The photos in books are posed. Most likely the people doing the photography don't realize that binding is the last step in the process, after quilting. They just put an already finished quilt under the sewing machine needle as if the quilting had just been done. One would always want to quilt before binding.
Concerning the spacing of your quilting lines, it all depends on the batting you have used. Do you still have the batting package or insert? They always tell you how far apart the batting needs to be quilted. A traditional 100% cotton batting may need quilting lines no more than 2 inches apart, while a modern needle-punched cotton batting with scrim (such as Warm 'n' Natural) may do fine with quilting lines 6 or 8 inches apart. Whether lines cross or not is not as important as how far apart the quilting lines are from each other. How the quilt will be used can also have an effect on quilting lines.
A wall hanging that won't be washed frequently can stand to have quilting lines farther apart. A child's quilt that will go through the washing machine and dryer many times in a year will hold up better if quilting lines are closer together.
Incidentally, that's a lovely quilt!
Mary