Exploding Heart Quilt Along - Week 6

It's the final week of the Exploding Heart quilt along! Cue the streamers and balloons! You definitely don't want to miss the final giveaway at the end of the post too!!

You can find all of the previous quilt along blog posts here:

Introduction

QAL Week 1

QAL Week 2

QAL Week 3

QAL Week 4

QAL Week 5

QAL Week 6

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If you're new here, hello! I'm Laura! I design quilt patterns, and I'm a self-proclaimed deal hunter! Be sure to join the popular Quilting & Sewing Deals Facebook group where I post sales, deals, and coupon codes from all around the web!

This QAL uses the Exploding Heart quilt pattern. 

Get the PDF version here.

Get the paper version that will be mailed to you here.

**The QAL has ended, but sign up if you want to be notified about the next QAL!

Week 6 / 6

This week is all about finishing your quilt!

Be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post to watch this week's video and enter the giveaway!

This week includes several decisions: batting, thread, backing, and quilting design.

Batting

Batting choice is often decided by a mix of personal preference and how you plan to use the quilt.

I personally like and use Warm & Natural batting because it washes well and the texture is close to quilts I have used in the past. A similar option is Pellon's natural cotton batting.

If you used a light or white colored background, then you will likely want to use a bleached cotton batting instead of the natural color like Hobbs Bleached Cotton, Warm & White, or Pellon's white cotton batting.

If you've used a dark background color like black or deep purple, you might consider a black batting like Hobbs 80/20 Black. It does not have much lint and quilts very similar to other 80/20 battings.

I am going to use Hobbs wool batting for one of my Exploding Heart quilts I'm making. Wool doesn't crease as much as cotton and it has a bit more loft. It's a great choice for any season.

Of course there are many other types of batting that will work great too! I do watch for sales on all kinds of batting and post them in the Quilting & Sewing Deals Facebook group! Come check out the group!

Thread

Polyester or cotton? 30wt or 40wt or 50wt or something else?

When it comes to thread, use what works for you. I am definitely not the quilt police! If you're using a longarm, then 40wt polyester thread is a great choice! If you're using a domestic, then 50wt cotton thread is a great choice!

The smaller the thread weight number, the thicker the thread. So if you really want your quilting to show up, use a 30wt thread. If you want the piecing to take center stage, then choose 40wt or 50wt so the quilting does not take away from the design. The quilt pictured below was quilted using a pale pink 40wt Aurifil thread.

I personally use Aurifil thread for as much of my piecing and quilting as possible - both on my domestic and longarm. I use both 40wt Aurifil and 50wt Aurifil in my longarm - usually chosen by which weight has the color I want to use. The quilt pictured below was quilted in a bright pink 50wt thread.

As far as what color of thread you might want to use, I tend to say to use your favorite color! I used to always match my background fabric, but have recently thrown caution to the wind and choose a color from the focal fabrics. I'm thinking lime green, turquoise, or pink for the one below!

Backing

The back of a quilt is an opportunity waiting to happen!

If you want to use regular cotton fabric, you could choose a fabric with a large design that you might not find easy to cut up into smaller pieces.

You can purchase 108" wide backing fabric (I'd recommend 2 1/2 yards of that for this quilt), or you can purchase regular quilting cotton and sew two pieces together along the selvage. I'd recommend 5 yards of fabric for that method.

Another great choice is to use minky! Everyone in my family loves snuggling with a minky-backed quilt!

Quilting Design

When it comes to quilting, you must first decide if you want to do it yourself or send the quilt top to someone else to quilt for you.

Let's chat about sending it to a longarm quilter first!

A longarm quilter can quilt an edge-to-edge design onto your quilt (a design that is repeated over the entire quilt) or do custom quilting (different parts of the quilt have different types of quilting). Custom quilting requires much more time to complete, and will have a greater cost. Be sure to communicate with your longarm quilter about what type of quilting you would like. Some longarm quilters have batting for you to choose from, and others ask that you send your batting with your quilt top and backing. 

There are often longarm quilters near you! Ask at your quilt guild or local quilt shop for recommendations.

If you do not have someone near you, then here are my suggestions for longarm quilters you can mail your quilt top to!

Beth at Cooking Up Quilts is located in West Virginia and offers both edge-to-edge and custom quilting. She has generously donated FREE edge-to-edge quilting for one Exploding Heart quilt top for this week's giveaway!! Visit her website HERE (her website is no longer active). (And go to the bottom of this blog post to enter to win the giveaway!)

Photo courtesy of Cooking Up Quilts

Sherry at Powered by Quilting is located in Albuquerque, NM. She's offering 25% off edge-to-edge quilting of your Exploding Heart quilt through the end of March 2021! If you put "Exploding Heart QAL" in the referred by section of the form, you can get 20% off quilting services of ANY quilt! Visit her website HERE.

Photo courtesy of Powered by Quilting

Five longarm quilters from the Longarm League are also standing by to help you finish your Exploding Heart quilt top! Send it to one of the following quilters by June 1, 2021 and receive 20% off their edge-to-edge quilting services!

Karyn at KarynQuilts is located in New York state and offers edge-to-edge and custom quilting. Visit her website HERE.

Photo courtesy of KarynQuilts

Kayla at Patchwork River Quilting is located in Idaho and offers edge-to-edge quilting. Visit her website HERE.

Photo courtesy of Patchwork River Quilting

Missy at Southern Home Quilts is located in North Carolina and offers edge-to-edge quilting. Visit her website HERE.

Photo courtesy of Southern Home Quilts

Stef at Jack & Theo's Quilting Co. is located in Illinois and offers edge-to-edge and custom quilting. Visit her website HERE.

Photo courtesy of Jack & Theo's Quilting Co.

Tasha at Oh Thimbles is located in California and offers edge-to-edge and light custom quilting. Visit her website HERE.

Photo courtesy of Oh Thimbles

Each longarm quilter will have different designs for you to choose from. You can pick your thread color too!

If you'll be quilting it yourself on a longarm, you might opt to do your own custom quilting or ruler work!

You can also use your domestic machine to do the quilting! A walking foot would allow you to quilt straight (or straight-ish) lines and make some stunning designs!

A free-motion foot on your domestic machine opens up many quilting possibilities similar to using a longarm.

Binding

Once the quilting is done, you just have to bind your quilt! I bind all of my quilts by machine and add a quick label as I sew the binding too. Find the tutorial for how I sew my binding here: https://www.sliceofpiquilts.com/2017/04/machine-quilt-binding-tutorial.html.

This quilt is a great one for using your leftover scraps to make a scrappy binding!

I order my satin labels from HERE.

Washing

After your quilt is quilted AND bound, then you can wash the quilt when you're ready. I suggest throwing a couple Color Catchers in the washing machine with the quilt. If there's any bleeding, you can rewash the quilt several times with new Color Catchers. Once you're satisfied that there was no bleeding on the quilt or any other issues, then put the quilt in the dryer or hang it to dry if it's not too cold where you live! (**Note: If you use wool batting, you can wash the quilt in cold water in a gentle or delicate cycle, but you'll need to hang or lay the quilt flat to dry.)

Video

**If the video doesn't load, you can view it here: https://youtu.be/EwRLRM1IoQw.

Homework

• Commit to finishing your quilt! Order the backing and binding fabric, batting, and thread. Contact a longarm quilter if you will not be quilting it yourself.

• Share a photo of your quilt top - or finished quilt! - on social media! Use #explodingheartQAL and #explodingheartquilt in the caption of your photo.

• Search for #explodingheartQAL on Facebook or Instagram, and like and comment on at least three posts to encourage others that are sewing along! There are so many great quilts to see! 

• Enter this week's giveaway at the end of this post!

QAL Schedule

Week 1 - January 7th - Cutting

Week 2 - January 14th - Sewing the blocks

Week 3 - January 21st - Continue sewing the blocks and trimming them

Week 4 - January 28th - Sewing the rows

Week 5 - February 4th - Sewing the top

Week 6 - February 11th - Quilting and finishes

GIveaway

Now for the FINAL giveaway of the QAL!! This week will have TWO winners! One winner will receive a $100 gift certificate to Hartland Quilt Shop - a wonderful quilt shop in Howell, MI, and another winner will receive FREE edge-to-edge quilting on their Exploding Heart quilt from Beth at Cooking Up Quilts!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Let's all quilt along!

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If you liked this post, you may also like these:

I Wish You a Merry QAL - Block 7

I Wish You a Merry QAL - Block 8

QAL By the Sea - Block 2

Disclaimer: Giveaway is in no way sponsored, administered, or associated with Blogger. By entering, entrants confirm they are eligible to win. No purchase necessary to win. Open to US residents age 18+. Giveaway starts at 12:00am CST February 11, 2021 and ends at 12:00am CST on February 18, 2021. One winner will receive a $100 gift certificate to Hartland Quilt Shop (value $100). One winner will receive edge-to-edge quilting on an Exploding Heart quilt top (value approx. $80). Odds of winning determined by number of eligible entries received. How to enter: complete a task on the Rafflecopter widget. Winner will be chosen by Rafflecopter on February 19, 2021 from all eligible entries and notified by email. If winner can not be reached via email or prize is unclaimed after three days, a new winner will be chosen by Rafflecopter. Winner is responsible for paying any taxes related to the prize. By entering this giveaway, you release Slice of Pi Quilts from any liability whatsoever. Void where prohibited by law.