Instead of the usual New Year's resolutions, at the beginning of 2011, I decided to challenge myself with something a little different. The plan was to use at least a scrap, if not more, of one particular fabric in every quilt I worked on in 2011.
This was the fabric.
Not very exciting. I really didn't give the fabric much thought. I just made sure there would be enough if I decided to use it as sashing, or a border. If I had thought about which fabric too long, I may have become frozen in inertia. The fabric is from the Peddlers Pack - a Civil War Collection by Judy Roche and Corienne Kramer for Henry Glass. Not pretty, nor decidedly reproduction. In fact, it fitted in with modern and reproduction fabrics and designs.
I just managed to use a small piece in "Morse Code." I had finished the quilt top, but I took a small piece of fabric out and replaced it with the challenge fabric.
you can see a tiny piece here
Since I was working on the "Beyond the Cherry Tree Quilt Album", an applique quilt, I found an opportunity to use it in Block #16
(still not finished, mid January, 2012).
The fabric found it's way into my "Under the Big Top" quilt
You can see it more clearly here
and also appeared on the pieced back of "Pointless"
The fabric also made its way into the Barbara Brackman Civil War quilts, even though at last count, only 13 of the blocks were made
I will leave it up to you to decide whether I succeeded or failed in my 2011 challenge. Some quilts were so close to being finished that I couldn't add the challenge fabric. I didn't use it as I had expected to in sashings, or borders. However, whenever I see that fabric in my quilts I will always be able to tell that the quilt was made in 2011.
As I come across more of my 2011 projects with the challenge fabric included I will put them on this page. Right now, I am focussed on my 2012 challenge.