Loss of Commission = New Quilt for Bruce

"Loss" probably isn't the correct word...polite "decline" is more accurate.  I recently declined a commission when I felt that the persons vision didn't really match my style of quilting.  Rather than have a client who may be disappointed in the completed work, I suggested they contact someone whose work more closely matched what they wanted in a quilt.

A quilt in the colors I proposed was destined to be made, however, because Bruce really liked them.  SO - here is the initial palette of batiks (above), then I added a bunch more to fill things out:

All the pieces cut:

Have you ever used a June Tailor "Shape Cut?"  It is a big piece of plastic(?) used to cut strip and other unit multiples.  It saved me a TON of time cutting all of these 2X3.5 rectangles.  I think the pattern said I needed something like 1600 pieces(!!), but I didn't count...it would have made me CRAZY.  So a tool like the Shape Cut is a wonder:

There are grooves at each measurement that guide your rotary cutter.  My friend Robin introduced this gadget to me years ago.  I hesitated for a long, long, time, but I find that I use it A LOT on the rare occasions that I make patchwork quilts.  After the monotony of cutting hundreds and hundreds of rectangles, I realize again why I like applique.

It takes me an hour to stitch four of these blocks, each with 18 rectangles:

Here are the 12 I made on Sunday:

By the way, the pattern I am using is from Successful Scrap Quilts from Simple Rectangles, by Judy Turner and Margaret Rolfe. 

Sorry about the picture quality.  The light in my "studio" is not that great and I was more interested in getting the pictures on the blog that going for quality.  I'll try to get some photos that are more true to color for the next progress pic!