Your quilt looks great and a farmer will appreciate the Allis Chalmers orange. I'd suggest machine quilting it as I find it wears a lot better than ties or you could do some of both if ties really appeal to you. I found that just tying meant that after lots of washes, the ties started tearing out and the batting shifted. If your uncle does move to a long term residence (nursing home) their industrial washers may be hard on a tied quilt.