As we don't know the baby's gender, I thought I would get started with an “If it's a Boy” quilt. The blue drawer was pulled out and I got to cutting and stippling.

The pattern is “String Quilt with Sashing and Corner Squares” from Gwen Marston's Liberated String Quilts. After selecting about 15 different prints, I took two strips, between 1” and 2” from each and started to sew. The strips came together to make enough for the front and a few for the back. I couldn't bring myself to throw away the offcuts so any piece more than an inch wide was rescued to complete the stripe on the back, leaving 4 orphans blocks for later projects.


I adore the works of Gwen Marston. I have taken “Liberated Quiltmaking” out of the library an uncountable number of times and am still kicking myself for not buying a copy while it was still in print.

I have been adding up the fabric used to date. There are some grey areas in the accounting. Do I count it if it has been cut into to pieces but not used yet? What about small remnants? I have decided to count fabric as being used only when the project is completed. As I have just finished my first projects for the year, here is my first report:

Stash Enhancement – 4.65 m
Stash Used – 5.35m
New Fabric Used – 2.65m

While I am not planning to use exorbitant amounts of fabric this year, I am hoping to use fabric that I have already, more often than fabric that I have just bought. With this in mind, I feel that I am currently on target. This leaves me with a clear conscience to begin cutting into the pink fabric for the “If it's a Girl Quilt”.