I've tied in the past and I'll tie in the future, I have quilted a few but to be honest, I've tied more than I've quilted. Also, I don't hand quilt, but since you're under a time constraint, I would go ahead and tie. Personally, I don't see anything wrong with a tied quilt, even though some people say that if it's tied it's not a quilt, to me, it's a quilt.