it looks as if you used a cotton batt (without scrim) like mountain mist- or one of the others that are great for hand quilting heirloom quilts- generally 100% cotton batts like these need to be quilted every 2"...they are not good candidates for tied quilts- a batt (like warm & natural-with scrim) that can be quilted up to 10" apart and say---good for tied quilts are ok --- but it is important to follow the quilting recommendations on the packaging---i would replace the batt with a warm & natural or one of the dream batts- and quilt it to the specifications- or choose a batt for tied quilts and make sure to place the ties at least every 4" ---closer is better- further can be another future problem.