I love the look of a tied quilt! I think both ways have a place in quilting :D:D:D

I've used the tacking stitch on my Janome, also. I've done baby quilts and a few quillows that way.

Also, re: a previous post above, I tied little utility quilts for my grandchildren (some of those quilts are almost 20 years old) and still being used. The ties have not come out. I used acrylic yarn.

The only quilts you should not tie, are the ones entered into quilt shows. The judges tend to frown on tying.

I agree - tied whole cloth to me is a comforter, pieced is a quilt.
I believe that regardless of the way it is finished, it is still a quilt - hand quilted, machine quilted, tied - all are quilts. I do not send mine out because of the expense. I have tied, SID, quilted on machine. I like the results of each method, but find the best for cuddling are generally not the all-over LA quilted. They seem more stiff.

Its all personal choice, just like turning backing over to finish edge vs separate binding - all are acceptable. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Just keep on keeping on with the quilting creativity!

I have tied but like to quilt my own. I can't afford to send them out. If I did I wouldn't be able to have fabric and make quilts

I cannot afford to send my quilts out either but I do prefer to quilt them. I have done a couple on a set of quilting frames that a friend of mine gave me (she is in her 80's and her father had made them for her - she had three sons and none of their wives or grandchildren wanted them) and I have done quite a few using large oval hoop frames. The only reason I quilt them is because I am concerned about the batting bunching when they are washed and dried. I really don't think they really take that much more time (for me) because I don't do a lot of really fancy stitching.

Thank you
Sandyb

I remember my grandmother making a pieced comforter. It had a think wool batt, and it truly comforted me when i was in college.

how close do you put the ties? we have to make over a hundred lap robes for a nursing home project

I agree. I took my first quilt lessons about20 years ago and that is how I was taught to finish it was to tie it. We did do some hand quilting on wall hangings and such. I wouldn't call a tied quilt a comforter its a pieced quilt no matter how its finished.

It used to be that you had to quilt because the old style batting was very loose and would move around if it was not quilted every few inches. With modern batting, I think tying works very well, but I enjoy the quilting process whether by hand or machine.