My precious grandmother gave my nephew a baby quilt when he was born. Actually, she gave all the babies who were privileged enough to know her - grandchildren or not - sweet quilts that she made from stamped embroidery panels. She tied the one she gave to my nephew (or had my mother tie it for him)- and he loved that quilt. My nephew carried it everywhere for several years and lovingly referred to it as his night-night. He would twirl the strings that tied the quilt together to soothe himself. Eventually, those strings broke off, came untied, or just washed away. My mother and my sister tied new ones on as they could.
Even though this was so sweet, and we have so many wonderful memories tied to it, it also helped me to really understand why quilting is superior to tying.
The backing and batting on the quilt will sag around the ties over time. This becomes more evident as it is washed and dried. The quilting really adds strength and longevity to a quilt.
The quilt will maintain its appearance and stay square when it is quilted. I recently repaired a crazy quilt that had been tied. The ties had pulled holes in several areas of the quilt, and the quilt was a bit wonky where it had stretched around the ties.
I removed all the ties that were left, fixed the quilt top, and then quilted it on the longarm. The quilt top, though a bit fragile due to age, was much stronger and could finally be used by the person who loved it.
I learned to free motion quilt on my home sewing machine. Some quilts I also stitched in the ditch with a walking foot. Quilting your quilts make your quilts strong and helps them last for generations.
Or - you can quilt by check! - With three options - economy, premium, and custom quilting - there is an option for any budget!
Happy Quilting!
Jessica