I have hand tied. If it is a quilt that is not heirloom quality and will be used a lot, that is a quick way to get it out of the sewing room and start caressing someone. I would never do it with a quilt that was time-consuming and/or expensive. They deserve to be quilted and the quilting will definitely complement the work that was put into the construction. Careful with baby quilts and hand tying. They could choke.