Downstream {Submitted QDAD Showcase Quilt}

I am thrilled to say that yesterday in the late afternoon I was able to submit Downstream to the 2016 QuiltCon QDAD Showcase!

I am absolutely delighted with how it came together. The QDAD Showcase was based on this design spark:

And the rules are:

1. You must be a QDAD member and a MQG member (no exceptions).

2. You may create up to 2 finished Modern quilts based on this spark. Use the photo and the color palette as inspiration. The exhibit will display quilts based on this spark of the New York High Line.

3. Designs must be original. Prints or solids can be used.You can submit any size of your choice but must not exceed maximum show measurements.

4. Deadline for entries is November 30, 2016 (the same as other QuiltCon quilt show entries). Quilts will be judged for exhibit entry by a MQG board member, a QDAD representative and a guest. The quilts will be exhibit only in the show.

To help with the color palette, it translates into these solids (but prints are allowed):

Kona Solids
Kona Cotton Mediterranean
Kona Cotton Prussian
Kona Cotton Carrot
Kona Cotton Snow
Kona Cotton Shale
Kona Cotton Charcoal

I was inspired by the left hand side of the spark image for the QDAD Showcase design challenge; I was struck by the the angles formed by the white and charcoal building and the bright orange sign which reads: “We live downstream from our stuff.” I based my design around sharp angles and the idea of influence and “downstream” relationships between elements in the quilt. I chose to paper piece the angles for precision, and I used dense straight line quilting to emphasize the “downstream” nature of the interaction between the design elements and their neighbors.

Now… I never said I had “finished” the quilt. It will likely be done by mid day Wednesday at the absolute latest… but tomorrow is forecast to be cloudy / overcast all day. I had about 30 minutes of direct sunlight remaining yesterday after sewing the binding to the quilt top, so I taped it to the back! In fact, I have already done about 25% of the hand binding work but took a quick break to write this blog post before my husband gets home from work.

I washed and blocked Downstream before trimming it square and putting on the binding. The quilt finished at 34″ wide by 43″ long (~5% shrinkage from the quilt top). For the quilting, I used 50wt Aurifil #2021 (Natural White) to match the Kona Snow, #2610 (Light Blue Grey) to match the Kona Shale, #2630 (Dark Pewter) to match the Kona Charcoal, and #2235 (Orange) to match the Kona Carrot. Backing is Kona Shale, Binding is Kona Shale, and batting is Quilter’s Dream Green.

With this finish, I have 3 more quilts (one the size of the top of a Queen Size mattress after first wash and 2 mini quilts) that I would like to complete this year. How is your WIP list for the year going? Have you ever used this binding trick or any other in order to meet a quilt deadline?

Linking up with Let’s Bee Social and Finish It Friday.