Play Together Nicely

Tennis anyone? Oooh, I'm longing for some outside time. This was in Vegas last fall. Cute boys...right? And playing nicely, together. (Their Grandma and niece were beating them handily in case you're wondering.) Just a fun picture to establish the theme of this post. Can't have a post without pictures. Too boring.
Are you sick of reading about pinwheels...I'm a bit tired of them too, so, let's put them aside for awhile and move on to something else. How about a new project? Since I made the Square Motion quilt, I've been itching to do another quilt with log cabin blocks. I sat here musing...
"what should I do?" No fabric purchases allowed these days. Arrrg....such punishment. (A long story...suffice it to say working for a non profit has its ups and downs. These days it's a HUGE downer. Hubby has no money coming in, and I quit my job last November. What was I thinking? Needless to say, the job search is on.) Don't want to think about that for one minute more than I have to...count my blessings and back to the fun stuff.

A few months ago I read about the Scrappy Cabin Challenge on Melly and Me's blog. At the time I really didn't have any scraps, so it was hard to participate. The quilts they are making are simply fabulous...those girls have some GOOD scraps! The challenge has been extended for 2008...another whole year to get in on the fun. The challenge is that the blocks need to be made completely from scraps rather than new fabric. The goal is to have a queen sized scrappy log cabin quilt by the end of the year. They have a tutorial, but I'm going to do mine in my own way. My scrap basket still isn't that big, and to be frank...much of it is from failed quilting experiments, but it's big enough to get started.
So the challenge for this weekend was to get this pile of scraps to play nicely together. When I started I really didn't have a finished block size in mind. I just dumped the scrap box on the floor and started pulling. Only a couple of miscues...Alas,I always have those. I really tried not to analyze too much and let the scraps speak for themselves. There are combinations in these blocks that I would never...in my right mind put together. I'm amazed what fabrics will play nicely together. Even that dull icky green contributes to its block.
The other thing that is so fun about this challenge is that the quilts that I've given away have a chance to live on. As I look at the fabric I know which disaster, which quilt, which project the fabric came from. It was a great way to clear my mind and focus on something positive. Want to see what I made? I tried to get a picture, but it's late and dark and my hand is wobbling (must be the stress). So, something to look forward to. Here's a hint...these are some WILD scrappy cabins. So...got some scraps? Up for a challenge? Tune in tomorrow to see more. Hope you had a great weekend!