thereby more durable so is this a concern? If not, why not? As to tying or quilting a quilt to me quilting means you need to do something to keep 3 layers together so you stitch by hand or machine, tie with yarn or floss, sew on buttons, use a decorative or non decorative stitch in place of where you would put the tie. It''s all quilting. Otherwise too boring and predictable. JMHO.