shelburn

I haven't heard many references to "tying off" a quilt. That is the way I was taught by my grandmother, but then, she was not an avid quilter. She did more knitting, crocheting, etc. When I had my children she helped me with baby quilts and we tied them off. Several years ago a client asked me to renew one side of a counterpane that his grandmother had made, and she had tied it instead of "quilting" it. Just wondering if anyone still does that!

okiepastor

There was a thread about a week ago--I tie about 30 a year for charity quilts....

SittingPretty

Oh, yes, a lot of people still "tie off" a quilt, but I think they do it mainly on ones with thicker batting. Trying to hand or machine quilt a high-loft batting can be difficult. I did machine quilt one with a high-loft polyester batting when I was stll pretty new, tho. LOL, guess I didn't know any better!

MrsM

I tie a lot of my quilts. I have just started free motion quilting.

jemma

tied a bit today

thequilterslink

we tie charity quilts, but most of the rest i machine.

Butterflyblue

My first quilt was tied, made about 5 years ago. Since then, I've become enamored of machine quilting, and that's mostly what I do (with occasional forays into hand quilting).

Tying is all my mother and grandmother do. I really prefer the look of quilting, but if I needed a kids quilt in a hurry, I would tie one. I think it is good to know as many techniques as possible, so you can pick the right one for a particular quilt. I think tying would be good, for example, on a thick wool winter quilt. I've seen some great vintage ones like that.

clem55

because I have arthritis in my thumbs, holding a needle to handstitch is quite painful, therefore, I won"t be doing any handquilting. I've tied several large quilts in the past, and I enjoyed the process, and even like the look. I make quilts mainly for my family, and for them, it is the pretty pattern and colors they care most about, so it is a win-win for me.

Jan in VA

Some of the quilts sent from this board for the Military Barracks Quilt Project were tied and looked darling.

Jan in VA

shelburn

Thanks for the positive feedback. I love to make quilt tops and am also perfecting FMQing on small pieces. A lot of my work is for our charity group and try FMQing on pillows, cancer hats, lap quilts, etc. When I feel I have a handle on it, I Tying off" is still used!